E-Paysage

In accordance with Article 106, § 2 of the Decree of 7 November 2013 defining the higher education landscape and the academic organisation of studies (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Landscape Decree’), your personal data is processed by ARES, which acts as the data controller (located at Rue Royale, 180, 1000 Brussels).

This data is processed in strict compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (GDPR).

Any further information concerning ARES's responsibility for processing can be obtained via the address vieprivee@ares-ac.be.

The processing of your personal data is necessary to comply with a set of legal obligations to which ARES is subject, pursuant to Articles 21, paragraph 1, 26° and 27° and 106 to 106/24 of the Paysage Decree.

These legal provisions entrust ARES with the following tasks:

• contributing to administrative simplification in terms of student admission and enrolment and the exchange of data relating to diplomas and graduates;
• managing authentic sources in connection with its tasks and legislation relating to higher education.

ARES is responsible for the deployment, coordination and management of the E-Paysage platform and, as the authentic source manager, for the collection, storage, updating and destruction of data contained in or made available to the platform.

In accordance with Article 106/19 of the Paysage Decree, ARES processes your data in order to:

1. Support and simplify the enrolment and admission processes for students in higher education in the French Community.
2. Simplify the authentication of qualifications issued in the French Community as part of the verification of qualifications for access to higher education and the fight against fake diplomas.
3. Carry out or commission scientific or statistical studies.
4. Enable the Government of the French Community and its services to strengthen the management of higher education, in particular for the development and implementation of new policies or any other analysis.

ARES does not process your data unless it is for at least one of the purposes mentioned above.

1/ Persons concerned

In accordance with Article 106/1 of the Paysage Decree, only the data of the following persons concerned are processed by ARES:

1. Students whose enrolment is taken into consideration, in accordance with Article 102, § 1, paragraph 1 of the Paysage Decree.
2. Persons who take individual teaching units in accordance with Article 68/1 of the Paysage Decree.
3. Young talents who do not meet the conditions for access to the first cycle of higher education, in accordance with Article 107, paragraphs 7 to 9 of the Paysage Decree.
4. Students who have submitted an application for a study grant to the Study Grants Service of the French Community;
5. Students who are not considered resident students within the meaning of Article 1 of the Decree of 16 June 2006 regulating the number of students in certain first-cycle higher education courses (hereinafter referred to as the ‘non-resident decree’).
6. Students who have lodged an appeal with the CEPERI.
7. Authors recognised as having committed fraud, as referred to in Articles 95/2, 95/3 and 139/1 of the Paysage Decree.
8. Persons who have submitted an application for equivalence to the Equivalence Service of the French Community.
9. Successful candidates in the examination or competition for entry and access to medical and dental studies.
10. Students who have graduated from a higher education institution in the French Community.

Please note that, depending on your particular situation, you may belong to several of the categories listed (e.g. if you are a student who has passed the medical school entrance exam and has submitted an application for a study grant).

If you have any questions, or if you are or believe yourself to be affected, you can contact the data controller and data protection officer at ARES at the following email address: vieprivee@ares-ac.be.

2/ Identification within the platform

The E-Paysage system relies heavily on identification in the National Register of Data Subjects in order to enable the most accurate authentication of data subjects. This is essential in order to enable the various categories of recipients to carry out a number of actions, such as searches or links between information systems, within the e-paysage platform itself, so that they can perform the tasks assigned to them by law. Furthermore, the system can only offer a sufficient degree of reliability if it is guaranteed in advance that the persons concerned are particularly well identified or identifiable.

This is why, in accordance with Article 106/2 of the Paysage Decree, as a person concerned, you are primarily identified by your National Register number within the platform. If you do not have one, you will be identified by means of your Crossroads Bank for Social Security identification number. If you do not have one either, please note that the higher education institution at which you are (or have been) enrolled is authorised to create such an identification number for you. If this is the case, your institution must inform you.

