2006
Higher Education in Flanders [belgium]
Ministry of Education and Training Agency of Higher Education and Adult Education
VLHORA Flemish Council of Hogescholen
VLIR Flemish Interuniversity Council
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1. Flanders in a nutshell
B E L G I U M
Flanders’ visiting card > surface area: 13,522 km2 (Belgium 30,528 km2)
Flanders is the northern region of Belgium, which in turn is one of the historical kingdoms in Europe. Since 1830 Belgium has been an independent constitutional monarchy. The present King is Albert II. Belgium has turned into a federation of three communities, each with its own legislative council and government. The Dutch-speaking North is home to the Flemish Community, which covers about 6 million inhabitants, living in Flanders and Brussels. The southern part of Belgium is called Wallonia, where French is spoken. There is also a very small German speaking community on the eastern border. Unlike the communities, Brussels has a bilingual status (Dutch-French). The capital city – currently known around the world as “the Capital of Europe”– is home to the headquarters of the European Union, NATO and more than 900 international and nongovernmental organisations.
> inhabitants: 6.016 million (Belgium 10.396 million) > population density/km2: 447 (Belgium 342) > age structure: children (0-19 y) 22.3% working age (20-64 y) 60.1% senior citizens (65+) 17.6% > language: Dutch > universities: 6 > university colleges: 22 > gross regional product/capita: € 28,782.6 > (Belgium € 28,504.0) > expenditure 2004: € 17.908 billion (43% to education) > working population: 70.4% employed in services, > 28.31% in industry and 1.27% in agriculture > maritime climate > infrastructure: highly urbanised and flat area with > a dense public network system of railways, buses, > motorways and roads; trams and underground > in major towns > the currency is the euro (€) > information on Flanders: www.flanders.be
Flanders is an internationally oriented centre of high technology, with micro-electronics, chip development, media technology, biotechnology, product design and genetic engineering as outstanding examples. The Flemish economic network mainly derives its power from the web of innumerable small and medium-sized enterprises often acting as supplier companies. Many multinational industries have branches in the Flemish region. Almost 70% of the industrial output is for export. Flanders has gateways to the world’s oceans in the ports of Antwerpen, Gent, Zeebrugge and Oostende. Airports at Brussel-Zaventem, AntwerpenDeurne and Oostende carry passengers and goods back and forth to all continents. In Flanders openness, accessibility and efficiency are more than just empty words. For many centuries Flanders has been an important commercial crossroads. This is reflected in the architecture and atmosphere of cities like Antwerpen, Brugge, Gent, Leuven, Mechelen. Flanders’ cultural life covers exhibitions, plays, operas, music festivals, films and other events. Pieter Paul Rubens, Victor Horta, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Hugo Claus, Dries Van Noten, Panamarenko and Toots Thielemans are just a few of the well-known artists of the past and present.
> tourist information: www.toerismevlaanderen.be > time zone: GMT + 1 hour (April-October GMT + 2 hours) Visa requirements > before arriving: http://www.diplomatie.be/en/addresses/abroad/default.asp > after arriving: http://www.diplomatie.be/en/travel/visaLang.asp
Amsterdam
London
ANTWERPEN OOSTENDE
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BRUGGE MECHELEN GENT BRUSSEL
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Flanders’ six million inhabitants live right at the crossroads of Europe. Amsterdam, Köln, London and Paris are all within a radius of 300 km.
