Wallonia

Wallonia in a Nutshell

Wallonia (French: Wallonie, German: Wallonien, Dutch: Wallonië, Walloon: Waloneye) is the southern and largely French-speaking southern semi-autonomous region of Belgium. It has a population of somewhat over 3 million so is similar in population size to several small countries of the EU.

Wallonia has an area of 16 844 km² (just over 55% of Belgium) and comprises the following provinces:

• Walloon Brabant (since 1995)
• Hainaut
• Liège
• Luxembourg
• Namur

The most important or most frequent optional responsibilities of the provinces are education (the provinces organise educational institutions, secondary or higher), culture, social welfare, heritage sites and assets, etc.

History and divisions of Wallonia

State Reforms: cultural and language-based

In the second half of the 19th century a language conflict surfaced, seeking recognition for the Dutch language (or Flemish as it is called in Belgium) as a fully-fledged language alongside French, which until then had been the only official language of Belgium. The language conflict in the sixties led to a series of state reforms and amendments to the constitution resulting in a double federation of regions and communities. Dutch became an official legal language in Belgium in 1959. In 1962 the final language boundary was territorially defined and in 1963 Belgium was divided into 4 language regions. A lot of language-based separations happened as with the unified broadcasting institution (1960), the ministerial portfolio for Culture (1962), the ministerial portfolio of National Education (1968).

1. The 1st state reform (1970) created 3 cultural communities in response to the Flemish pursuit of cultural autonomy. At the same time the foundations for the 3 regions were laid, in response to the French-speakers’ pursuit of economic autonomy.
2. The 2nd state reform (1980) extended the cultural communities to 3 communities (the Flemish, the French and the German-speaking Community), which – aside from cultural matters – were also given control of person-related matters, such as health and social security. These communities each had a council (their parliament) and a government. At the same time, two regions were established: the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region and these also got their own council and government. In Flanders the institutions of the Community and the Region immediately merged into one council and one government. The French–speaking community did not consolidate the institutions of the French-speaking Community and the Walloon Region.
3. The 3rd state reform (1988) shaped the Brussels Capital Region, which also got its own council and government, and further expanded the powers of the Communities and Regions. Responsibility for education was transferred to the Communities and entered in the Constitution (art. 127 § 1.2). 127 § 1.2). Moreover, the guarantees which had previously been laid down in the so-called Schools Pact Act of 29 May 1959 (art. 24) were also recorded in the Constitution on this occasion. Article 142 of the revised Constitution (17 February 1994) entitles every citizen to lodge an appeal with a Constitutional Court if he is of the opinion that the principles and guarantees provided in, among others, article 24 of the Constitution on Education are being violated.
4. The 4th state reform (1993) turned Belgium into a full federal state. The former bilingual province of Brabant was divided into two provinces: Vlaams-Brabant (Dutch-speaking) and Waals Brabant (French-speaking). Brussels, the capital of Belgium and, in geographical terms, the centre of the former province of Brabant, did from then on no longer form part of a province. Its special status as a bilingual region was thus reinforced.
5. The 5th state reform (the so-called Lambermont agreements) (2001) gave the different federal states both more financial resources and more powers.

Source: The Education System in the Flemish Community of Belgium (PDF - EN - 5 pages), 2006/07

Regions and Communities

Source: Original png on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Belgium_provinces_regions_striped.png

Regions and Communities

As mentioned on the Belgium page, the country is a double federation of 3 Regions ("Gewesten") and 3 language-defined Communities ("Gemeenschappen"):

• 3 Regions which are responsible for the territorial issues such as economy, infrastructure, agriculture, environment and employment
  •   the Flemish Region which we also call Flanders
  •    the Walloon Region which we also call Wallonia
  •   the Brussels-Capital Region (officially bilingual)

• 3 Communities which are responsible for the person-related issues such as education, welfare, public health and culture:
  •    the Dutch-speaking Community / Vlaamse Gemeenschap: Government, Ministry and Parliamant
  •    the French-speaking Community / Communauté Française: Government, Ministry and Parliamant
  •   the German-speaking Community / Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft: Ministry and Parliament

German-speaking Community

If you look at the map of Belgium, you can see that the German-speaking Community (Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft - DG) is a small part of the Walloon Region and therefore we will mostly discuss the French Community on this wiki page. More information on the German-speaking Community (DG):

• it comprises the whole germanophone area.
• Some 70,000 people live in the German-speaking community of Belgium, which has been presented as the best-protected minority in Europe. Nevertheless, there is a drive in the German-speaking community towards gaining more autonomy from the Walloon Region. The current president of the executive of the German-speaking community, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, wants his community to obtain regional autonomy, thus cutting it completely off from Wallonia. Source: Wikipedia's page on Wallonia
• four Ministers currently form the government of the German-speaking Community. These are each supported in their policy work by a cabinet of ancillary staff. In 2004, Oliver Paasch became Minister of Education and Research. The DG Ministry , Department of Education and Training
• the Council for National and Adult Education ensures that the interests of people from all walks of life are represented in adult education.
• the HEI in the German-speaking Community is Autonome Hochschule in der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft in Eupen