By Decision No. 030/2019, issued by the Federal Public Service Interior on 11 July 2019, ARES is authorised to use your National Register number as a unique identification key. Pursuant to Decision No. 031/2020, issued by the Federal Public Service Interior on 19 March 2020, higher education institutions are also authorised to use your National Register number for the exchange of information for the purposes set out in Decision No. 030/2019 of 11 July 2019 and its annex.

3/ Proof of your administrative status

Please note that you can always provide proof of your administrative status independently of the data available on the e-paysage platform.

4/ Use of data from the National Register

Pursuant to the aforementioned Decision No. 030/2019, ARES is authorised to access certain data from your National Register, as well as any changes made thereto, as referred to in:

1. In Article 3, paragraph 1^, 1°, 2°, 4°, 5°, 6°, 8°, 9°, 10°, 11°, 13°, 14 and 15 of the Act of 8 August 1983 establishing a National Register of Natural Persons (M.B., 21 April 1984).
2. In Article 1^, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 28 and Article 2, 2, 3, 4 and 11 of the Royal Decree of 16 July 1992 determining the information mentioned in the population registers and in the register of foreigners (M.B., 15 August 1992).
3. In Article 2, 1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, 6°, 7°, 8°, 13, a) and b) of the Royal Decree of 1 ^February 1995 determining the information to be included in the waiting register and designating the authorities authorised to enter it (M.B., 16 February 1995).

Furthermore, pursuant to the aforementioned Decision No. 031/2020, ARES is authorised, on the basis of the aforementioned decree provisions, to access certain additional data, as well as any changes made thereto, as referred to in Article 2, 11° of the Royal Decree of 16 July 1992 determining the information mentioned in the population registers and in the register of foreigners (M.B., 15 August 1992).

1/ Students whose enrolment is taken into consideration

In accordance with Article 106/4 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a student whose enrolment has been taken into consideration (in accordance with Article 102, § 1^er, al. 1^er of the Paysage Decree, a student taken into consideration is a student who has provided the documents proving their eligibility in accordance with the admission procedure and timetable, as well as any documents that may be necessary to prove the authenticity of the documents provided, who has settled all debts owed to any higher education institution in the French Community on the day of enrolment and who has paid a deposit of €50) by your higher education institution, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your National Register number or, failing that, your Social Security Crossroads Bank identification number.
2. Administrative data relating to your admission and enrolment, including your studies, any changes of direction, changes to your enrolment and/or exemptions.
3. The regularity of your enrolment, within the meaning of Article 103 of the Paysage Decree.
4. The data necessary to establish your status as a student eligible for funding and to determine how you are taken into account for the funding of higher education institutions.
5. By enrolment, the number of credits enrolled in your annual programme, the number of credits acquired and, where applicable, the positioning of credits in the first annual block or among the additional conditions of access, as referred to in Article 111 of the Paysage Decree.

The data required to establish your status as a student eligible for funding are as follows:

1. Your nationality and, where applicable, your status and residence permit in Belgium and/or that of your father, mother, legal guardian, spouse or legal cohabitant.
2. Information relating to your educational background, both academic and non-academic.
3. By enrolment, the number of credits enrolled in your annual programme, the number of credits acquired and, where applicable, the positioning of credits in the first annual block or among the additional admission requirements.
4. If you have changed course, the relevant information.
5. If applicable, the jury's decision that you meet the conditions for success, as referred to in Article 5, § 2, paragraph 2, of the Decree of 11 April 2014 adapting the funding of higher education institutions to the new organisation of studies.

Depending on your situation, other additional data may be processed by ARES:

• if you have one, ARES also processes your first name, within the meaning of Article 102, § 1^er, paragraph 2 of the Paysage decree;
• if you are enrolled in a dual degree programme, ARES also processes the email address provided to you by the reference institution in charge of your enrolment;
• if you have been enrolled previously, ARES also processes your previous enrolments in higher education and your exam results, both within and outside the French Community;
• if you already have one, ARES also processes the diploma(s) you hold, issued at the end of your studies.

In accordance with Article 106/12 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a student required to take the preliminary written examination on advanced proficiency in the French language (EMLF), ARES processes certain additional categories of data concerning you:

1. Your surname and first name, and, if applicable, the initials of your other first names.
2. Your gender.
3. Your date, place and country of birth.
4. Data relating to your registration, your presentation and your success or failure in the test.