Paris
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2. Higher education structures 2.1. Bachelor and Master structure After signing the Bologna Declaration the Flemish Minister of Education started a process to reform the Flemish higher education system. The Flemish Parliament adopted a new Higher Education Act on the 4th of April 2003. The degree structure based on three main cycles constitutes the core of the Act, which introduced this new structure for all programmes in the 2004/05 academic year. For longer programmes, it may last until 2010. The higher educational system consists of professional Bachelor’s degrees and two-tier academic Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Degree structure
Bachelor’s degrees > professional bachelor’s programmes > advanced bachelor’s programmes > academic bachelor’s programmes Master’s degrees > master’s programmes > advanced master’s programmes
B E L G I U M
Admission to the programmes and subjects is more flexible thanks to assessment procedures. Diploma contracts include several study routes. A model study route can be full time, half time or other part time variants. An individual study route is adjusted to a student’s specific needs. The student will get a degree after having accumulated all the credits allocated to the courses necessary to acquire all the competences linked to the qualification. Credits are based on the ECTS-principles. Each course stands for minimum 3 credits, with a maximum of 12 courses per 60 credits. One credit represents 25 to 30 hours of a student’s workload. Eventually students are able to choose their personal learning paths, opting for the traditional route of circa 60 credits a year, or for an individual combination of subjects. Higher education institutions may structure the academic year in semesters, evaluations included. The individual learning path may be a result of the recognition of prior learning and skills obtained through working experience. These competences are assessed by the institutions. ———
3. Degrees Through the mechanism of bridging programmes, holders of professional Bachelor’s degrees may have access to Master’s programmes. ———
2.2. Flexible learning paths
Köln
Higher education institutions in Flanders operate a full fledged credit system based on ECTS (European Credit Transfer System). Students are able to choose their personal learning paths. They can opt for a traditional route of circa 60 ECTS credits a year for an individual route. Students can be exempted from course based on credits acquired elsewhere (another program, another institution), and on competencies acquired outside a formal learning context (i.e. prior experiential learning). Courses are independent building blocks for which students may enrol according to their own choice and time, taking into account the semestrial system.
3.1. Bachelor’s degree After successfully completing at least 180 ECTS-credits students obtain a Bachelor’s degree. Professional Bachelor’s degrees prepare students for specific professions in industry, education, commerce, agriculture, health and rehabilitation, social work, informatics, applied arts or the media. Courses are therefore practice-oriented and include periods of work placement. These degrees are only awarded by the university colleges. Some university colleges offer profession-oriented specilisation programmes for holders of a professional bachelor’s degree. These subsequent bachelor’s programmes cover at least 60 ECTS credits. Academic Bachelor’s degrees prepare students for studies at Master’s level. These degrees are awarded by universities and some university colleges. ———
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3.2. Master’s degree
B E L G I U M
It is an important tool to improve the international transparency and fair recognition of qualifications towards the European Higher Education Area in 2010.
Master programmes are characterised by the integration of education and research and a Master’s A Diploma Supplement is awarded to all students dissertation. They cover at least 60 ECTS credits. regardless their programme. It is free of charge and Depending on the field of study some programmes last delivered in Dutch and English. longer. ——— Advanced Master programmes are organised at universities, at university colleges in the framework of an association and at postgraduate training institutions.
4. Admission requirements 4.1. Access to Bachelor programmes
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3.3. Ph D degree ‘Doctor’ is the highest level of specialisation in scientific research. It is based on an original research project that takes at least two years, resulting in the public presentation of a doctoral thesis. This degree is only awarded by universities. ———
3.4. Diploma Supplement The Council of Europe, UNESCO and the European Commission recognised the Flemish Diploma Supplement as a ‘good practice’ and jointly created in 1998 an international model similar to the Flemish Diploma Supplement.
RESEARCH
In Flanders a multitude of research projects are carried out at all higher education institutions. Scientific research is often done in international co-operation and/or commissioned by regional and national authorities. The FWO is Flanders’ instrument to support and stimulate fundamental research in the scope of scientific inter-university competition. The FWO efforts to reach that goal by different approaches: 1 ] support for individual researchers 2 ] support for research teams 3 ] support for (inter)national scientific mobility 4] participation in European research organisations 5 ] awarding scientific prizes to distinguished researchers
For Bachelor’s programmes (both professional and academic) the general admission requirement is the Flemish ‘Diploma van secundair onderwijs’, the secondary school-leaving certificate. If a foreign qualification is recognised on the basis of a Flemish decree, a Belgian law, a European directive or an international convention, the holder will have direct access to Bachelor programmes. Admission may also be granted to students, after individual assessment of their secondary education diploma, if it gives access to higher education in the student’s country of origin. The higher education institution boards are also allowed to admit persons who cannot meet the general admission requirement.