Source: DG Live – EN

Linguistics

French is the official language in most municipalities which form the French Community of Belgium. German (with facilities for speakers of French) is the official language in nine eastern municipalities which belonged to Germany until 1918 and now form the German-speaking Community of Belgium. Several French-speaking municipalities have facilities in Dutch or German (or both). Some interesting facts are:

• The variety of French spoken in Wallonia is Belgian French, which differs from the standard French of France to various degrees depending on the speaker. The French language used in the administration and in the media is very similar in Belgium and in France. One notable difference is the use of the words (numbers) septante (70) and nonante (90) in Belgium, as opposed to soixante-dix (70) and quatre-vingt-dix (90) in France.
• In 1990, Belgium also officially recognised Champenois, Gaumais, Picard, and Walloon as regional languages. All are langues d'oïl - closely related, but not identical, to French.
• The Walloon and Picard dialects were the predominant languages of the Walloon people until the beginning of the 20th century; French was the language of the upper class. With the development of education in French, these dialects have been in continual decline. There is currently an effort to revive Walloon dialects: some schools offer language courses in Walloon, which is also spoken in some radio programmes, but this effort remains very limited.
• In certain districts, special statutes (known as facilities) protect language minorities. In this case, the French-speaking citizens of the 9 districts of the Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft (DG) are thereby entitled to demand official documents in their mother tongue. Source: DG Live – EN

Source: Wikipedia's page on Wallonia

Education policy

The Parliaments of the Flemish and French Communities regulate, by federate law, education, with the exception of the setting of the beginning and of the end of compulsory education, minimum standards for the granting of diplomas, the pension scheme (according to Article 127, p. 37). And they regulate by federate law, the use of languages for education in the establishments created, subsidised or recognised by the public authorities (according to Article 129, p. 38). This is the same for the Parliament of the German-speaking Community (according to Article 130, p. 38).

Source: the Belgian Constitution (EN - PDF - 60 pages), 2009: Article 127, p. 37 and Article 129 and Article 130, p. 38

Article 24 of the Belgian Constitution lays down the educational principle such as the right on education:

§ 1. Education is free; any preventive measure is forbidden; the punishment of offences is regulated only by the law or federate law.

The community offers free choice to parents.

The community organises non-denominational education. This implies in particular the respect of the philosophical, ideological or religious beliefs of parents and pupils. Schools run by the public authorities offer, until the end of compulsory education, the choice between the teaching of one of the recognised religions and non-denominational ethics teaching.

§ 2. If a community, in its capacity as an organising authority, wishes to delegate powers to one or several autonomous bodies, it can only do so by federate law adopted by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.

§ 3. Everyone has the right to education with the respect of fundamental rights and freedoms. Access to education is free until the end of compulsory education. All pupils of school age have the right to moral or religious education at the community’s expense.

§ 4. All pupils or students, parents, teaching staff or institutions are equal before the law or federate law. The law and federate law take into account objective differences, in particular the characteristics of each organising authority that warrant appropriate treatment.

§ 5. The organisation, the recognition and the subsidising of education by the community are regulated by the law or federate law.

Source: the Belgian Constitution (EN - PDF - 60 pages), 2009, - Article 24, p. 11

The use of languages in education in Belgium was stipulated in The law of 30 July 1963 (PDF):

Article 3.

As a minority, are protected with special measures:

1° the municipalities of the linguistic border: Comines, Houthem, Bas-Warneton, Warneton, Ploegsteert, Messines, Mouscron, Luingne, Herseaux, Dottignies, Espierres, Helchin, Renaix, Flobecq, Biévène, Marcq, Enghien, Petit-Enghien, Herstappe, Mouland, Fouron-le-Comte, Fouron-Saint-Martin, Fouron-Saint-Pierre, Remersdaal, Teuven;

2° the municipalities of the German-speaking region;

3° the municipalities of Malmédy, Bellevaux-Ligneuville, Bevercé, Faymonville, Robertville et Waimes, named "municipalities malmédiennes";

4° the municipalities of Baelen, Gemmenich, Henri-Chapelle, Hombourg, Membach, Montzen, Moresnet, Sippenaeken, Welkenraedt.

Article 4.

"The language of education is Dutch in the Dutch-speaking language area, French in the the French-speaking language area and German in the German-speaking language area, except for the cases provided in Articles 6 to 8."

Article 5. (replaced by the Law of 26 July 1971)

Dans l'arrondissement de Bruxelles-Capitale, la langue de l'enseignement est le français ou le néerlandais selon le choix du chef de famille lorsque celui-ci réside dans cet arrondissement.

Article 6.

"In the municipalities , referred to in article 3, primary education can be given in another national language to children if that is their mother tongue or usual language, and if the head of the family resides in one of these municipalities."

Source: The law of 30 July 1963 (PDF)

Objectives of Education

The primary and secondary education missions were stipulated in the Decree of 24 July 2997 (FR)

The Higher Education Acts in Belgium states that the three main tasks of higher education are:

1. cooperation with society;
2. education;
3. research.

