How do I know if I’m still “fundable”? Calculate your eligibility!

In this article, I’ll guide you step by step so you understand everything you need to know about funding eligibility (“finançabilité”) in French-speaking Belgium. With this, you’ll be able to continue your academic journey with peace of mind 🎓.

What is “funding eligibility” (finançabilité)? 💡

First of all, it’s essential to understand what “being fundable” actually means.In French-speaking Belgium, the term “fundable student” refers to the fact that your enrolment in a higher education institution is financially covered by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB). Concretely, this means the FWB grants a subsidy to your institution to cover a large part of its costs: teachers’ salaries, infrastructure, teaching materials, daily operations, etc. It’s a form of public support that helps institutions continue to offer quality education that remains accessible to as many people as possible.

To benefit from this funding eligibility, you generally need to be a Belgian citizen or have a recognized residence status in Belgium. However, international students are not automatically excluded! They simply need to meet specific conditions linked to their nationality, the length of their stay, or their academic status. A careful check is therefore needed before enrolling.

Now, why is funding eligibility so important for you as a student?

Well, if you are not fundable, your institution can legally refuse your enrolment. Yes, you read that right. Without a subsidy to cover your academic year, the university or university college (haute école) may decide not to accept you, or to impose very strict conditions.

This can also affect other key parts of student life, including:

• Receiving or keeping a study grant: some financial support is directly linked to your fundability.
• Repayment of allowances received: if you stop studying or lose your fundable status during the year, you may be asked to repay all or part of the amounts you received.

So yes your funding eligibility affects not only your enrolment, but also your financial balance during your studies.

On top of that, if you receive a grant and face financial difficulties, it becomes even more important to optimize your daily expenses. To ease your budget, there are simple but effective tips. For example, you can use a service comparison tool to reduce your bills for electricity, gas, internet, mobile phone plans, or even home insurance. Every euro saved is one more step toward peace of mind!

The old funding-eligibility system 📜

Before the recent reform, the funding-eligibility system worked under somewhat more flexible rules. What is commonly called the “old system” remained in place until the 2023–2024 academic year.

Under this system, the focus was more on the duration of studies than on steady progress in earning credits. Students had more flexibility: a few failures along the way were not automatically catastrophic for their status.

Here’s how it worked in practice:

• For a standard Bachelor’s degree (180 credits): you had up to six enrolments to obtain your diploma.
• For an “extended” Bachelor’s degree (240 credits) (often in fields like engineering sciences): you had seven enrolments.
• For a Master’s degree (usually 120 credits): a similar rule applied—six enrolments to obtain the degree.

The idea was to give students time to move forward, taking real-life situations into account: adjustment difficulties, changing direction, personal or professional issues… It was possible to have several years without validating all credits at once, as long as you did not exceed the allowed number of enrolments.

This provided a safety cushion: if you failed a year, it wasn’t immediately dramatic for your funding eligibility. You could bounce back the following year without your enrolment being questioned.

However, despite this flexibility, the old system also had limits:

Some students extended their academic path with little real progress, which raised public funding issues.

It sometimes led to accumulated failures, making academic recovery harder in the long run.

In response, the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles decided to revise the rules to encourage more regular progress and a better use of public resources.

The new funding-eligibility system (from 2022–2023) 🔥

Since the 2022–2023 academic year, a new funding-eligibility system has been in force in French-speaking Belgium. This change, resulting from an ambitious reform, aims to make students more accountable while supporting those who progress steadily. As a result, the criteria became stricter, and it’s crucial to understand them to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Don’t worry—I’ll explain everything in detail!

The key principles of the new system

The new system is based on one fundamental concept: effective progress in your study programme.

In other words, it’s no longer only the number of enrolments that matters, but your ability to earn credits year after year.

Key points to remember:

With each enrolment, you must reach a certain number of credits earned.

Your enrolment remains fundable as long as you meet the credit milestones defined for your type of programme.

If you don’t meet these thresholds, you risk losing your funding eligibility—with all the consequences that implies.

Detailed criteria depending on your degree cycle

👉 For a 180-credit Bachelor’s programme:

After your first enrolment: you must have validated at least one credit from Block 1. Yes, just one! It’s doable, but don’t rely on that—aim higher to secure your next steps.

After your second enrolment: you must have validated 60 credits from Block 1 (i.e., successfully completing the full first-year block).

After your fourth enrolment: you must have reached 120 credits total.

After your fifth enrolment: you must have earned the full 180 credits to obtain your diploma.

👉 For a 240-credit Bachelor’s programme:

After six enrolments: you must have passed at least 180 credits.

After seven enrolments: you must have validated all credits in the programme (i.e., 240 credits).

👉 For a 120-credit Master’s programme:

After two enrolments: you must have validated at least 60 credits.

