Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday signed a document marking the final step towards granting university status to the College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel.
The move is granted for a provisionary five-year period, during which the university will have to make a number of adjustments, meeting a number of requirements set forth by the Board of Higher Education.
While all other agencies approved the move some time ago, Barak�s signature was required since the defense minister must approve all Israeli operations throughout Yehuda and Shomron.
There are some 11,000 students in the college today, with 7,800 working towards a bachelors or masters degree. 85% of the student body lives in Israel, from all around the country, north to south.
As part of the conditions in the agreement to obtain the five-year probationary status, the college agreed it would not seek any of the additional funding that universities are entitled to file for.
(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)
