Student Success

Dear Friends,

This week, I want to share news that speaks not only to the strength of Ben-Gurion University, but to the character of our students.

National data released by the Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee show that Ben-Gurion University of the Negev leads the country in student success. According to these findings, 91% of our students complete their degrees on time — the highest rate among all Israeli universities. And within this remarkable achievement, BGU ranked first nationally in engineering, health professions, the social sciences, and the humanities.

This has led me to one question that I’ve been thinking about all week: What is the secret behind our students’ success?

I would like to say it is because we have built robust support systems that help students navigate even the most difficult years (we have).

I would like to say it is because we have maintained uncompromising academic standards and attract students with the greatest potential to succeed (we do).

I would like to say it is because our accessibility programs are designed to support long-term success (they are).

All of these are true.

But I also believe something deeper is at play, something distinctly ours.

Maybe BGU attracts students with grit, students who are primed for success. Students who choose to study in the desert because they are drawn to its openness, its challenge, its promise. Students for whom studying in the Negev is not a detour, but a first step toward the future they intend to build.

Maybe the Negev shapes them, just as they shape the Negev.

And perhaps, despite the difficult years we have all lived through, our students are thriving because they understand, from their very first day here, that challenge is not an obstacle to success. It is part of the journey itself.

Shabbat Shalom,
Danny