Belgium

Partners situated in Belgium:

• AVNet - K.U.Leuven
• EuroPACE
• Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba (ATiT)

Note: One of the universities in Belgium is K.U.Leuven.

Belgium in a nutshell

Source: Original gif on: the CIA's "The World Factbook" / Belgium

The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 km2 (11,787 square miles) and has a population of about 10.5 million. Belgium is a federal state in Europe with a constitutional monarchy, founded in 1830, and its capital is Brussels.

The citizens of Belgium are called Belgians. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home for two main linguistic groups, the Dutch speakers/Flemings and the French speakers, mostly Walloons, plus a small group of German speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north, with 59% of the population, and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia with 31% of the population. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region and near the Walloon Region, and has 10% of the population. A small German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.

This Belgium page is a merger of the information found on the Flanders and Wallonia pages, but you can still visit those separate pages for your convenience.

History

The name 'Belgium' is derived from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed "the battlefield of Europe" and "the cockpit of Europe" - a reputation strengthened by both World Wars. Upon its independence, Belgium eagerly participated in the Industrial Revolution. Its King privately possessed the "Congo Free State" in Southern Africa until it was later annexed by the Kingdom of Belgium as the Belgian Congo" until it became independent as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The second half of the 20th century was marked by the rise of communal conflicts between the Flemings and the Francophones fuelled by cultural differences on the one hand and an asymmetrical economic evolution of Flanders and Wallonia on the other hand. These still-active conflicts have caused far-reaching reforms of the unitary Belgian state into a federal state. There is constant speculation by observers that this process of devolution might lead to the partition of the country.

Source: Wikipedia's page on Belgium

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

Belgium is a double federation of:

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

• 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

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

• There are four language areas:
  •   the Dutch area: the provinces in Flanders: Antwerp, Limburg, Flemish Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders
  •   the French area: the provinces in Wallonia: Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Namur, Luxembourg, Liège
  •   the German area: the 9 municipalities of the “East Cantons” / Eupen-Malmedy
  •   the bilingual area in Brussels-Capital with 19 municipalities

Note: 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.

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

Belgium has 10 provinces:

In Flanders you have West-Flanders / West-Vlaanderen, East-Flanders / Oost-Vlaanderen, Flemish Brabant / Vlaams-Brabant, Antwerp / Antwerpen and Limburg. In Wallonia you have Hainaut, Brabant wallon, Liège, Namur and Luxembourg. The most important or most frequent optional responsibilities of these provinces are education (the provinces organise educational institutions, secondary or higher), culture, social welfare, heritage sites and assets, etc.

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).

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

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

Education policy in Belgium

The Belgian Constitution stipulates that everyone has the right to education and therefore established compulsory education. Belgium also provides that access to education is free of charge up to the end of secondary education. 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

As a result of the constitutional reform in Belgium the Dutch speaking and the French-speaking higher education systems were separated. 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

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)

"In the district of Bruxelles-Capital, the language of education is French or Dutch la langue de l'enseignement est le français ou le néerlandais according to the choice of the head of the family if he/she resides in this district."

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)

Two groups organise the educational structure: the public sector (the communes, provinces and communities) and the private sector. In the public sector there are 3 educational networks:

• community schools: neutral on religious, philosophical or ideological convictions
• subsidised publicly run schools: organized by communes and provinces
• subsidised privately run schools: denominational schools and schools which are not affiliated to a particular religion: the Freinet schools, Montessori schools or Steiner schools, which adopt particular educational methods and are also known as ‘method schools’.

Education that is organised for and by the government (community education and municipal and provincial education) is known as publicly run education. Recognised education organised on private initiative is called privately run education.

Education policy in Flanders

As a result of the constitutional reform in Belgium the Dutch speaking and the French-speaking higher education systems were separated. The Flemish government wanted to do things ‘differently and better’. This led to a new higher education legislation in the early 1990s and to a policy based on the principles of deregulation, autonomy and accountability.

In general, there are two types of institutions: universities and university colleges or "hogescholen".

The Flemish government wanted to treat all institutions on an equal basis. New legislation made the former state universities autonomous and gave them almost the same responsibility as the ‘free’ universities. In terms of deregulation, autonomy and accountability the same principles were introduced for the hogescholen. This led in conjunction with the merger operation in 1995 to a fundamental change in the relationship between the government and the hogescholen. Former centralised and detailed regulations were replaced by a management regime aimed at achieving a balanced combination of broad autonomy and responsibility for the hogescholen. The higher education regulations as a whole – universities and hogescholen – became more integrated. The previous government wanted to bring the decree on universities (1991) and the decree on the hogescholen (1994) into line with each other without affecting the nature of the university and college education. This integration process has been stimulated even more by the 2003 legislation on the restructuring of higher education in order to implement the Bologna process.