HEIs in only a few countries are not officially required to develop a strategic plan:

• The decree defining higher education in the French Community of Belgium provides the higher education objectives and the mission of the institutions.
• In the German-speaking Community of Belgium, the mission and strategic priorities of the Autonome Hochschule were not established by the institution, but by official decree in 2005.
• The HEIs in the Flemish Community of Belgium are free to draft long-term strategic or development plans and they are free to take the governmental priorities into account or not, as they decide.

Source: “The organisation of the academic year in higher education - 2008/09”. Chapter 2: Structures of Higher Education Governance ([1] – EN)

In the French Community you have the following relevant organisations and sites:

• Enseignement.be is the education portal in NL, EN, FR, DE where a list of all recognised Walloon institutes can be found. It is organised by the Ministry and the General Administration of Education and Scientific Research
• RESTODE (FR) is the Pedagogical server/portal, organised by the French Community of Belgium, and stands for RÉSeau Télématique de l'Organisation Des Études (Telematic resources for the organisation of education).
• The Orientation portal (FR) for secondary students, Centre of Documentation and Information on Studies and Professions / Centre de Documentation et d'Information sur les Etudes et Professions (CEDIEP), (FR) and Service of Information about studies and jobs web site / Service d'Information sur les Etudes et Professions (SIEP), (FR) play an orienting and informing role.
• Infosup (FR) relevant documents to Higher Education in the French Community, at enseignement.be.

Advocacy groups and Councils:

• The Federation of the French-speaking Students in Belgium / Fédération Des Etudiants Francophones (FEF) represents local student unions. It engages in debates and defends ideas around the central concept of the democratization of HE. This concept includes free access, participation of students in the decisions regarding them, adequate public financing, a reflection about pedagogy and the quality of teaching in HE. Source: European Students’ Union (ESU) web site (EN)
• The Council of Rectors of the French-speaking universities of Belgium / Conseil des Recteurs des universités de la Communauté française de Belgique (CREF)
• The Council of the Organising Powers of Official Public Funded Education / Conseil des Pouvoirs organisateurs de l'Enseignement Officiel Neutre Subventionné (regional and local level)] (FR)
• The Federation of the Independent subsidized “Free” Schools / La Fédération des Etablissements Libres Subventionnés Indépendants (FELSI) (FR), including HEIs
• The Federation of Catholic Higher Education / Fédération de l’enseignement supérieur catholique (FédESuC) (FR)
• The Inter-University Council of the French Community of Belgium / Le Conseil Interuniversitaire de la Communauté française de Belgique (CIUF) is a public agency comprising all nine universities and university faculties of the French Community and it was created by the Decree of 9 January 2003. CIUF’s main missions are to:
  • submit opinions on any matter related to university education;
  • organize the dialogue between academic institutions and vis-à-vis students and other institutions of higher education;
  • promote inter-university and inter-faculty collaboration;
  • ensure the representation of the higher education institutions of the French Community in various national or international institutions.

Source: Studying: The European dimension, Studying – Belgium and Education ... at the University – Belgium (PDF), European Youth Portal

Education system

Article 24 of the Belgian Constitution (p. 11/60 - EN - PDF lays down the principle of the freedom of education and provides for the existence of state-organized teaching. Within this constitutional framework, two networks of institutions of higher education have developed extensively:

• • Public institutions set up by the state and administered by the (linguistic) communities, or by the provincial or municipal authorities.
  • Private institutions of which the majority are denominational (Roman Catholic) and which receive financial aid from the state, subject to certain conditions.

Such as referenced in Article 24, "Access to education is free until the end of compulsory education". In Belgium (and Wallonia) primary and secondary education is obligatory.

Level	Age	Year	C	stages and cycles	Additional information
	2
Kindergarten / maternel	3	1		stage 1, 1st cycle	children that are 2 years and 6 months on 30 September can enter Kindergarten
	4	2
	5	3
Primary education / primaire	6	1	c	stage 1, 2nd cycle
	7	2	c
	8	3	c	stage 2, 3nd cycle
	9	4	c
	10	5	c	stage 2, 4nd cycle
	11	6	c
Secondary education / secondaire	12	1	c		general (G) ; technical (T) ; artistic (A) ; vocational / professionnel (P) ;
	13	2	c
	14	3	c
	15	4	c
	16	5	c
	17	6	c
Higher Education / supérieur	18	1			Universities Colleges Colleges of Arts Higher Education Institutions of Architecture
	19	2
	21	3
	22	4		cycle 2: master (1-2yrs)
	23	5-
The schools where Kindergarten and primary education are combined are called les écoles fondamentale

Private higher education is of considerable importance: it takes place either in religious institutions or in civic institutions. The community is responsible for official education.

In higher education, the academic year begins between mid-September and 1 October, depending on the course.

Source: http://www.fitforeurope.info/webcom/show_page_ffee.php?wc_c=15903&wc_id=1

More information on legal documents can be found on the portal of the circulars, issued by the French Community (FR).

