FAQ

The Mesetudes.be website is published by ARES, the Academy of Research and Higher Education.

ARES is the federation of higher education institutions of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. It is a public-interest organisation whose purpose is to support the different institutions so that they can carry out their teaching, research and community service missions.

Its mission is also to “supply and disseminate complete and objective information about post-secondary studies in the French Community, about the degrees awarded and about the professions they can lead to, as well as about the competences profiles and qualifications acquired by the end of studies (Landscape Decree of 7 July 2013, Article 21, §17). The Mesetudes.be website was developed in this context.

A "bridge" enables students who have successfully completed a short first cycle to access a long second cycle.

If you have obtained a bachelor's degree from a university college, a social promotion college or an arts college and wish to continue your studies to obtain a master's degree :

• the bridge between the bachelor's degree obtained and the master's degree envisaged must be included in the list of automatic bridges defined by the decree of the Government of the French Community of 30 August 2017;
• in certain cases, additional credits will be required depending on the previous pathway. The range of the minimum and maximum number of credits that can be added to the student's programme is defined in this same decree.

Use our search engine to display the list of possible "bridges" for your chosen studies ("bridges" link in the details of each result).

E-paysage aims to simplify the process of enrolling for higher education. Indeed, enrolling in a higher education institution can be a lengthy process, involving the collection of numerous documents and/or proofs that need to be obtained from various authorities (including the local authority, the French Community's Department of Education Allowances, etc.).

To make it easier for students to register in higher education, ARES is coordinating the development of e-paysage, a computerised, centralised and secure data exchange platform.

For the time being, it has already been established that this administrative simplification tool will enable the following applications:

• centralisation of enrolments
• centralisation of admissions for non-resident students for restricted studies,
• checks on students' ability to finance their studies,
• centralising graduates,
• checking higher education entrance qualifications,
• centralising applications from non-resident students for admission to quota studies,
• notifying applicants of their scholarship status.

If you obtained your upper secondary education diploma in another country, you must request equivalence of your diploma with the CESS. For all information about the steps to take to request recognition of your qualifications, go to the Administration générale de l’Enseignement (Service des Équivalences) website. Please note the submission deadlines.

If you don’t have a degree, qualification or certificate (upper secondary education or higher education) awarded by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, you must provide proof of your fluency in the French language. This requirement also applies to French-speaking students who obtained their secondary school diploma in another language. 

If you would like to enrol in one of the fields below, you should be aware that they are subject to quotas on the number of non-resident students admitted:

• university:
  • medicine,
  • veterinary sciences,
  • physiotherapy and rehabilitation,
  • dentistry,
  • psychology and education: speech therapy,
• university college,
  • physiotherapy,
  • audiology,
  • speech therapy.

Students who are not “residents” as meant by Article 1 of the Decree of 16 June 2006 regulating the number of students in certain study programmes of the first cycle of higher education are subject to a special enrolment procedure and a quota system when they want to enrol for the first time in first-cycle studies in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation: click here to find out more.

Special access conditions also apply for the following studies: veterinary sciences, engineering, medicine and dentistry, and art colleges.

In any event, contact the admissions department of the institution of your choice to find out about all of the steps and conditions for admission.

Adult higher education institutions accept enrolment all year long as the course units open up. Students can enrol for up to the first tenth of each course unit.

For example, if a course unit consists of 30 hours of classes, enrolment is possible as long as the first three hours of class have not passed.

Unless there are special provisions, the deadline for enrolment is 30 September.

However, the academic year starts on 14 September and mandatory activities may be organised at the start of the first term. The sooner you enrol, the greater opportunity you will have to validate the credits in your annual programme.

See this page to find out more.

Institutions may refuse enrolment or admission, by means of a formally substantiated decision and in accordance with the procedure laid down in the School Regulations:

• if the student cannot be financed;
• when the application for enrolment is for studies that are not eligible for funding;
• if the student has been expelled from a higher education institution for serious misconduct in the previous 3 academic years.