In terms of policy preparation the following organisations play an important role in Flanders:

• The Flemish Education Council (Vlaamse Onderwijsraad - VLOR) was founded in 1991. It is the advisory and consultative body for all educational matters. All draft decrees in the field of education must be submitted to the VLOR. Furthermore, the VLOR can give advice to the Flemish government on its own initiative. The VLOR consists of a general council and separate councils for primary, secondary, higher and adult education. The general council is composed of representatives of the organising bodies, school staff, parents and socio-economic organisations, university experts and Education Department representatives.

• The Flemish Socio-Economic Council (Sociaal-Economische Raad van Vlaanderen - SERV), composed of representatives of employers and employees, gives advice on all draft decrees, including those in the field of education. The SERV plays an important role in the relationship between education

and the world of work.

• The Flemish Interuniversity Council (Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad - VLIR) is an autonomous body of public utility with its own corporate status. It acts as a defender of the universities and as an advisor to the Flemish government on university issues (consultation, advice and recommendations).

• A similar body has been established for the institutions of non-university higher education - the Flemish Council for hogescholen ([VLHORA). It was founded during the academic year 1996-1997 and represents the hogescholen. The Council gives advice and makes proposals to the Flemish government with regard to the education in the hogescholen. At the same time it can provide consultation among the hogescholen

• The National Union of Students in Flanders (VVS) is the umbrella organisation of student unions at Flemish universities and hogescholen. The National Union of Students in Flanders gives advice at the request of the Flemish government.

Education policy in Wallonia

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 ([2] – 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 in Belgium

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 is denominational (such as Roman Catholic) and which receive financial aid from the state, subject to certain conditions. The minority is not affiliated to a particular religion: the Freinet schools, Montessori schools or Steiner schools, which adopt particular educational methods and are also known as ‘method schools’.

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

Level	Age	Year	Compulsory	stages and cycles	Additional information
	2
Kindergarten/Nursery/pre-primary / maternel (FR) or kleuteronderwijs (NL)	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 (FR) or basisschool/lagere school (NL)	6	1	c	stage 1, 2nd cycle	Note': in the French Community, the schools where Kindergarten and primary education are combined are called les écoles fondamentale
	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 (FR) or secundair/middelbaar (NL)	12	1	c	stage 3, 5th cycle	general (G) / algemeen (ASO) (NL) ; technical (T) / technisch (TSO) (NL) ; artistic (A) / kunst (KSO) (NL) vocational (P) / professionnel (FR) or beroeps (BSO) (NL)  ; special needs / buitengewoon (BuSO) (NL)
	13	2	c
	14	3	c
	15	4	c
	16	5	c
	17	6	c
Higher Education / supérieur (FR) or hoger (NL)	18	1		cycle1: Bachelor (3 yers)|	in Wallonia: Universities, Colleges, Colleges of Arts and Higher Education Institutions of Architecture in Flanders: Universities, University Colleges and Colleges (Hogescholen)
	19	2
	21	3
	22	4		cycle 2: master (1-2yrs)
	23	5-

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

Higher education

Higher education in Flanders - Universities and Polytechnics

Remark: Polytechnics are called University Colleges or "Hogescholen" in Flanders.

On 4 April 2003 the Flemish government approved the Decree on the restructuring of higher education in Flanders. A new qualification structure was introduced. One-cycle programmes have been converted to the level of bachelor’s degree. Two-cycle programmes in hogescholen are academic education: academic bachelor courses and master courses in association with a university. The system should be regarded as a binary system: professional higher education at the ‘hogescholen’ and academic higher education at the universities and at the hogescholen (associations). The ‘hogescholen’ can award academic degrees in cooperation with a university. Still the universities have the monopoly of awarding doctor’s degrees.One of the consequences is that co-operation between universities and hogescholen is increase considerably with the development of associations. Universities and university colleges cooperate intensively, especially in the field of research, in the Associations. These are formed by one university and at least one university college. As a third kind, the Flemish government has recognised a number of "registered" institutes of higher education, which mostly issue specialised degrees or provide education mainly in a foreign language. The educational provision in Flemish tertiary education is laid down in the Higher education register that contains all the accredited higher education programmes in Flanders. There are 39 recognised Higher Education Institutions. The Universities and Colleges are divided into 5 associations. The registered Institutions are not a member of an Association. A few tertiary education institutes are not regulated by the corresponding laws on tertiary education. The Faculty of Protestant Theology in Brussels and the Evangelical Theological Faculty (in Heverlee award degrees in Protestant Theology. They are recognised as private institutes. Whatever their origin, all institutions mentioned above are officially recognised by the Flemish authorities. The following postgraduate institutions have the same status:

