Submitted to the Israel Council for Higher Education

Faculty of Law

Self-Evaluation Report

Submitted to the Israel Council for Higher Education

November 2013

Table of Contents of Attached “HU_LAW_Self_Evaluation Oct2013” CD

• HU_Law_Report.pdf

Appendices

Chapter1

1.1.Milestones (E).pdf

Chapter2

• 2.3.Degree Names (E+H).pdf
• 2.4.Number Students (E).pdf
• 2.5.Number Graduates (E).pdf

Chapter3

3.1.1 Diplomas

3.1.13 Surveys

3.1.13.a1.BA Graduates Survey (H).pdf

3.1.13.a2.BA Graduates Survey Abstract (E).pdf

3.1.13.b1.MA Graduates Survey (H).pdf

3.1.13.b2.MA Graduates Survey Abstract (E).pdf

3.1.13.b1.PhD Graduates Survey (H).pdf

3.1.13.b2.PhD Graduates Survey Abstract (E).pdf

3.2.1.a1.Teaching Satisfaction Surveys (E).pdf

3.2.1.a2.Teaching Satisfaction Surveys (H).pdf

3.2.1.a3.Teaching Satisfaction Surveys (H).pdf

3.2.1.a4.Teaching Satisfaction Surveys (H).pdf

3.2.1.a5.Teaching Satisfaction Surveys (H).pdf

3.2.1.b1.Teaching Evaluation (H).pdf

3.2.1.b2.Teaching Evaluation (H).pdf

3.2.1.3.Unit for the Advancement of Teaching (E).pdf

3.2.1.6.Unit forAdvancement of Computer-Mediated Instruction (E).pdf

3.2.2.2B.Students' Final Projects

LLB

LLM

PhD

List of Students' Final Projects (E).pdf

• 3.3.4.Affirmative Action Policies (H).pdf
• 3.3.4.Affirmative Action Policies (E).pdf
• 3.3.5.a.LLB Programs 2007-2011
• -DropoutRates.pdf
• 3.3.5.b.LLM Programs 2007-2011-Dropout Rates.pdf
• 3.3.5.b.PhD Programs 2007-2011-Dropout Rates.pdf
• 3.4.1.5.a.Academic Code (H).pdf
• 3.4.1.5.b.Promotion Code (H).pdf
• 3.4.1.7.Senior Academic Faculty Guide (H).pdf
• 3.5.2.Computerization (E).pdf
• 3.5.4.1.a1.Library Journals (E+H).pdf
• 3.5.4.1.a2.Library Databases (E+H).pdf

Chapter4

• 4.8.Carmel-Haifa (E).pdf

Chapter8 Additional Materials

8.1 Yearbook & Registration Guide

8.1.a.Registration Guide 2012-13 (H).pdf

8.1.b.YearBook 2012-13 (H).pdf

8.2 Rules & Procedures

 3.4.1.5.Obligations of the Academic Employee (H).pdf

3.4.1.5.a.Academic Code (H).pdf

3.4.1.5.b.Promotion Code (H).pdf

3.4.1.7.Senior Academic Faculty Guide (H).pdf

8.3 Syllabi

8.3 LLB Program

8.3 LLM Program

8.3 PhD Program

8.4 Staff CV

8.4 Senior Academic Staff

Executive Summary

This report is a result of collaborative work of all members of the Faculty of Law at University of Haifa in the last twelve months of intensive Faculty efforts that sum up to thousands of hours of collective work, in order to establish a real self-reflective detailed report of a most successful and productive Faculty of Law. In this detailed report we deploy below not only our vision of the missions of our Faculty, but we also offer an in-depth look into the way in which our success, challenges and needs for improvements have been reflected in the views of our Alumni in all levels of study- LL.B, LL.M, and Ph.d. Our teaching is very diverse, inter-disciplinary and systematic. It is offering core courses, elective courses, seminars, colloquia, and legal clinincs. Following debates in the Faculty Council, a set of qiestionaires was formed and the replies of our Alumni demonstrate that our students have a very high esteem to both the teaching staff and the administrative staff. The general atmosphere in the Faculty, the knowledge and dedication of our teachers, the professionalism and cutting-edge scholarship of our faculty members, the diversity of the academic knowledge and analytical tools, demonsrated in class, and the in-depth analysis of the multifaceted aspects of law, were highly regarded by our multicultural body of students. Similarly, the administrative staff was praised by our students for its generosity, attentiveness, accessibility and efficiency.