This is left to the discretion of the institutions, which may accept an enrolment even if the student is in one of these cases.

Students who contest the decision to refuse registration must first lodge an internal appeal. If this is rejected, the student may then appeal externally.

An enrolment request will be deemed inadmissible when the student does not meet all of the access conditions for the studies and/or does not comply with the provisions of the study rules.

The decision for inadmissibility is not a rejection of enrolment.

More information is available on our page dedicated to appeals and rejections.

You must submit a request for the equivalence of your diploma to the service of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, via their website: www.equivalences.cfwb.be.

The department you need to contact to obtain this equivalence depends on the reason for your request:

• If you wish to pursue 2^nd cycle studies (master's degree or advanced master's degree, with the exception of the upper secondary education teacher training certificate ), you must contact the higher education establishment of your choice to apply for admission to the studies that interest you.
• If you wish to work in a regulated profession in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, you should contact the equivalence service of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation via their website: www.equivalences.cfwb.be. For non-regulated professions, it is also possible to apply for equivalence of level of study and equivalence of a specific degree.

You must contact the equivalence service of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, via their website: www.equivalences.cfwb.be.

This service is the only one competent to determine whether your secondary school leaving certificate is equivalent to the Certificat d'Enseignement Secondaire Supérieur - CESS awarded in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

You should contact the university of your choice.

Theoretically, students can retake an exam as long as they are academically financeable.

Unless there is an exception, at least two evaluations must be held for each course unit (CU) during an academic year.

In addition, for Block 1 CUs offered during the first term, students have three opportunities during each academic year (January, June and September).

The study and exam rules of your institution provide details about the organisation of the evaluations.

Examination Panel deliberations take place behind closed doors. All members of the Panel have a duty to respect the secrecy of the deliberations and any votes. For first-year undergraduate students and students at the end of their degree course, the panel's decisions are made public by proclamation, then posted for at least fifteen days following the proclamation.

For other students, the Panel's decisions may be made public by posting only.

The Panel's decisions are final and collegial. Its decisions are substantiated. Upon request, a student may receive details of the results of the course evaluations on which the Panel's decision was based.

It is no longer compulsory for first-year undergraduates to sit the end-of-term exams.

You will find more information on this subject on the ‘assessments’ page.

You can find information on the various types of financial aid available in the ‘financial aid’ section of this site.

You can also visit https://aides-etudes.cfwb.be/. 

The status of "student of low income" entitles the holder to a reduction in tuition fees. The criteria for obtaining this status are defined by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

• Age, nationality and academic conditions :

You must meet the conditions for receiving a study grant from the FWB. These conditions are explained on the Wallonia-Brussels Federation website dedicated to study allowances.

• Financial conditions :

Not to exceed the ceiling for the granting of a study allowance by more than €3,558, on the basis of the warnings extracted from the tax rolls.

Total cadastral income from real estate, other than your own home, under codes 1106-2106 and/or 1109-2109, must be less than or equal to €940.90.

• Certain special situations (family or professional) or the intervention of the CPAS may also enable the status to be granted.

You will find more information on the financial support available in the "financial aid" section of this site or at www.aides-etudes.cfwb.be/.

A student may not be eligible for funding because of his or her nationality (non-EU national) or academic background.

You will find the general rules on our page dedicated to fundability.

You can also consult the ‘Funding’ Vade Mecum published by the Government Commissioners and Delegates.

However, if you would like a precise answer tailored to your personal situation, we advise you to contact your school's enrolment department or the government commissioners or delegates.

An institution may refuse to enrol a student who is not eligible for funding.

The cost of a student's studies is covered to a small extent by the tuition fees he or she pays to the institution, and to a larger extent by a subsidy paid by the French Community to the institution. This subsidy is only paid for students who are considered 'fundable'.

Institutions may refuse to enrol anyone who is not eligible for funding.

