Our history

In 1971 the regional council of Beer Tuvia established Achva as a teachers training college in order to enhance the skills and qualifications of the educational personnel employed within its boundaries. The college started off with 50 students, gradually expanding and adding more programs. In 1991 Achva had close to a thousand students who were offered, alongside their pedagogical training, the opportunity to complete their B.A. studies though the Open University. In 1994 the college won the recognition of the Higher Education Council and was allowed to award its students the B.Ed degree. By the year 2000 almost 2,500 students studied at the college.

In 1996 a fully fledged academic college was established on the campus alongside the teachers training college. This new college offered courses towards a B.A and later on also B.Sc degrees in various disciplines under the academic auspices of the Ben-Gurion University in the Negev. By the year 2000 some 700 student studied at this college. In 2009 the Higher Education Council authorized the college to open an independent B.Sc course in the Life Sciences and in 2012 a second independent course, in Psychology, was opened.In 2013 a third course, in Environmental Studies was launched.

In August 2012 the two colleges merged into one – the Achva Academic College. This merger created a unique model whereby teachers acquire simultaneously both pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge in their field of expertise and are thus better equipped to carry out their educational work. The united college now has three schools working in concert: the School of Education which provides the pedagogical training, the School of Sciences where students pursue various disciplinary degree courses, and the School of Graduate Studies for advanced degrees. Alongside these schools the College's Research Authority endeavors to develop workable educational models. The College is presided over by Prof. Alean Al-Krenawi, a distinguished and widely published scholar who is the first non-Jew to be appointed to such a position in Israel. His appointment is a testimony to the College’s commitment to both academic excellence and multiculturalism.