New academic plan expands support for reservist students, career soldiers for 2026-27 school year

Israel’s universities and colleges have significantly expanded accommodations for military reservists and career soldiers across all fields of study under a new plan for the 2026-27 academic year, giving students whose extended service has disrupted their studies critical tools to keep up, the IDF announced on Sunday.

The plan builds on those introduced in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years, strengthening support for students in uniform so they can maintain a regular academic routine despite long stretches of reserve duty.

At its core, the 2026-27 plan expands alternative assessment to all programs and fields of study. Options include submitting a paper instead of taking an exam, taking a modified exam, or counting the higher of two exam grades.

Students are grouped into tiers based on how much reserve duty they have served. Those in the top tier, along with career soldiers in frontline roles, will be eligible for alternative assessment in three courses, meaning they may submit papers instead of attending class. Students in the top tier who are not in frontline roles will be eligible for two courses. Students in the second tier, who served 21 days or more in a semester, will be eligible for one or two courses, depending on the nature of their service.

Students forced to extend their studies by a semester or a year to receive further aid

Students whose service forced them to extend their degree by a semester or a year will receive further help. They will remain entitled to the accommodations matching their reserve-duty tier or type of career service, to ensure they can graduate.

Reservists and career soldiers will also benefit from eased eligibility for merit scholarships, so their service does not cost them dean’s and rector’s awards. The minimum number of credits they need to qualify for these scholarships will be 10% lower than for other students, giving them a fair chance in the competition.

In graduate programs, universities will offer individual accommodations to students whose research has been set back by their service. These include extended deadlines, consideration regarding research grant payments, and a personalized accommodations plan, all aimed at helping them complete their research within a reasonable time.

Students applying for a master’s degree whose transcripts show a “binary pass” grade (a pass/fail grade adjusted for reserve duty), and where that grade affects admission, can reveal their actual grade to the admissions committee without affecting their undergraduate GPA.

The plan also extends eligibility to spouses: partners of career soldiers and frontline reservists who are parents of children up to age 13 will be included alongside career soldiers.

Lecture recordings will be kept for three months after the end of the semester

To help students catch up, lecture recordings will be kept for three months after the end of the semester in which the course was taught. The plan also provides one-on-one tutoring on missed material, rescheduled exam dates, and maximum credit exemptions.

“Following another long year in which career and reserve soldiers have proudly carried the country’s security on their shoulders, we face an unequivocal duty and demand: to see them and their needs when they go out to study as well. To prove that we care for them not only when they are in uniform, but also during their studies. The plan we created together with the Council for Higher Education provides a safety net that addresses needs arising authentically from the field. Those who serve are not asking for discounts; they are demanding fairness. It is our duty to make sure they receive as equal an opportunity as possible, and encounter fairness from all parties in actual deeds,” said Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate.