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)