• Institute of Development Policy and Management,
• Institute of Tropical Medicine,
• Vlerick Leuven-Gent Management School

Please see the table below, for a complete overview:

Association	Type	English name / web pages	Original language / web pages'	City	students
K.U.Leuven Association	Fl Uni	Katholieke Universiteit Leuven	Katholieke Universiteit Leuven	Leuven	30,442 (2005-06)
	FL Uni	Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel	Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel	Brussels	7,000 (full-time)
	FL Col	Lessius	Lessius	Antwerp
	FL Col	Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg]	Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg	Hasselt	5,500
	FL Col	Sint-Lukas Brussels University College of Art and Design	Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussel	Brussels	750
	FL Col	University College for Sciences and Arts	Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst	Brussels
	FL Col	KH Kempen University College	Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen	Geel	6,200
	FL Col		Katholieke Hogeschool Brugge-Oostende	Bruges-Ostend
	FL Col	Catholic University College Ghent	Katholieke Hogeschool Sint-Lieven	Ghent	5,000
	FL Col	Group T-International University College Leuven	Groep T - Internationale Hogeschool Leuven	Leuven	5,000
	FL Col	Katholieke Hogeschool Zuid-West-Vlaanderen	Katholieke Hogeschool Zuid-West-Vlaanderen	Kortrijk	7,000
	FL Col		Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven	Leuven
	FL Col	Mechelen University College	Katholieke Hogeschool Mechelen	Mechelen	4,400
Antwerp University Association	FL Uni	University of Antwerp	Universiteit Antwerpen	Antwerp	11,000
	FL Col	Antwerp Maritime Academy	Hogere Zeevaartschool	Antwerp
	FL Col	Karel de Grote-Hogeschool Antwerp	Karel de Grote-Hogeschool	Antwerp	7,250
	FL Col		Plantijn-Hogeschool (van de Provincie Antwerpen)	Antwerp
	FL Col		Artesis (Hogeschool Antwerpen)	Antwerp
Brussels university association	FL Uni	Vrije Universiteit Brussel	Vrije Universiteit Brussel	Brussels	9,157
	FL Col	Erasmushogeschool Brussel	Erasmushogeschool Brussel	Brussels
Ghent University Association	FL Uni	Ghent University	Universiteit Gent	Ghent	30,000
	FL Col	University College Arteveldehogeschool	Arteveldehogeschool	Ghent	8,600
	FL Col	University College Ghent	Hogeschool Gent	Ghent	15,000
	FL Col	University College West Flanders (HOWEST)	Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen	Kortrijk-Bruges-Ostend	4,500
universiteit - hogescholen Limburg association	FL Uni	Hasselt University	Universiteit Hasselt	Hasselt	2,219
	FL Col	PHL University College	Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg	Hasselt
	FL Col	XIOS University College Limburg	XIOS Hogeschool Limburg	Hasselt	3,000
Registered Institution	FL RHEI	Flanders Business School		Antwerp
Registered Institution	FL RHEI	Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp	Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde	Antwerp	250
Registered Institution	FL RHEI	College of Europe		Bruges/Warsaw	300 in Bruges
Registered Institution	FL RHEI		Faculteit voor Protestantse Godgeleerdheid Brussel	Brussels
Registered Institution	FL RHEI	Vesalius College		Brussels
Registered Institution	FL RHEI	Evangelical Theological Faculty (ETF)	Evangelische Theologische Faculteit	Heverlee	200 full-time and part-time
Registered Institution	FL RHEI	Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School	Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School	Leuven-Ghent
Registered Institution	FL RHEI	Continental Theological Seminary		Sint-Pieters-Leeuw

In Flanders, the following higher education courses are provided:

• Bachelor courses( Professional bachelor courses and Academic bachelor courses)
• Master courses
• Further training programmes
• Postgraduates and updating and in-service training courses
• Doctoral programmes

Higher professional education exclusively consists of professionally oriented bachelor courses, which are only organised at colleges of higher education. Academic education comprises bachelor and master courses, which are provided by universities. Also colleges of higher education belonging to an association are allowed to provide academic education.