If you would like more information about the processing of your data in connection with your registration for the preliminary test, please consult the page relating to this processing in the context of the EMLF.

The collection of the data in question is necessary to enable the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

2/ Persons who take individual teaching units

In accordance with Article 106/5 of the Paysage Decree, if you take individual teaching units at one or more higher education institutions, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your National Register number or, failing that, your identification number from the Crossroads Bank for Social Security.
2. The number of credits associated with the teaching units taken.

The collection of the data in question is necessary to enable the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

3/ Young talents

In accordance with Articles 106/6 and 106/18 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a young talent, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your National Register number or, failing that, your Crossroads Bank for Social Security identification number.
2. Your surname and first name.
3. Your date, place and country of birth.
4. The number of credits taken and acquired at your higher education arts institution.
5. Proof of your enrolment in a compulsory education institution in the French Community.

The collection of the data referred to is necessary in order to allow the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

4/ Students who have applied for a study grant

In accordance with Article 106/15 of the Paysage Decree, if you have applied for a study grant from the Study Grants Service of the French Community, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your National Register number or, failing that, your Social Security Crossroads Bank identification number or, failing that, your identification number as issued by the Student Grant Service.
2. Your surname and first name.
3. Data relating to your application for a student grant.
4. The decision to grant or refuse the education allowance and the date of notification of the decision.

Depending on your situation, other additional data may be processed by ARES:

• if applicable, your status as a student from a low-income family;
• if you have contested the decision, the date on which you lodged your complaint and the date on which you lodged your appeal, as well as the decision taken in your regard.

The collection of the data in question is necessary to enable the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

5/ Non-resident students

The following applies to the registration periods in August 2023, August 2024 and August 2025.

In accordance with Articles 5 and 9 of the Non-Resident Decree and Article 106/10 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a student who is not considered a resident student within the meaning of the Non-Resident Decree and you are subject to a quota for enrolment in your chosen programme (for more information on the quota process, please visit the ‘Études contingentées’ page on mestudes.be), you must provide the higher education institution to which you are applying for admission with certain categories of data concerning you.

For more information on the processing of your data, please refer to the legal notices specific to your higher education institution.

The following applies to registration periods from May 2026 onwards.

In accordance with Articles 5 and 9 of the Non-Resident Decree and Article 106/10 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a student who is not considered a resident student within the meaning of the Non-Resident Decree and you are subject to a quota to enrol in your chosen programme (for more information on the quota process, please visit the ‘Études contingentées’ page on mestudes.be), you must provide ARES with certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your surname and first name.
2. Your gender.
3. Your date, place and country of birth, as well as your legal residence.
4. Your telephone number.
5. Your email address.
6. A copy of a document proving your identity.
7. Your secondary school leaving certificate or any other qualification giving you access to undergraduate studies or, failing that, a provisional version of your diploma or a transcript of your grades showing that you have passed.
8. Certificates justifying all your activities since the end of secondary school, without interruption, with mention of your results if you are enrolled in higher education.

Depending on your situation, other additional data may be processed by ARES:

• if available, ARES also processes the initials of your other first names;
• if you have a foreign diploma or certificate of studies, ARES also processes your equivalence decision issued by the Equivalence Service of the French Community or, failing that, proof of your application for equivalence of your diploma submitted to the Equivalence Service of the French Community, as well as the original proof of payment of the fees covering the examination of the application submitted with a view to obtaining equivalence;
• in the case of studies undertaken from the 2014-2015 academic year onwards, ARES also processes proof of settlement of all your debts to any higher education institution in the French Community on the day of your enrolment;
• if necessary, ARES also processes the data required to establish your status as a student eligible for funding.