Students may not be eligible for funding:

• on grounds of nationality: students who are nationals of a country outside the European Union and who cannot be treated in the same way as a European Union student are not eligible for funding; the admission criteria and conditions for these students are described on the institutions' websites;
• for academic reasons, i.e. linked to the student's academic record.

Students who cannot be funded for academic reasons must apply to the institution for a derogation in order to enrol. The institution has the right to refuse this exemption. Find out more about the terms, conditions and deadlines from the enrolment department of the institution of your choice.

The Agency for the Evaluation of Quality in Higher Education (AEQES) is an independent public service agency that carries out formative evaluation of higher education programmes organised in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

It reports on the quality of higher education and works to constantly improve it. In doing so, it aims to encourage the development of a quality culture in institutions, the clarification of teaching profiles and training objectives in line with the institutions' missions, the dissemination of good practice and the promotion of synergies between higher education stakeholders.

Evaluation reports (by institution)

AEQES evaluates the training programmes in each of the higher education establishments in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The first follow-up evaluations began in 2013-2014.

The evaluation reports by institution can be consulted here.

www.aeqes.be

An academic hub is first and foremost a forum for consultation and dialogue between higher education institutions in the same geographical area.

Its main mission is to promote and support all forms of collaboration between its members and to encourage them to work together to offer quality services to students.

All higher education institutions belong to one or more academic hubs, depending on the location of their campuses.

There are five academic centres:

• Brussels academic centre
• Hainaut Academic Centre
• Liège-Luxembourg academic centre
• Louvain Academic Centre
• Namur Academic Centre

The Academy of Research and Higher Education (ARES) is the federation of higher education establishments in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. As a public interest organisation, it is responsible for supporting these establishments in their teaching, research and community service missions.

It brings together all the universities, colleges of higher education, schools of the arts and institutions of higher education for social advancement, and organises consultation and cooperation between them on a national and international scale.

As a single umbrella organisation, ARES ensures overall coordination of the higher education sector in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. In particular, it ensures the coherence of the training on offer and its suitability for the job market, supports institutions in their efforts to promote themselves and their international relations, and makes recommendations on scientific and artistic research policy. The Academy provides information on higher education in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. It also coordinates the institutions' commitment to lifelong learning, the promotion of success and development cooperation. Finally, it collects and processes a range of scientific and statistical data relating to the sector, with a view to monitoring, evaluating and improving practices to enhance the quality of teaching and support for the 200,000 or so students in the institutions.

www.ares-ac.be

AEF-Europe manages the education and training parts of the European Erasmus+ programme, which enables higher education students to continue their studies in another European country (3-12 months per study cycle) or to do an internship in a company (2-12 months per study cycle).

AEF-Europe also manages an exchange programme at the Belgian inter-community level. The Erasmus Belgica programme enables higher education students (university and non-university) to complete part of their curriculum in a recognised institution in a different Belgian Community or to do an internship.

www.erasmusplus-fr.be

Appointed by the Government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the Commissioners and Delegates are responsible for monitoring and advising higher education establishments.

In particular, they are responsible for :

• monitoring the legality of decisions taken by the institutions ;
• receiving appeals from students concerning refusal of enrolment and non-payment of enrolment fees.

For more information, visit the website: www.comdel.be.

All information about the entrance exam for medicine and dentistry can be found on the www.ares-ac.be/cmd website.

Since the 2013 ‘landscape’ decree, we talk about course units (CU) and learning activities (LA).

Learning activities include :

• teaching organised by the institution, in particular lectures, supervised exercises, practical work, laboratory work, seminars, creative exercises and research in workshops, excursions, visits and placements ;
• individual or group activities, in particular preparation, work, information research, final year work, projects and professional integration activities;
• study, self-study and personal enrichment activities;
• acquisition of skills in companies as part of sandwich courses.

Learning activities may be grouped together within a course unit when they are designed to enable students to acquire common skills that form a coherent educational whole.

Study programmes are structured and presented in blocks corresponding to a set of course units for a total of 60 credits.