The responses also exhibited a few concerns that we need to challenge and resolve. Some Alumni have pointed to some absence of practical components in our teaching and have had expectations that we improve our placement for the internship towards the Bar exams. We discussed these concerns in a detailed Faculty Council meeting that convened for almost three hours and have decided to establish a set of guidelines for our faculty members and adjunct staff on how to integrate more practical elemnts into our teaching, taking into account that we are primarily an academic venue that highly regards teaching of theories, doctrines, and the rich facets of the legal text. Additionally, our Faculty has already improved dramatically our placement services that have proved to be highly effective. As for research- as deailed in this report despite us being the youngest Faculty of Law among the leading research universities in Israel, our scholars have been prominent and have already demonostrated leading effects on scholarship. We could have done even better with more resources given to us, as academic positions, and particularly a better teaching load of 12 yearly hours instead of 16. As for administration and resources: we are aspiring for a new building and more administrative positions that will make our highly successful Faculty even a better place.

1.1 A brief summary describing the institution and its development since its establishment, including details of the campus(es) where the institution's teaching activities take place (number and location), names of the faculties /schools/departments in the institution, the overall number of students studying towards academic degrees in the institution according to faculty and degree (first degree, second degree with thesis, second degree without thesis, doctoral degree), the date of recognition by the Council for Higher Education.

The University of Haifa was established in 1963 under the joint sponsorship of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Haifa Municipality. In 1970, the University was given institutional independence, and in 1972 it gained academic accreditation from Israel’s Council for Higher Education in accordance with the Council for Higher Education Law -1958.

The academic teaching program is conducted on the University campus in departments in seven faculties: Humanities, Social Sciences, Education, Social Welfare Health Sciences, Law, Natural Sciences; and Management.

Most University departments offer studies leading to a Bachelor’s degree and to a Master’s degree. PhD studies have been instituted in the following departments: English Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, Jewish History, General History, Middle Eastern History, Hebrew and Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Land of Israel Studies, Hebrew Language, Arabic Language and Literature, Archeology, Biblical Studies, Art History; Psychology, Political Science, Economics, Sociology and Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, Statistics, Communication, Computer Science; Education, Learning Disabilities; Social Work, Gerontology, Occupational Therapy, School of Public Health; Law; Mathematics, Maritime Civilizations, Evolutionary Environmental Biology, Neurobiology and Etiology; Management, Management of Natural Resources and the Environment.Research is carried out in the Faculties and Schools and in the framework of research institutes and centers. The Research Authority encourages, initiates, develops, and coordinates research at the University.

For milestones in the development of the University, see the Media Appendix: 1.1.Milestones (E).pdf.

For The overall number of students at the institution, distributed according to faculty and degree level 2012-13, see Appendix __.

The overall number(1) of students at the institution, distributed according to faculty and degree level 2012-13

(1)The frequency weight of a student studying in any two faculties is a half in each faculty

For the overall number of graduates at the institution, distributed by faculty and degree level, see Appendix __.

The overall number(1) of graduatesat the institution, distributed by faculty and degree level

(1)The frequency weight of a student studying in any two faculties is a half in each faculty

1.2 Mission statement of the institution, its aims and goals.

Vision

The University of Haifa a research university founded on the principles of academic quality and excellence, will rank among the top universities in Israel and worldwide in its fields of activities through implementing the following actions, among others:

• The University will recruit excellent scholars and provide its faculty with facilities and means to achieve first rate research;
• The University will continue to develop innovative, multi-disciplinary learning programs, and broad international collaboration;
• The University will provide its students with tools to create, understand, and implement the knowledge they acquire, through nurturing of universal and humanistic fundamental values.

