Studying in higher education

EN - FR

Description

Higher education offers courses that lead to Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral degrees.

As a student, it is up to you to choose the higher education institution at which you want to enrol.

Higher education institutions are:

universities
colleges
schools of arts
specific educational institutions for social advancement.

There is a full list of higher education institutions recognised by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Only these institutions are authorised to organise recognised courses and thus issue recognised higher education diplomas.

In addition, some higher education courses at universities or colleges are organised as sandwich courses. This means that the skills needed to obtain the diploma are acquired partly in a company and partly in the educational institution.

Key points

There are also private higher education institutions. These institutions are not recognised by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. As a result, the diplomas offered by these institutions do not have official recognition. They cannot therefore provide access to certain jobs (in particular the civil service) or to regulated professions which require an academic degree attested by a recognised diploma.

Conditions

To enrol in higher education, you must hold an entrance qualification.

As a general rule, if you have a certified upper secondary education certificate (CESS), you may enrol in higher education. Other entrance qualifications are also provided for by the regulations:

some examinations make it possible to obtain a certificate of admission;
the selection board of the higher education institution may grant individual admission through the ‘recognising experience gained’ (valorisant les acquis de l'expérience – VAE) procedure.

If you have an upper secondary diploma from abroad, you will have to apply to the Secondary education recognition service

The admission conditions are set out in detail on the web page Enseignement.be – Conditions for admission to full-time higher education

Procedure

How do I enrol in higher education?

You must enrol directly with the higher institution of your choice, following the enrolment procedure laid down in that institution’s study regulations.

What are the deadlines for enrolment?

For the academic year 2022-2023, you have until 30 September to enrol.

You will have to pay the enrolment fee in two steps:

an advance of EUR 50 by 31 October;
the balance by 1 February.

All the deadlines for enrolment are set out in the study regulations of each institution.

What can I do if my enrolment is inadmissible or is rejected?

If your application for admission or enrolment is declared inadmissible by the institution or if the institution has not responded favourably to your application for admission by 15 November, you may lodge an appeal with the government commissioner or representative of the institution concerned.

If the institution rejects your enrolment by means of a reasoned decision, you may lodge an appeal:

firstly internally, to the academic authorities of the institution, the contact details of which are set out in the study regulations;
then externally, to CEPERI (the Academy for Research and Higher Education (ARES) Board for the examination of students’ complaints relating to enrolment rejections), if the internal appeal did not resolve the dispute; you must lodge your appeal within 15 days of notification of the decision by which the institution confirms that your enrolment application has been rejected.

The procedures for appeals are set out in the study regulations of each institution.