One credit represents a workload of approximately 30 hours for the student, which includes other activities associated with the teaching organised directly by the institution, such as assignments, personal exercises, preparation, studies, projects, documentary research, tests or socio-professional immersion.

The introductory written test on advanced proficiency in the French language as a speaker and receiver in a professional context (EMLF) is a test introduced as part of the reform of initial teacher training.

It is a new, single test, organised once a year. Its main aim is to improve the French language skills of future teachers. The aim of the test is to check teachers' command of the language at the start of their studies, to diagnose any weaknesses and to introduce remedial measures.

• If the student passes the test, he or she is awarded the 5 French language credits in the programme of study.
• If the student fails the test, he or she must take a course at his or her institution equivalent to 5 credits in French language proficiency. This course will be assessed at each institution as part of Block 1.

For more information, go to the "becoming a teacher" section.

The exclusion or disciplinary sanction of a student may only be pronounced in compliance with the rules of law, summarised below:

• A sanction may only be imposed if it is provided for in the institution's regulations. These rules must have been adopted by the authority that had the power to do so.
• The decision must be taken by the authority that had the power to do so.
• The rights of defence must be respected:
  • the person sanctioned must have been given precise notice, beforehand, of the facts of which he or she is accused and of the sanction envisaged;
  • they must have access to all the documents in the file on which the sanction will be based;
  • they must have time to prepare their defence between consultation of the file and their hearing;
  • they must be given the opportunity to present their defence and may be accompanied by counsel at the hearing;
  • if several people are accused of the offences, the individual participation of each person must be examined (no collective sanction).
• The severity of the sanction must be proportionate to the seriousness of the facts established.
• ‘Non bis in idem’: a person cannot be punished twice for the same act.
• The decision must be communicated to the student and reasons must be given: indication of the legal basis, details of the acts complained of, explanation of the link between the seriousness of the acts and the penalty imposed, and possible avenues of appeal.

Yes, fluency in French is a condition for admission for certain studies and levels of study in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. More information is available on this topic on the “Enrolment conditions”.

The areas of study consist of four sections and 24 different fields¹:

Arts

• Plastic, visual and spatial arts
• Music
• Theatre and dramatic arts
• Performing arts and communication and broadcasting technology

Social & human sciences

• Philosophy
• Theology
• Languages, literatures and translation studies
• History, art history and archaeology
• Information and communication
• Political and social sciences
• Law
• Criminology
• Economics and management/management sciences
• Psychology and education

Science and technology

• Science
• Agriculture and bio-engineering
• Engineering and technology
• Architecture and town and country planning

Health

• Medicine
• Veterinary sciences
• Dentistry
• Biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences
• Public health
• Motor sciences

_{1.  In the "Arts” sector, the "Arts and art sciences” and "Dance” subjects provided for in the Landscape Decree are no longer offered and do not appear in the organisational chart above.}

Students with disabilities can benefit from special measures to help them pursue higher education.

See the ‘Students with special needs’ page for more information.

Click on the study programme selected to display the detailed results, then click on the link(s) leading the institution’s website (as long as it has been provided).

First, check if the institution offering the study programme is recognised by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation:

• search for its name with the engine
• or in the list of institutions: universities, university colleges, arts colleges, adult higher education.

If the institution is recognised by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation:

• contact the institution to check if the study programme is offered for the academic year in question.
• if it is, you can inform us of the error in the search engine via the contact form.

If the institution is not recognised by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation: Caution!

• the study programme will not be listed in this search engine
• the document (“degree”) awarded at the end of studies is not legally recognised.

The search engine uses the HOPS database(habilitations et offre programmée de l’enseignement supérieur) which is a reference database for authorisations and the offering available in WBF higher education, created as part of the Landscape project.

The database is updated with data from legal databases (decrees, orders) and from the higher education institutions themselves.

The HOPS software programme is linked to the FASE database (Fichier des Adresses et des Structures des Etablissements) for all data related to the names and addresses of the institutions and their campuses.