General Description | The Council for Higher Education of Israel
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`General Description
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`Licensing Requirement for Branches in Israel
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`In February 1998, the 11th Amendment to the Council for Higher Education Law came
`into force. This amendment requires every institution that wishes to operate in Israel as
`a branch of an institution of higher education abroad to receive a license to do so from
`the Council. Any institution that wishes to offer academic studies in Israel, including
`any instructional activity such as tutoring, enhancement, support and any situation in
`which a teacher and student/s are together, must receive a license from the Council for
`Higher Education. Such activity without a license is a criminal transgression of the law.
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`The transitional provisions of the 11th Amendment to the Council for Higher
`Education Law established special arrangements for activities that predated the
`legislation of the amendment. Every program should be checked as to its status vis-à-
`vis the provisions of the law and the transitional provisions of the amendment.
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`The Status of Foreign Branches and the Degrees Awarded to their Graduates
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`Institutions that are branches of foreign institutions of higher education are not Israeli
`institutions and are therefore not accredited as institutions of higher education
`according to the meaning of the Council for Higher Education Law. Branches of
`foreign academic institutions operate in Israel on the basis of a license, and are
`therefore not eligible for accreditation as an institution of higher education.
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`The degrees awarded upon completion of study in branches are the academic degrees
`of the parent institution abroad, and are not recognized Israeli academic degrees. The
`granting of a license to a branch does not mean accreditation of the branch by the
`Council for Higher Education, as an accredited institution of higher education or
`authorization to award recognized academic degrees according to the meaning of the
`Council for Higher Education Law.
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`http://che.org.il/en/?page_id=9511
`
`12/4/2015
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`Blackberry Ex 1062, pg. 1
`Blackberry v. Zipit
`IPR2014-01507
`
`

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`General Description | The Council for Higher Education of Israel
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`Page 2 of 3
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`The Council for Higher Education does not conduct an examination of the academic
`level and quality of foreign branches. The license is granted solely for the existence of
`the activities of whoever fulfills the requirements of a license; they are administrative
`in nature, as set out in the Law, and are not academic examinations.
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`The assessment of the equivalence of the degree for the purposes of the salary scale in
`the civil service is carried out by the Department for the Evaluation of Foreign
`Academic Degrees and Diplomas in the Ministry of Education. Evaluation of a degree
`is carried out on an individual basis for each applicant and is not universal for the
`institution or the program. As part of this evaluation, the Department checks if there is
`a license for the program upon completion of which the degree was awarded, as well as
`additional criteria for the evaluation of the degree, according to the rules that guide it.
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`The 12th Amendment to the CHE Law, which was enacted in April 2005, declares that
`the identity that had existed in the Law between a degree awarded at a branch and a
`degree awarded at the parent institution will be qualified and will not be in effect for
`the purposes of employment, salary scale and rank of the employee or his terms of
`employment. The practical implication of this amendment on employees in the public
`sector is detailed in announcement no. 13/ סו of the Civil Service Commission,
`according to which a degree from a branch will no longer be recognized for the
`purposes of employment, salary scale and rank of the employee or his terms of
`employment. (The full announcement and transitional provisions can be found on the
`Civil Service Commission’s web site –www.civil-service.gov.il.)
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`Transitional provisions were set out together with the above amendment, according to
`which if the conditions detailed in them are met, the amendment will not apply, but
`rather the previous legal status will apply. These conditions refer both to the institution
`and to the student. As for the conditions referring to the institution, it was determined,
`inter alia, that the institutions must:
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`1. submit, within three months of the date of the publication of the announcement
`(April 11, 2005), a declaration of its intention to submit an application for
`accreditation, in accordance with Section 9 of the CHE Law;
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`2. submit an application for accreditation by June 1, 2006.
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`http://che.org.il/en/?page_id=9511
`
`12/4/2015
`
`Blackberry Ex 1062, pg. 2
`Blackberry v. Zipit
`IPR2014-01507
`
`

`
`General Description | The Council for Higher Education of Israel
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`Page 3 of 3
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`As for the conditions referring to the student, it was determined that in order that the
`amendment to the Law will not apply to the student’s degree, he must enroll in the
`institution (that met the conditions detailed above) by the date on which the CHE
`reaches a decision on the institution’s application for accreditation or up to three years
`from the date on which the institution receives a permit (the first stage in the
`accreditation process), whichever is earlier.
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`A list of institutions that have submitted this declaration and an application for
`accreditation in compliance with the dates set out in the transitional provisions, can be
`found in the CHE’s web site.
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`Recognition of study in a branch for the purposes of advanced study in an Israeli
`institution for higher education is with the authority of the Israeli institution of higher
`education. For information on admission to accredited institutions, contact the colleges
`or universities themselves.
`
`http://che.org.il/en/?page_id=9511
`
`12/4/2015
`
`Blackberry Ex 1062, pg. 3
`Blackberry v. Zipit
`IPR2014-01507