The data required to establish your status as a fundable student are as follows:

• your nationality and, where applicable, your status and residence permit in Belgium and/or that of your father, mother, legal guardian, spouse or legal cohabitant;
• data relating to your educational, academic and non-academic background;
• by enrolment, the number of credits enrolled in your annual programme, the number of credits acquired and, where applicable, the positioning of the credits in the first annual block or among the additional conditions of access;
• if you have changed course, the relevant data;
• if applicable, the jury's decision that you meet the conditions for successful completion.

The collection of the data referred to is necessary in order to allow the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

6/ Students who have lodged an appeal with the CEPERI

In accordance with Article 106/13 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a student who has lodged an appeal with the CEPERI, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your surname and first name.
2. Your legal address.
3. Your appeal, as well as all the documents in your file.
4. The internal procedure file provided by the higher education institution against which you have lodged your appeal, as well as any additional documents requested by the CEPERI.
5. The decision taken by CEPERI.

Depending on your situation, other additional data may be processed by ARES:

• if you have one, your National Register number or, failing that, your Social Security Crossroads Bank identification number;
• if you have provided it, your email address and/or telephone number;
• if you are represented, your solicitor's contact details;
• if you have challenged the CEPERI's decision before the Council of State, the documents relating to the appeal lodged.

The collection of the data referred to is necessary to enable the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

If you would like more information about the processing of your data in the context of your appeal to the CEPERI, please consult the page relating to this processing on the ARES website.

7/ Perpetrators of fraud

In accordance with Articles 95/2, 95/3 and 139/1 of the Paysage Decree, if you are recognised as having committed fraud in relation to enrolment or assessments, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your surname and first name.
2. Your gender.
3. Your date, place and country of birth.
4. The academic year in which the fraud was detected.

If you have one, ARES may also process your National Register number or, failing that, your Social Security Crossroads Bank identification number.

The collection of the data in question is necessary to enable the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

8/ Persons who have submitted an application for equivalence

In accordance with Article 106/14 of the Paysage Decree, if you have submitted an application to the French Community Equivalence Service, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your surname and first name.
2. Your gender.
3. Your date, place and country of birth.
4. Data relating to your application for equivalence of qualifications.
5. The decision on the equivalence of your secondary school or higher education qualification and the date on which it takes effect.

The collection of the data in question is necessary in order to allow the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

9/ Successful candidates in the entrance examination or competition for admission to medical and dental studies

In accordance with Article 106/11 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a successful candidate in the entrance examination or competition for admission to medicine and dentistry, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you:

1. Your National Register number or, failing that, your Social Security Crossroads Bank identification number.
2. Your surname and first name.
3. Your gender.
4. Your date, place and country of birth.
5. Your telephone number.
6. The course you wish to enrol in.
7. Your status as a resident or non-resident student.

If available, ARES may also process the initials of your other first names.

The collection of the data in question is necessary to enable the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

If you would like more information about the processing of your data in connection with your registration for the medicine and dentistry entrance exam, please consult the page relating to this processing on the mesetudes.be website.

10/ Graduate students

10.1 / Secondary education

In accordance with Article 106/17 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a graduate of a full-time secondary school or a school for adult education in the French Community, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you with the relevant departments of the Ministry of the French Community (Directorate-General for Compulsory Education (DGO) or Directorate-General for Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Scientific Research (DGESVR)):

1. Your surname and first name.
2. Your date, place and country of birth.
3. The provisional version of your diploma.
4. Your secondary school leaving certificate bearing the seal of the French Community.

If you have one, ARES may also need to process your National Register number or, failing that, your Social Security Crossroads Bank identification number.

In addition, if you have taken and passed an entrance examination organised by a jury of the ordinary secondary education system established within the Ministry of the French Community, ARES may also process your certificate of success in this examination.

The collection of the data in question is necessary in order to allow the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

10.2 / Higher education

In accordance with Article 106/7 of the Paysage Decree, if you are a student who graduated from a higher education institution in the French Community from the 2014-2015 academic year onwards, ARES processes certain categories of data concerning you from each institution:

1. Your National Register number or, failing that, your Social Security Crossroads Bank identification number;
2. Your surname and first name;
3. Your date, place and country of birth;
4. Your diploma(s) awarded at the end of your studies.

