Higher education organized or subsidized by the French Community consists of an association of higher education institutions into academic centers and coordinated by an Academy of Research and Higher Education (ARES).

ARES is a public interest organization funded by the French Community and created by the decree of 7 November 2013, defining the landscape of higher education and the academic organization of studies ("Landscape Decree"). The latter decree is the main one governing higher education in the French Community.

ARES is notably in charge of :

• guarantee the mission of public service of general interest in higher education ;
• support institutions and ensure their overall coordination in their missions of teaching, research and service to the community ;
• to encourage collaboration among themselves, while respecting their autonomy ;
• ARES federates more than 120 higher education institutions in Wallonia and Brussels :

- 6 Universities ;
- 19 “Hautes Ecoles” (or University Colleges) ;
- 16 Arts Colleges ;
- 81 institutions for social advancement education accredited to deliver higher education.

Higher education institutions have around 250 000 students, (full-time higher education and social advancement education), and employ between 20 000 and 25 000  staff members. In addition, 5 academic centers (association of higher education establishments) are also constituted on a geographical basis. The latter are mainly responsible for encouraging and federating collaborations among them, and are also competent for questions relating to mobility, information to students and training.

Objectives in Higher education

In accordance with the decree of 7 November 2013 ("Landscape decree"), higher education organised or grant-aided by the French Community has the following general objectives :

• to support students in assuming their role as responsible citizens, able to contribute to the development of a democratic, pluralist and united society ;
• to promote students’ autonomy and development, in particular by fostering their scientific and artistic curiosity, their critical sense and their awareness of individual and collective duties and responsibilities ;
• to convey, through both the content of instruction and the other activities organised by the institution, the humanist values, creative and innovative traditions, and artistic, scientific, philosophical and political cultural heritage which constitute the historical foundations of this form of education, while upholding individual diversity ;
• to ensure the provision of education – both general and specialised, both fundamental/ conceptual and practical – at the highest level in order to enable students to play an active role in professional, social, economic and cultural life, and to open up equal opportunities for social emancipation ;
• to develop high-level skills constantly, by imparting to students the capacity to maintain their relevance, either autonomously or within the framework of lifelong continuing education ;
• to set the initial and complementary programmes of higher education in a context of scientific, artistic, professional and cultural openness, encouraging teachers, students and graduates to engage in European/ international mobility and cooperation.

The legal framework

On 31 March 2004, a decree known as the ‘Bologna Decree’ redefined the whole of higher education in the French Community, with the aim of facilitating its inclusion within the European Higher Education Area. The decree entered into force in September 2004. A number of technical terms were redefined or simplified (e.g. types of degrees), and the decree clarifies the organization of Higher education in three cycles, leading to bachelor and master’s degrees and doctorates (only universities offer third-cycle studies). Partnerships between universities and other institutes were regulated.

Now, the years are counted in terms of "credits" or ECTS : one year usually corresponds to 60 ECTS and one ECTS counts to 30 hours of learning activities.

In 2013, a major reform was introduced by the decree of November 7, 2013 (decree defining the higher education landscape and the academic organization of studies).
This "landscape" decree applies to all students regardless of the higher education institution in which they are enrolled. The notion of "year of study" has been replaced by that of the student's "annual program". Similarly, the notion of "course" is replaced by that of "teaching unit". As a general rule, the student's annual program comprises at least 60 credits, divided into teaching units, themselves made up of learning activities. A single pass mark of 10/20 is required to acquire ECTS for a teaching unit.
Higher education is structured around 3 study cycles :

1. The first cycle usually consists of 180 ECTS (bachelor of transition or professionally-oriented bachelor) (except for some university courses, such as nursing or midwife studies, ...) as well as advanced bachelors (at least 60 ECTS, completing a previous initial training) ;
2. The second cycle generally consists of 60 or 120 ECTS which may be acquired in at least one or two years of study respectively, and leads to the master’s degree (with the exception of certain fields of studies such as medicine and veterinary sciences). These initial trainings may be supplemented by advanced Master's studies (of at least 60 credits) ;
3. Third-cycle programmes consist of a doctoral training and the preparation of a doctoral thesis. Doctoral training may lead to the award of a research training certificate worth a total of 60 credits. The academic grade of doctorate is conferred after defense of a thesis demonstrating the recipient's ability to be creative, to conduct scientific research and to disseminate its results. The work on the preparation of a doctoral thesis corresponds to 180 credits.

The academic year

The academic year corresponds to a period of 12 months starting on 14 September and ending on next 13 September. For the purposes of organisation of study programmes, the academic year is divided into three terms.

For full-time higher education, the first term begins on September 14 ; the second term begins on February 1 ; the third term begins on July 1. The first two terms comprise a minimum of 12 weeks of learning activities.
At the end of each of these four terms, an assessment period is organized for the acquisition of ECTS. This covers at least all the learning activities organized during the term.
A third term includes assessment periods, as well as professional integration or personal work activities.

All the learning activities in each teaching unit of a first- or second-cycle degree program are spread over one of the first two quarters of the academic year, with the exception of work-study activities, some assessments, internships, projects or professional integration activities.
However, for justified pedagogical reasons, some teaching units may be spread over the first two quarters of the academic year. In this case, for the first cycle, a partial assessment is organized at the end of the first term.

For duly justified reasons of force majeure, the authorities of the higher education institution may extend a student's assessment period to the following term, but may not exceed a period of two and a half months beyond the end of the term.

Generally, students benefit from three holiday periods: two weeks in winter (Christmas), two weeks in spring and at least one month in summer, in addition to the statutory public holidays. Educational activities and assessments, except for employment integration activities, are not organised on Sundays, statutory public holidays or 27 September. The academic authorities or the controlling authorities of higher education may decide on other days when activities may not take place at a specific institution.

Each institution defines its own timetables.

For higher social advancement education, the start of the academic year is generally set for the last Monday of August. The academic year ends the day before the start of the next academic year. Learning and assessment activities are not organized on statutory holidays. Teaching units can be organized at any time of the year, during the day or in the evening, on one or more days per week, according to an intensive or staggered timetable.