After four enrolments: you must reach 120 credits (the full programme).

After six enrolments: for some more specific paths or justified repeats, you must have obtained all required credits.

These criteria may feel more demanding than before—and they are. But the goal is clear: to support progressive success, encouraging you to move forward regularly instead of getting stuck year after year.

What you really need to understand

The reform also aims to create more transparency between students and institutions: everyone now knows clearly where they stand and what they must achieve to continue.

That means each year you should:

• Choose your PAE (Annual Study Programme) carefully with your institution.
• Organize yourself to maximize your chances of success in exams.
• Ask for help early if you face difficulties (personal issues, illness, learning difficulties, etc.).

Progress doesn’t necessarily mean earning 60 credits every year (even if that’s ideal), but it does mean moving forward continuously, without stopping or going backwards.

What if you’re no longer fundable? 🚑

Despite your best efforts, it can happen that you no longer meet the funding-eligibility criteria.

Don’t worry—although it’s stressful, it doesn’t mean the end of your academic journey. There are several options to bounce back and keep moving forward.

1) Request enrolment by exception (derogation)

Your first option is to request an exception from your institution.

This means explaining your situation in detail: why you couldn’t earn the required credits (medical issues, family problems, financial difficulties, learning difficulties, etc.).

Lees ook: Short-Cycle vs. Long-Cycle Education: What Are the Differences ?

To increase your chances:

Build a solid file with relevant evidence (medical certificates, attestations, explanatory letter, etc.).

Be honest and clearly explain your motivation to continue.

Respect your institution’s deadlines.

The academic board/jury will review your file and may exceptionally allow you to re-enrol despite a non-fundable status.

Warning: this decision is discretionary meaning it depends entirely on the institution’s assessment and is not an automatic right.

2) Enrol in adult education (“promotion sociale”)

If your exception request is rejected or if you want a different path adult education (promotion sociale) can be an excellent alternative.

Promotion sociale offers:

Training suited to working students or people retraining.

Often flexible schedules (evenings, weekends).

No funding-eligibility criteria: you can enrol even if you are considered non-fundable in “classic” higher education.

The benefit: you can keep progressing academically, earn credits that may be recognized, and potentially become fundable again if you later return to standard higher education.

Note: to return later, your time in promotion sociale should improve your academic situation (passing units, showing real progress, etc.).

3) Wait to regain funding eligibility

If nothing works immediately, there is a third option—more radical but sometimes necessary: waiting.

After being declared non-fundable, you must wait five academic years to be considered fundable again without conditions.

During this time, you could:

Reorient professionally.

Follow other training paths (short, technical, artistic, etc.).

Gain professional experience that can add value to your future academic path.

Not ideal for everyone, but sometimes this forced pause can also be an opportunity to refocus and return more motivated than ever.

Stopping your studies 🎒

Sometimes, after thinking it through, you may decide that continuing your studies is no longer right for you. Whether for personal, professional, or reorientation reasons, it’s important to handle this decision strategically, because it can directly impact your future funding eligibility.

Before 1 December

Timing matters.

Before 1 December, you can cancel your enrolment with your institution. In that case:

The academic year will not be counted in your number of enrolments (important for your future eligibility).

You may receive a refund of enrolment fees, excluding a deposit.

This is worth considering quickly if you feel deeply uncomfortable in your programme. It helps you avoid “wasting” an enrolment.

After 1 December

If you leave your programme after 1 December:

The year will be counted in your academic record.

It will count toward the number of enrolments used.

Refunds are generally no longer possible (except in very exceptional cases).

Even if you’re struggling, it can sometimes be more strategic to stay enrolled until the end of the year to validate a few credits and better protect your future eligibility.

In first-year Bachelor’s: switching programmes

Good news for first-year Bachelor’s students:

It is possible to switch programmes until 15 February, without extra fees and with the approval of the jury.

That means:

You can enrol in another programme if you realize your initial choice isn’t right.

The year won’t necessarily be “wasted,” because you officially restart a new path.

It’s a great opportunity to bounce back quickly without negatively affecting your academic future.

Conclusion 🌟

In short, funding eligibility is a major issue in higher education in French-speaking Belgium.

Whether you’re in a Bachelor’s or a Master’s programme, what matters is keeping in mind that your enrolment depends on real academic progress: passing credits, moving forward at your pace but without too many stops, and staying alert to the rules governing your programme.

The 2022–2023 reform, even if stricter, aims to support more structured success and give you the tools to complete your degree.

Practical tip to finish:

Check your PAE (Annual Study Programme) regularly.

If you’re unsure or struggling, don’t hesitate to contact your university support services or speak directly with your professors.

They’re there to help you, not to judge you.

Your success is personal: keep going with perseverance, ask for help when needed, and above all—believe in yourself. You can do it. 🚀