The total budget of FWO Flanders amounts to 118 million euro. An interesting aid to get an overview of all the scientific research projects is the online IWETO database, www2.vlaanderen.be/ned/sites/weten/ More information on research projects www.fwo.be www.ibbt.be www.imec.be (Interuniversity MicroElectronics Center) www.itg.be (Tropical Institute Antwerp) www.iwt.be (Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders) www.serv.be (Flemish Technology Foundation) www.vib.be (Institute for Biotechnology) www.vito.be (Technological Research) www.vlerick.be
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The individual admission decisions take into account: - humanitarian reasons (e.g. refugees lacking the - required documents), - medical, psychological and social reasons, - the individual education level of the student assessed - by the higher education institution board.
4.3. Access to doctoral programmes
Entry examinations must be passed by any student (Flemish or other) who wants to take up studies in Dentistry, Medicine and Fine Arts.
Foreign higher education degrees give access to doctoral programmes in case the university board considers the foreign higher education degree equivalent to a Flemish Master degree. The admission may still depend on a preliminary examination.
Doctoral programmes are open to graduates with a relevant Master’s degree, in some cases after a preliminary examination (depending on the study field).
A number of professional Bachelor degrees give access to subsequent Bachelor programmes (at least 60 ECTS ——— credits). A preliminary examination may be required. The institution board will stipulate which Bachelor 5. Language of instruction degrees give access to these profession-oriented specialisation programmes. In principal Dutch is the language of instruction. ——— However, foreign language courses, courses with foreign guest speakers and teachers, internationally 4.2. Access to Master programmes oriented courses, courses in the framework of international developing co-operation, courses in the Academic Bachelor degrees give direct access to framework of international exchange programmes and Master programmes. courses for groups of foreign students are taught in Some Master degrees will give access to advanced another language. Course material may be in any Master programmes (at least another 60 ECTS credits), language. in some cases after a preliminary examination. The institution board will stipulate which Master degrees give access to these specialised & advanced Master programmes.
A considerable number of Master programmes are offered in English and a few in another language. For more information on the programmes, please contact the individual higher education institutions (see page 7).
Professional Bachelor degrees may give access to some Master programmes after a bridging programme. Most institutions require a proof of Dutch language The programme and study load will be determined proficiency for the programmes taught in Dutch and a by the institution board taking into account the preliminary language test for the programmes taught individual skills, working experience, qualifications in another language. and competences of the student after an evaluation ——— interview. Foreign higher education degrees give access to Master programmes (including the advanced Master programmes) in case the higher education institution boards consider the foreign higher education degree equivalent to the Flemish higher education degree giving access to the programmes concerned. ———
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6. Accreditation
B E L G I U M
More information on accreditation and the common accreditation body for higher education programmes in Flanders and the Netherlands can be found on www.nvao.net
Accreditation is the formal recognition of a programme based on a decision of an independent quality ——— assurance agency, the Nederlands-Vlaamse The Register of Higher Education contains all detailed Accreditatieorganisatie (NVAO), which verifies whether information on accredited Bachelor and Master this programme meets the pre-determined minimal programmes offered in Flanders. If the programme quality requirements. has not been accredited, the programme will be deleted Accreditation is the only one part of the quality from the Register of Higher Education and the assurance system of higher education in Flanders, institution cannot grant a recognised degree. Belgium. This quality assurance system consists of www.highereducation.be three parts: an internal part, an external part and the ——— part where the formal decision is taken.
7. Associations Internal QA: the self-evaluation The self-evaluation of the programme is organised by the higher education institution itself and results in the self-evaluation report.
External QA: external quality assessment The self-evaluation report is the starting point of the external quality assessment. The result of the external quality assessment is the assessment report. The external quality assessment is organised by the VLIR and VLHORA.
The formal decision: accreditation
The Higer Education Act also offered the opportunity to establish associations between universities and university colleges. An association is an official entity regulating the cooperation of a university and one or more university colleges. The partners may transfer their powers regarding education, scientific research and social society services to this association. The associations are: Associatie K.U. Leuven Associatie Universiteit & Hogescholen Antwerpen Associatie Universiteit Gent Associatie Universiteit-Hogescholen Limburg Universitaire Associatie Brussel
Higher education programmes that have successfully gone through the external quality assessment sent their assessment report to the NVAO. The NVAO then ——— evaluates the thoroughness of the external assessment and accepts or rejects its findings. A positive accreditation decision by the NVAO results in the recognition of the programme and is kept or listed in the Higher Education Register for 8 years. If the programme is not accredited it will be deleted from the Higher Education Register and the higher education institution cannot grant a recognised degree. Accreditation is a prerequisite for awarding bachelor's or master's degrees education funding and study financing for students. ———
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8. List of higher education institutions 8.1. university colleges Arteveldehogeschool e-mail international@arteveldehs.be internet www.arteveldehs.be
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Europese Hogeschool Brussel e-mail joelle.lemaire@ehsal.be internet www.ehsal.be
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Erasmushogeschool Brussel e-mail jean.pierre.roose@ehb.be internet www.ehb.be
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Hogere Zeevaartschool e-mail patrick.blonde@hzs.be internet www.hzs.be
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Hogeschool Antwerpen e-mail f.rylant@ha.be internet www.ha.be
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Hogeschool Gent e-mail kathleen.vanheule@hogent.be internet www.hogent.be
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Hogeschool Groep-T Leuven e-mail jan.van.maele@group-t.be internet www.groept.be
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Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussel e-mail wim.aerts@sintlukasbrussel.be internet www.sintlukas.be
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Hogeschool voor Wetenschap & Kunst e-mail jdierick@vlekho.wenk.be internet www.wenk.be
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Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen e-mail international.office@howest.be internet www.howest.be
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Karel de Grote-Hogeschool e-mail helene.vanbrabant@kdg.be internet www.kdg.be
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Katholieke Hogeschool Brugge-Oostende e-mail petra.gillis@khbo.be internet www.khbo.be
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Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen e-mail agnes.dillien@khk.be internet www.khk.be
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Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven e-mail ignace.ingelaere@khleuven.be internet www.khleuven.be
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Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg e-mail michael.joris@ad.khlim.be internet www.khlim.be
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Katholieke Hogeschool Mechelen e-mail stijn.coenen@khm.be internet www.khm.be
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Katholieke Hogeschool Sint-Lieven e-mail euro@kahosl.be internet www.kahosl.be
Katholieke Hogeschool Zuid-West-Vlaanderen e-mail euro-katho@katho.be internet www.katho.be
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Lessius Hogeschool e-mail wim.schramme@lessius-ho.be internet www.lessius-ho.be
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Plantijnhogeschool e-mail marleen.matyn@plantijn.be internet www.plantijn.be
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Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg e-mail isabelle.vanschoonbeek@phlimburg.be internet www.phlimburg.be
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XIOS Hogeschool Limburg e-mail info@xios.be internet www.xios.be ——————
8.2. universities Katholieke Universiteit Brussel e-mail info@kubrussel.ac.be internet www.kubrussel.ac.be
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Katholieke Universiteit Leuven e-mail studyadvice@kuleuven.be internet www.kuleuven.be/english
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Universiteit Antwerpen e-mail international@ua.ac.be internet www.ua.ac.be
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Universiteit Gent e-mail acs@ugent.be internet www.ugent.be
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Universiteit Hasselt e-mail info@uhasselt.be internet www.uhasselt.be
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel e-mail international.relations@vub.ac.be internet www.vub.ac.be
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transnationale Universiteit Limburg e-mail jan.broeckmans@uhasselt.be internet www.tul.edu ——————
8.3. postgraduate training institutions Prins Leopold Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde e-mail info@itg.be internet www.itg.be
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Vlerick Leuven-Gent Management School e-mail info@vlerick.be internet www.vlerick.be ——————
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Doctor
advanced Bachelor only at university colleges
advanced Master
Master - at universities and at university colleges in the framework of an association
min. 60 ECTS
min. 60 ECTS
at universities and at university colleges in the framework of an association and at postgraduate training institutions
min. 60 ECTS
only at universities
min. 120 ECTS
c h a r t
bridging programme
only at university colleges
at universities and at university colleges in the framework of an association
min.180 ECTS
academic Bachelor
min.180 ECTS
professional Bachelor
secondary school-leaving certificate giving access to higher education
Useful addresses
NARIC-Vlaanderen
NARIC-Flanders e-mail naric@vlaanderen.be internet http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be VLHORA
The Flemish Council of Hogescholen e-mail jan.geens@vlhora.be internet http://www.vlhora.be VLIR
Flemish Interuniversity Council e-mail joelle.pletinckx@vlir.be internet http://www.vlir.be