Objectives and Goals

1. Building the academic infrastructure required to become a truly international university. Our aim is to have our student body include about 15% international students. Achieving this, together with increasing the registration (to 1,500 students) in the Study Abroad programs offered by the University’s International School over the next five years, will transform our University. We are in the process of establishing 20 MA programs that will be taught in English, and our goal is to reach 40 such programs in ten years. Furthermore, we intend to expand international research collaborations with universities and research centers abroad.
2. Increasing the number of faculty members by 120 (to 660) within five years. Given that 200 of our faculty members will retire in the next eight years, within a decade more than half of our faculty will consist of new, young scholars, ushering the University into a new era. We aim to increase research and academic productivity through selective recruitment and staff development.
3. Sustaining national and global excellence and establishing new research areas.
4. Establishing externally-funded research centers and institutes.
5. Doubling the relative share of the University of Haifa in the research allocations awarded to institutes of higher education in Israel. This goal will be achieved by giving incentives to faculty members for submission and winning of grants, and considering research grant awards during promotion processes. Over the past six years, the University has witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of research grants awarded to faculty members, mainly as the result of new fields of research that we are developing, as well as the increasing awareness of faculty members of the importance of submitting research proposals. [[In 2010-11 the Research Authority submitted 558 research proposals and funding was approved for 148 of them, totaling over US$23 million. The University’s income from research grants has increased by more than 300% compared to five years ago.Tzila, Marva- update figuers to 2013-awaiting update from Ruchama]]
6. Recruiting the very best national and international students, by doubling the scope of significant scholarships awarded to high quality students.
7. Increasing the relative proportion of research track graduate students (MSc/MA, PhD) in the overall number of students at the University.
8. Consistent enhancement of teaching and teaching methodologies and technologies.
9. Exposing all our students to a basic humanities background. Every undergraduate student must take at least four humanities credits (and six after 2014). This initiative is designed to expose students to concepts in thought and ethics inherent in the humanities. Another initiative to emphasize the value of humanistic-scientific tools is “Practical Academics”. In this program 20 excellent students from different departments in the Faculty of Humanities are academically prepared to take part in decision making processes and get involved in social organizations.
10. Establishing a network of contacts within various organizations and advanced hi-tech companies in an attempt to help students integrate into the workforce after graduation, and to create research collaborations.
11. Nurturing a ‘university community’ to foster an atmosphere of research and unique teaching, this will draw students from around the country to the University.
12. Developing the relatively young Faculty of Natural Sciences, through opening of unique departments and curricula that can compete with other institutions, by:
13. Creating a base of undergraduate departments in the Departments of Mathematics (with a Non-experimental Physics Track), Biology, and Medical Sciences.
14. Continuing the strengthening of existing graduate (MA/MSc and PhD) programs and the creation of new special programs or ones with the potential to compete for research resources. In this regard, the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences is a unique initiative thatoperates on a global scale and applies an interdisciplinary approach with high professional standards.
15. Providing research resources such as research labs.
16. Recently (July 2012), the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education awarded the tender to establish The Israeli Center for Mediterranean Research to the consortium led by the University of Haifa. The consortium comprises six research universities in Israel and two governmental research institutes.
17. Developing the library as an essential part of the research infrastructure.
18. Setting up research and teaching infrastructures, including a Faculty of Welfare and Health Sciences building, a Faculty of Law building and a Faculty of Natural Sciences building.
19. Building new student dormitories.

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1.3 For A description and chart of the institution's organizational structure, and the names of holders of senior academic and administrative positions, see Appendix __.

A description and chart of the institution's organizational structure, and the names of holders of senior academic and administrative positions

1

Names of holders of senior academic and administrative positions

Chapter 2 – The Parent Unit Operating the Study Programs under Evaluation

2.1 The name of the parent unit and a brief summary of its "history", its activities and development in the period of its existence.

See section 3.1

2.2 Mission statement of the parent unit, its aims and goals.

The Faculty of Law at University of Haifa is dedicated to study through original and innovative research and to educate students to face a changing world in the 21st century and to be profoundly knowledgeable in the principles of the legal profession and the legal field in a global and multicultural world. We believe that law cannot and should not be disengaged from real life challenges—society, history, culture, economy and politics. We envision that research and teaching are, and should be, even in the LL.B stage, in constant interaction. We are teaching what we explore and we are exploring with our students the facets of law and its trajectories in Israel and in the international system. Accordingly we systematically teach the legal field from diversity of perspectives: its epistemology, fundamentals, values, goals, limitations, sources, paradigms, theories, doctrines, courts’ rulings, legislation, regulation, legal opinions, and methods of interpretation through constantly unveiling various types of hermeneutics from global and local perspectives. Our students at all levels take part in a dynamic, multicultural, interdisciplinary and engaging academic life. In our devoted teaching of public law, civil law, commercial law, criminal law, family law, evidence and procedures, and international law, as well as through teaching of elective courses and seminars on specific facets of all aspects of law, we would like to globally educate a broad-minded jurists who are well embedded in a multicultural, pluralistic setting. Additionally, we aim to prepare the students and to cultivate their ability to deal with the present demands and challenges of the legal profession in contemporary and multicultural democracies. Our eight legal clinics are integral part of our vision that a good law should incite and stimulate justice and equality through a legal and social change. A great teaching is embedded in excellence of research. Through our own studies of interdisciplinary research we are contributing to the professional literature in Israel and around the globe.