Higher Education

In Wallonia distinctions are made between:

• University Education
  • Universities / Université & University-Faculties / Facultés Universitaires
• non-University Education
  • Colleges / Hautes Ecoles
  • Colleges of Art / Les écoles supérieures des arts
  • Institutes of architecture / Les Instituts Supérieur d'Architecture

All recognised institutes can be found in the Annuaire de l'enseignement supérieur

Universities

University establishments are specifically designed to offer three cycles of study and to carry out scientific research. Teaching and research go hand in hand at university level. The universities are recognised and subsidised by the French Community of Belgium. They are grouped together in the form of university academies or associations:

1. l’Académie universitaire Louvain
   1. Université Catholique de Louvain (ULC), Louvain-la-Neuve and Brussels, 21,000 students
   2. Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix à Namur (FUNDP), Namur, 4,900 students
   3. Facultés Universitaires Saint-Louis (FUSL), Brussels, 2,300 students
   4. Facultés Universitaires Catholiques de Mons (FUCaM), Mons or Charleroi, 1,300 students
2. l’Académie universitaire Wallonie-Bruxelles
   1. Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 20,241 students (2006-07)
      1. Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (SBS-EM)], Brussels, 2,700 students
      2. Hôpital Erasme, Brussels, 300 students
   2. Université de Mons-Hainaut (UMH), Mons, 3,500 students
   3. Faculté Polytechnique de Mons (FPMs), Mons, 1,200 students
3. l’Académie universitaire Wallonie-Europe or AUWE.eu
   1. Université de Liège (ULg), Liège, 7,000 students
   2. Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux (FUGAGx)/ Gembloux Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Gembloux, 1,000 students

Colleges / Hautes Ecoles

These colleges are the equivalents to the “Hogescholen” in the Flemish Community.

A. Long-term programmes:

1. Haute Ecole catholique Blaise Pascal (HEPAS)
2. Haute Ecole catholique Charleroi-Europe (HECE)
3. Haute Ecole Charlemagne (HE Charlemagne)
4. Haute Ecole de Bruxelles (HEB)
5. Haute Ecole de la Communauté française du Hainaut (HECFH)
6. Haute Ecole de la Communauté française du Luxembourg Schuman (HESCH)
7. Haute Ecole de la Communauté française Paul-Henri Spaak (HESpa)
8. Haute Ecole de la Province de Liège
9. Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer de la Ville de Bruxelles (HEFF)
10. Haute Ecole Galilée (HEGal)
11. Haute Ecole «Groupe ICHEC - ISC Saint-Louis - ISFC» (HE Groupe ICHEC)
12. Haute Ecole Léonard de Vinci (HELdV)
13. Haute Ecole libre de Bruxelles - Ilya Prigogine (HELB-IP)
14. Haute Ecole Lucia de Brouckère (HELdB)
15. Haute Ecole mosane d’Enseignement supérieur (HEMES)
16. Haute Ecole provinciale de Charleroi - Université du Travail (HEPCUT)
17. Haute Ecole provinciale du Hainaut occidental (HEPHO)
18. Haute Ecole Roi Baudouin (HERB)

B. Short-Term programmes / courses:

1. Haute Ecole de la Communauté française de Namur Albert Jacquard
2. Haute Ecole de la province de Namur
3. Haute Ecole de la Ville de Liège
4. Haute Ecole de Namur
5. Haute Ecole EPHEC
6. Haute Ecole Institut supérieur d’Enseignement libre liégeois
7. Haute Ecole libre du Hainaut occidental
8. Haute Ecole provinciale Mons - Borinage - Centre

The Institutes of Higher Education and the Art Academies organise short–term or long-term higher education courses. The Higher Institutes of Architecture only offer long-term higher education courses.

Short-term higher education courses that lead to vocational qualifications are organised in one single cycle that leads to the academic grade of Bachelor (180 to 240 credits). The programme contains both practical and theoretical elements. Some institutes of higher education also offer a year of specialisation at the end of the 1st cycle.

Colleges of Arts

They provide artistic education in visual arts, music, theater and the arts of speech, performing arts ... and are governed according to the Decree of 17 May 1999 and the Decree of 20 December 2001 established specific rules regarding organisation, financing, management, personnel status, rights and duties of students.

Source: Enseignement.be - Les écoles supérieurs des arts

1. Académie des Beaux-Arts et des Arts décoratifs de Tournai
2. Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles
3. Académie royale des Beaux-Arts de Liège
4. Conservatoire royal de Musique de Bruxelles
5. Conservatoire royal de Musique de Liège
6. Conservatoire royal de Musique de Mons
7. Ecole de Recherche Graphique - E.R.G.
8. Ecole nationale supérieure des Arts visuels de la Cambre
9. L’Ecole Supérieure communale des Arts de l’image «Le 75»
10. Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque
11. L’Ecole Supérieure des Arts Institut Saint-Luc à Tournai
12. Ecole supérieure des Arts plastiques et visuels
13. I.A.D. – Institut des Arts de diffusion
14. I.N.S.A.S. – Institut national supérieur des Arts du spectacle et des Techniques de diffusion
15. Institut Saint-Luc
16. Institut Saint-Luc de Liège
17. I.M.E.P – Institut supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie

Institutes of architecture

This HEI type is referenced in the law of 18 February 1977 which contained provisions relating to organic education architectural Higher Education (long type).

Source: http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=23726&navi=2500

1. Institut supérieur d’Architecture de la Communauté française – La Cambre
2. Institut supérieur d’Architecture Intercommunal (I.S.A.I.)
   1. /horta Sede de Bruselas - Institut supérieur Victor Horta - ULB Campus de la plaine
   2. /architecture.htm Sede de Mons - Institut supérieur d’Architecture
   3. Sede de Lieja - Institut supérieur d’Architecture Lambert Lombard
   4. Institut supérieur d’Architecture Saint-Luc Bruxelles
3. Institut supérieur d’Architecture Saint-Luc de Wallonie
   1. Sede de Lieja
   2. /html/architecture/archiframe.html Sede de Tournai

Sources: on StudyInBelgium.be:

• Establishments higher education
• Specific Features and Assets of higher Education in the Wallonia-Brussels Community

The Government of the French Community provides secondary schools with information related to higher education as well as the requirements for each pathway. It is presented in the form of publications, such as: "L’enseignement supérieur. Mode d’emploi" (PDF - FR) from http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/Eurydice/Search?mode=2

Networks

The Hainuyer Network of Higher and University Education (RHeSU or in full Réseau Hainuyer d'Enseignements Supérieurs et Universitaires) was born from the synergy between 2 academic institutions, 4 high schools and 4 higher education in architecture and arts. This educational centre organizes more than 200 courses on 7 terminal locations in 9 areas covering 13 educational guidelines. The offered courses provide Bachelor and Master degrees.

Higher education reform

Cultural, linguistic and political reforms in Belgium

From 1970 to 2001 there were already 5 reforms that split Belgium and created first cultural communities, then communities with responsibilities for person-related matters and regions, the separate bilingual region of Brussels, ... Read more information on these reforms on the Re.ViCa wiki page on Belgium.

In 2007-2008, Belgium was often mentioned in the news concerning the tensions between the Flemish and French Community as the first one wants to keep its cities Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde while the latter wants to add these cities to its jurisdiction to also respectively keep and add the citizens’ extra votes (Belgium has a duty to vote). With these discussions it often occurs that some people say that Belgium should be divided and perhaps even be added to neighbouring countries of the respective similar languages (Flanders with the Netherlands and Wallonia with France).

Source: Where does the BHV crisis originate? / “Waar ligt de oorsprong van (de) BHV (crisis)” (BE)

Educational reforms in Belgium

Discussions between Flanders and Wallonia aren’t actually a new matter, as the following article on the site of the Walloon region mentions language-based discussions and their influence in the academic world. Please note that before long secondary and higher education institutions in Belgium only taught in French. “[…] in the 20th century a strong regional awareness was to emerge in Flanders which would transform the academic world. The University of Gent underwent 'Flemishization' in 1928. Linguistic parity was established for the management boards of the FNRS and other research centres. In the years that followed, courses in the Dutch language were put on the curriculum of the Law Faculty of the ULB (Free University of Brussels). By 1955, this partitioning spread to all faculties, and in 1970 the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels was founded.

This linguistic partitioning led to an important event in 1968. In the University of Louvain, which had been bilingual since the early 20th century, the tension was mounting. Suddenly, there were strident calls for the French-speaking students to be expelled ("Walen buiten!"). This created a split in the Belgian academic world. The Flemish kept Louvain, while the French-speaking authorities set up the Catholic University of Louvain, with the Faculty of Medicine in Woluwé and other faculties in Louvain-la-Neuve.”

Source: Discover Wallonia - Education

A partition that is still apparent to this day. The language, used in education in Belgium today, depends on the language area the institution is located in, as mentioned on the Belgium page and above (Wallonia in a Nutshell / Communities & Regions: you have the 3 language-defined communities and the capital Brussels, which is bilingual. The dominant languages in the HEIs in these separate entities are accordingly.

Recent mergers in Wallonia

The Decree of 5 August 1995 foresaw mergers of the Higher Education in the French Community to obtain an optimization of the training, resources and operations but also the consistency and clarity for better integration in the European Higher Education. Mergers in 2007-2008 were:

1. The University-College of the Province of Liege / La Haute Ecole de la Province de Liège (HEPL) from Rennequin Sualem, Léon-Eli Troclet and André Vésale.
2. The University-College of Namur / La Haute Ecole de Namur from The Catholic University-College of Namur / Haute école namuroise catholique (HENAC) and University-College of Teaching of Namur / la Haute école d’enseignement supérieur de Namur (IESN).

In 2008/2009, 29 University-Colleges became 25: La Haute Ecole libre mosane (HELMo) was the result of the merger of la Haute Ecole mosane d’Enseignement supérieur (HEMES) and la Haute Ecole ISELL. Future mergers are also being planned.

Source: http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=23811&navi=2537

The Bologna Process

The Decree of 31 March 2004 defined the Higher Education for Belgium and promoted its integration into the European area of higher education and universities refinancing.

The Bologna Process lead to some significant changes in the Belgian educational system, including in the French Community:

• The "credit" is a unit corresponding to the time spent by the student on a learning activity within a programme of studies in a given discipline. The study year remains the reference point and corresponds to 60 credits. The credit system is based on ECTS (European Credit Transfer System).
• Bachelor-master structure or “baccalauréat-maîtrise” structure:
  • First cycle - the bachelors, which correspond to a minimum of three years of study (180 credits) and lead to a bachelor’s degree. Higher educational studies of the short type previously leading to a ‘graduat’ qualification and the first study cycle known as the “candidature” at university have thus been replaced by the bachelors degree.
  • Second cycle - the masters: after obtaining a bachelors degree, the student can continue his education with a second cycle of studies. These lead to the degree of master over one year (60 credits) or two years (120 credits), or in medicine over a minimum of four years (240 credits) or in veterinary medicine after a minimum of three years (180 credits). Finally in some branches, the masters can be completed by a supplementary masters of a minimum one year (60 credits).
  • Third cycle: the doctorate, which only applies to university education and is accessible to students who have completed at least 300 credits. Third cycle studies consist of doctoral training (60 credits) leading to a qualification in research and in the preparation of a doctoral thesis (at least 180 credits), leading to a doctorate degree after the thesis has been defended.
• Cooperation to ensure the quality of higher education etc.
• Mobility of the students and academic staff

The French Community distinguishes between universities (offering bachelor, master and doctoral courses) and higher education outside the universities (offering only bachelor courses): colleges (Hautes Ecoles), arts colleges, and institutes of architecture.

Sources:

• Information and presentations on The Bologna Declaration at the Enseignement.be web site
• The Wallonia-Brussels Community and the European Higher Education Area”, 1 web page (English) by StudyInBelgium.be.

Administration and finance

Relevant source on the legal framework is the Decree of 5 August 1995 (FR) established the general organisation of Higher Education in the University-Colleges and was amended by the [2] Decree of 30 June 2006 which modernised the operation and the finances of the University-Colleges.

Costs

In the French Community, the unit costs established per student correspond to a normative cost per student, which is established by considering various factors such as, for example, optimal student/staff ratios and other standardised efficiency measures used to calculate what the costs per student ought to be, rather than what they are on an actual or average basis. The French Community of Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Malta use an approach based essentially on input in the award of basic funding for research.

While in the German-speaking Community of Belgium, a new funding system for operational costs at the only HEI (Autonome Hochschule) is being prepared and will be applied from 2009/10. Initiatives in the fields of training and research, taken by this HEI since 2005, can be taken into account for the annual lump sum.

Source: “The organisation of the academic year in higher education - 2008/09.” Chapter 3: Direct Public Funding Of Higher Education Institutions (PDF - EN)

Public Funding

In the French Community of Belgium the amounts of tuition fees are determined by the central education authorities. Donations made to HEIs may be the object of tax relief for donors.

Source: “The organisation of the academic year in higher education - 2008/09” Chapter 4: Private Funds Raised By Higher Education Institutions (PDF – EN)

Who can apply

The first year of higher non-university education is accessible mainly to students who have an upper secondary school leavers' certificate (CESS). Those with a foreign diploma or certificate may also be eligible for this level of education, provided they have obtained equivalency.

Students who enrol in higher non-university education must pay fees (the minerval). The minimum payment is set by regulations (there are special fees for certain foreign students). Subject to certain pedagogical and financial conditions, students can be awarded study grants or loans. The forms of assistance offered also include other benefits, such as low-cost meals, assistance by the social services connected with hautes écoles, season tickets for transport, etc.

At the end of the seventh year of secondary vocational education, pupils who wish to apply for university-level higher education must take a test before the Examining Board of the French Community to obtain the certificate of aptitude for higher education (diplôme d'aptitude à accéder à l'enseignement supérieur – DAES). First-cycle university courses are accessible mainly to students who have been awarded the secondary school leavers' certificate. Those who have been awarded a foreign diploma or a certificate may also be eligible for university education, provided they have obtained equivalency.

Those wishing to enter the first cycle of applied science or the first cycle of veterinary science must also take an entrance examination.

The French Community does not apply a numerus clausus. However, a quota is applied for medical courses: students must take a selection examination at the end of the second cycle of study. Similar arrangements have been introduced for dentistry.

Source: French Community - Structures of education, vocational training and adult education systems in Europe, 2003 Edition – PDF – EN

Relevant Source: Document Required to Register in the The University of Liege

The Statistics of Higher Education / Statistiques de l'enseignement supérieur (SATURN) (FR) are available for the academic school year of 2006-2007. An example is the Higher Education Student Population for 2006-2007 (XLS - FR) according to province and city and for short and long terms.

Registration Fees

For Belgian and European students, higher education is financed to a very large extent by the public authorities. Every year, students must pay a registration fee. University enrolment fees were laid down in a clause in the Law of 27 July 1971 on the financing and supervision of university institutions. Subject to fulfilment of certain educational and financial conditions, students can benefit from student grants or loans. This assistance is supplemented by other benefits such as low-priced meals, assistance granted by welfare services linked to the universities, season tickets for transport, etc.

Source: French Community - Structures of education, vocational training and adult education systems in Europe, 2003 Edition – PDF – EN

The amount of this fee varies depending on the higher education establishment and the type of programme followed. For example, for the academic year 2008-2009, the registration fee for Belgian and EU students is set as follows :

• To register with an university: € 811.00. On top of the usual fees, students from outside the European Union will be required to pay additional annual fees. To find out the exact amount, please contact the university in question.
• To register with an institute of higher education, a college of the arts or a higher institute of architecture:
  • for a long-term course: € 330,07 (and € 428,56 for the academic year in which the qualification is awarded);
  • for a short-term course: € 165,03 (and € 214,28 for the academic year in which the qualification is awarded).
• To these amounts must be added a specific fee for non-EU nationals whose parents are not resident in Belgium. The sum amounts to around € 1,500.00 for the first cycle and € 2,000.00 for the second and third cycles.

For the academic year of 2007-2008, the minerval rates (FR) for EU-based students were in general: 105 euros - 458 euros - 788 euros.

Source: Study in Belgium - Registration fees (EN)

Grants

1. The Wallonia-Brussels Community grants: grants can be awarded by the French Community of Belgium and by the universities. Web site: Wallonia-Brussels International (WBRI)
2. The European Union grants: grants are also awarded within the framework of European programmes :
   1. The SOCRATES/ERASMUS and LEONARDO programmes
   2. The ERASMUS MUNDUS programme
   3. The ALBAN grant programme for students from Latin America. In 2002, the European Commission adopted this programme.
3. The Grants of the University Agency of Francophony targeting students, teachers and researchers

Source: StudyInBelgium: Financial aspects

Relevant Sources: Financial aspects](FR) on Enseignement.be, with subpages on school fees (FR), social benefits (FR), discount on public transport subscriptions (FR)

Quality assurance - Accreditation

Inspection in general

The Decree of 8 March 2007 created a Pedagogical Support and Advice Service for the education organized by the French Community.

The Decree of the French Community, adopted on 23 March 2004 (the decree "Bologna"), translated the decree’s intentions for the Higher Education of the French Community. The Decree of 31 March 2004 – 18 June 2004 (PDF - FR) defined Higher Education, promoted its integration into the European area of Higher Education and refinanced universities.

Source: http://www.restode.cfwb.be/pgens/sup/superieur.htm?i=mEtsitem_4

The General Inspectorate Service was reformed after the Decree of 8 March 2007 (FR), enforced on 1 September 2007. The decree created this General Inspectorate Service within the Government. It is headed by a General Coordinator under the authority of the Director General of the General Administration of Education and Scientific Research. Some of its Inspection Services are also for Higher Education (Enseignement supérieur) such as:

• The Inspection Service of Social Welfare Education (FR);
• The Inspection Service of the Arts Education (FR);

Source: http://www.restode.cfwb.be/pgens/org_cf/insp/inspection.htm

On the web site Enseignement.be you can find an overview of the several inspection divisions: The annual administration: inspection (FR).

Agency for the Evaluation of Higher Education Quality

The Agency for the Evaluation of the Quality of Higher Education (l'Agence pour l'Evaluation de la Qualité dans l'Enseignement supérieur) was created by the [http://www.cdadoc.cfwb.be/cdadocrep/pdf/2002/20021114s27175.pdf Decree of 14 November 2002 and is organized or subsidized by the French Community. Its missions are to:

• promote, through cooperation among all components of Higher Education, the implementation of practices to improve quality at each institution;
• provide an assessment of Higher Education, highlighting good practices, shortcomings and problems to solve, without disclosing the data for each institution;
• identify and plan on a multi-year assessments to be carried out;
• ensure compliance assessment procedures;
• establish the list of experts and appoint the Chairman of the experts;
• represent the French Community with national and international bodies in evaluating the quality of higher education;
• generate proposals to be sent to political leaders to improve the overall quality of higher education;
• make proposals on the performance of its tasks in the initiative or at the request of the Government.

A more recent decree relevant to the Agency is the Decree of 22 February 2008, stipulating various measures related to the organization and functioning of the Agency for the Evaluation of the quality of higher education organized or subsidized by the French Community.