If you have them, ARES may also process the initials of your other first names.

The collection of the data referred to is necessary to enable the various categories of recipients (see point 07) to have access to certain information – and therefore certain specific personal data – enabling them to carry out the tasks assigned to them under existing legislation or regulations.

In accordance with Article 106/20, § 1 of the Paysage Decree, in the context of the processing carried out by ARES, your personal data may be communicated to the following categories of persons, within the strict limits of the data necessary:

1. Higher education institutions.
2. Government Commissioners and Delegates to higher education institutions.
3. The Ministry of the French Community.

If you would like information about the various recipients of the data, you can consult the following websites:

1. For higher education institutions: FASE open data.
2. For Government Commissioners and Delegates: the institutional website.
3. For the Ministry: the education portal.

Any other public authority^{, as} defined in Article 2, 8°, a) and b) of the cooperation agreement between the Walloon Region and the French Community of 23 May 2013 on the development of a joint initiative on data sharing and the joint management of this initiative, falling within the jurisdiction of the French Community or the Walloon Region may have access to certain data contained in or made available via the e-paysage platform, strictly within the limits of the public interest tasks entrusted to the public authority by decree or order, provided that the Steering Committee of the e-paysage platform rules in favour of the request.

All recipients shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the personal data consulted is treated confidentially and only for one or more of the purposes referred to in point 04. This access is only valid for persons authorised to process such data, under the exclusive responsibility of the authorities concerned. A recipient may only access the data of persons concerned by the processing it carries out.

Higher education institutions have access to all the data referred to in point 06. Please note that, for certain categories of data, only certain institutions may access them:

• only partner institutions involved in joint degree programmes have access to the email address provided by the institution responsible for enrolment;
• only higher education institutions offering arts programmes in the field of music that accept the students concerned have access to the data referred to in point 06.3/;
• only higher education institutions subject to the application of the decree of 16 June 2006 regulating the number of students in certain undergraduate courses in higher education have access to the data referred to in point 06.5/;
• only institutions authorised to organise and organising undergraduate studies in medical sciences and/or undergraduate studies in dental sciences have access to the data referred to in point 06.9/;
• Only higher education institutions subject to the application of the decree of 7 February 2019 defining initial teacher training have access to the data referred to in point 06.01/ relating to students taking the preliminary written test on advanced proficiency in the French language.

In accordance with Article 106/22, each Commissioner or Government Delegate shall only have access to the data of the persons concerned who are enrolled or have submitted an application for enrolment at the sole institution(s) under their control.

The Commissioner or Government Delegate appointed to supervise the examination or entrance and access competition jury shall have sole access to the data referred to in point 06.9/.

All data processed by ARES is retained for the time necessary for the processing operations to be carried out, in accordance with the purposes pursued.

In accordance with Article 106/24, § 2 of the Paysage Decree, all data contained or made available via the e-paysage platform may not be retained for more than 10 years from the date on which the data was made available.

However, please note that certain categories of data are subject to different retention rules:

1. In the case of data relating to graduates of higher education institutions in the French Community, the retention period extends until the death of the person concerned.
2. For data relating to individuals found guilty of fraud in relation to enrolment or assessments, the retention period is set at three academic years from the first day of the academic year following or during which the offence was punished.

In any event, ARES ensures that personal data that is no longer strictly necessary is destroyed or, where appropriate, archived after being anonymised.

As a data subject, you have the following rights:

1. The right to information.
2. The right to access data.
3. The right to rectification.
4. The right to restriction of processing.
5. The right to erasure of data (if and only if the data is no longer useful to ARES for ensuring adequate processing).

ARES, as the data controller, facilitates the exercise of these rights.

If you have any questions or requests regarding the exercise of your rights, if you are affected or if you believe you are affected, you may contact the data controller and the data protection officer at the following email address: vieprivee@ares-ac.be.

If you deem it necessary, you may also submit a complaint to the Data Protection Authority (DPA).

In the context of the processing operations carried out, ARES uses several subcontractors who are subject to the same security and confidentiality requirements as ARES.