Adult Education In Flanders there are several publicly funded education, training and developmental provision schemes for adults. Within part-time adult education, 3 different actors can be distinguished:

a continuing education (OSP): with more than 250,000 course participants, continuing education is the most important pillar in adult education. Continuing education is provided in centres for adult education which are recognised and funded by the authorities.

b supervised individual study (BIS): BIS has discontinued. It is however published in our research list.

c adult basic education: the 29 centres for basic adult education try to provide a broad and varied range of basic education programmes: languages, mathematics, social orientation, ICT, introduction in French and English and stimulation and student counselling activities.

In contrast with continuing education and BIS, courses in basic education are free of charge.

Lifelong Learning

On 31 March 2003, the Training and Alignment Information Service /Dienst Informatie Vorming en Afstemming (DIVA) was launched. DIVA co-ordinates the educational provision for adults in Flanders. DIVA facilitates the co-operation between the policy fields Education and Training, Employment, Culture and Economy. DIVA’s partners are the educational networks, Flemish Employment and Vocational Training Agency (VDAB), Flemish Institute for the Self-Employed (VIZO) and Support Centre for Socio-cultural Work (Socius). These partners represent respectively adult education (including further higher education, OSP, basic education, BIS and DKO), the training courses set up by VDAB, by Syntra and socio-cultural adult work. An awareness-raising campaign was launched: http://www.wordwatjewil.be (“Become what you want”)

Higher education in Wallonia - Universities and Polytechnics

In higher education, the academic year begins between mid-September and 1 October, depending on the course. The community is responsible for official education and private higher education takes place either in religious institutions or in civic institutions.

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

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 above on this page.

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 above in Belgium in a Nutshell / Communities & Regions: you have the obvious division of the 3 language-defined communities and the capital Brussels, which is bilingual. The dominant languages in the HEIs in these separate entities are accordingly.

Higher education reform 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 in Belgium

The Bologna Process in Flanders

The Bologna process has stimulated Flanders in a move towards greater internationalisation. The concept of internationalisation has changed from a focus on the individual to a focus on the ‘system level’, namely the formal structures of higher education. A Flemish credit system based on the ECTS and a Diploma Supplement were already implemented in the early 1990s. More recent changes are:

• implementation of a bachelor and master structure,
• accreditation system in co-operation with the Netherlands,
• more flexible study paths.

The Bologna Process in Wallonia

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 now 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

The Flemish higher education system is predominantly a public funded system. The Ministry of Education and Training directly funds the HEIs. There is no intermediate independent statutory body.

The public funding system distinguishes three main funding streams:

- the first flow: a core recurrent funding for teaching and research which covers costs of staff, material, equipment, buildings and social facilities of students;

- the second flow: an additional funding for basic research and a funding for basic research allocated by the research council and a funding allocated by the federal state (research networks of universities of both linguistic communities);

- the third flow: public funding for specific research programmes developed by the government, other public organisation, EU, cities and the provinces: such as for justice, social security, energy, sustainability, …. There are also funds for policy oriented research linked to the main policy domains.

Tuition fees:

Generally speaking the tuition fees are low compared to many other countries: - maximum 100 euro for students from the lower socio-economic background (students who are eligible for a grant – about 25% of the student population); - maximum 515 euro for the other students; there is a deduction for students whose parental income is a little bit above the eligible income limit).

The HEIs can raise tuition fees for non-EU students and for advanced master study programme in order to cover the costs of attracting specialists (these programmes are also internationally oriented).

Every student who qualifies for study financing can be supported financially for two bachelors, a master, a preparation programme, a bridging programme and a teacher training programme. As study paths have become more flexible, so too has study financing been made more flexible. A system of study credits has replaced the study year system. The study financing amount is linked to the number of study credits for which the student is enrolled. The new decree extends the possibilities of taking study financing beyond Flanders into the wider Higher Education Space. In the past funding could only be taken across the border if students opted for foreign studies that were not provided in Flanders.

References

Belgium:

1. Wikipedia on Belgium
2. Wikipage on the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium
3. Information about Higher Education on Belgium.be
4. Wikipedia’s page on Belgium Universities and Colleges

Flanders:

1. The web site for the ministry of Education and Formation
2. “EDUCATION IN FLANDERS - The Flemish educational landscape in a nutshell”, PDF
3. Higher Education in Flanders Register
4. Study in Flanders
5. Introduction to (initial) accreditation (EN)
6. Accreditation (EN)
7. Accredidation Framework for Flanders (EN)
8. Automatic recognition of qualifications (EN)
9. Joint declaration automatic recognition qualifications December 2005 (PDF) (EN)

Other:

1. For corporate e-learning there's the Belgian network for Open & Distance learning (BE-ODL)
2. Interesting country reports concerning e-learning: State of the art of e-learning in Belgium

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