Relevant documents:

• Quality Criteria As A Powerful Tool For Training, Awareness Raising And Evaluation – Ilustrations Through Contrasted Use (PDF – EN), 2003, by Marianne POUMAY, University of Liège.
• Higher Education in the French Community of Belgium (PPT), Statistics observatory; Higher Education Quality Evaluation Agency
• Comparative analysis of validation policies in France, Wallonia (PPT), Higher Education, education for adults – comparison Flanders, Wallonia and France

Relevant sites:

• Initiative de Mise en Partage des Expériences Qualité dans l'Enseignement Supérieur (IMPEQES)
• PublicQuality.be offers a Common Assessment Framework for public office which can be used as a self-assessment. (documentation in English)

Walloon HEIs in the information society

Towards the information society

Connectivity

“Since the beginning of 2008, all colleges of higher education in the Walloon Region have a 1 Gbit/s connection to the BELNET knowledge network. […] All institutions of higher education received a free high-speed connection thanks to the combined efforts of the Walloon Region, Sofico and BELNET.”

Source: “Colleges of higher education project in Wallonia 100% operational”, Newsletter BELNET, April 2008

Related Document: Announcement: “Walloon higher education on route for super fast internet (PDF - EN - 2 pages)”, 2006, by Presscenter.org

Innovation governance and policy trends

In Wallonia, the legal framework covering research and innovation activities has been modified in order notably to be in line with the new EU State Aid framework and help the region face new challenges. An e-learning platform has also been set up by the Walloon Agency for Telecommunications with a view to coordinating and federating the actors and initiatives in favour of e-learning in the Walloon Region and the French Community.

Source: http://www.proinno-europe.eu/index.cfm?fuseaction=country.showCountry&topicID=108&parentID=52&ID=2

Distance Education

The Decree of 18 December 1984 stipulates rules concerning Distance Education. The government has a subsection on its site for distance education / L'Enseignement à Distance.

Relevant organisations

RESTODE is the pedagogical server/portal, organised by the French Community of Belgium. It is the acronym for (in French) RÉSeau Télématique de l'Organisation Des Études (Telematic resources for the organisation of education) and contributes, through its own resources and the Internet, to the realisation and implementation of educational and pedagogical projects in the French Community’s educational field. One of its objectives is to encourage the development and use of ICT applied to education. It proposes among others to provide a data base with pedagogical documentation (pedagogical resources such as articles, a list of pedagogical servers by country and notebooks for different subject matters).

Source: http://www.restode.cfwb.be

Virtual initiatives in HE

The Virtual Campus at the University of Liege.  “WebCT CE6, Aide en ligne de l'étudiant”, a student guide for use of WebCT (PDF), 169 pages

The MegaTrends project listed a case study article on the Virtual Campus of the University of Liège in their second book, [Megaproviders of e-learning in Europe (PDF - 212 pages) (ISBN 978 82 562 88184). The article “The Virtual Campus of the University of Liège”, Belgium (PDF), 12 pages, 2007, by Prof. Marianne Poumay, Director of LabSET, University of Liège is available in English and French.

HEC-ULg has developed a virtual campus also called Lola - which is an interactive interface between the lecturer and his/her audience. Once students have received their ULg registration number and password*, they can register for each course they are interested in available on the virtual campus. The lecturer will contact students directly and provide them with all useful information related to his/her course (agenda, group assignments, powerpoint slide shows, etc.). Contact with the other students registered in the course is also possible.

campusvirtuel.be from 3 Business Schools (Solvay, HEC-ULg and LSM), article in French: "Solvay, HEC-ULg et la LSM créent ensemble un campus virtuel"

“State of the art of e-learning in Belgium” (PDF), 16 pages, 2007, by Marc ZUNE (FNRS)

Studies in the Context of the e-learning Initiative: Virtual Models for European Universities (lot 1)(PDF), 200 pages, 2003,Final Report to the EU Commission, DG Education & Culture, Annex F Country profiles

An 'eLearning Country Brief of Belgium' of the eUSER project is available at http://euser-eu.org/eUSER_eLearningCountryBrief.asp?CaseID=2240&CaseTitleID=1081&MenuID=117.

Table II: Virtual learning initiatives in Belgium

Name	Institution	City	Type
Campus Virtuel en Gestion (CVG)	Management School – University of Liege	Liège	Share resources & create remote courses
Les cours en ligne	Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix à Namur	Namur	e-courses?
Formasup: Complementary Master in Higher Education Pedagogy	University of Liège	Liège	Blended learning courses
Laboratoire de Soutien à l'Enseignement Télématique (LabSET)	Université de Liège	Liège	research and expertise center in distance learning
Learning Online @ccess (Lol@)	Management School – University of Liege	Liège	LMS
Learn on line	- Learn on line IFRES/LabSET - University of Liège	Liège	portal
ICampus / WebCampus	La Haute Ecole de la Province de Namur	Namur	LMS (Claroline)
Virtual University of FUSL	Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis (FUSL)	Brussels	LMS (Claroline)
Virtual University of l'ULB	l'Université Libre de Bruxelles	Brussels	LMS (WebCT – Blackboard)
Virtual Campus of ULg	University of Liège	Liège	e-learning portal (e-Agora), LMS (WebCT – Blackboard?) with e-courses

Furthermore the Université de Liège / ULB have FORMADIS, through which they give information sessions on e-learning

References

• International Studyrama Fair for Higher Education of Brussels
• The Brochure of Higher Education (FR)

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