The annual program of the student is not just a list of courses checked off on a registration portal. Since the tightening of the Landscape decree, the PAE functions as a regulatory lock that conditions funding eligibility, the duration of the cycle, and progression between blocks. Understanding its mechanisms helps avoid sometimes irreversible path errors.
Residual credits and prerequisites: the calculation that the PAE actually imposes
The PAE is based on a principle of construction by teaching units (UE), each accompanied by ECTS credits, prerequisites, and corequisites. The technical difficulty arises when a student has not validated the entirety of their block 1: they must re-enroll in the failed UEs while attempting to integrate UEs from the following block, provided that the prerequisites are met.
We regularly observe students who compose their PAE while ignoring the chain of prerequisites. A prerequisite that is not validated blocks access to any UE that depends on it, even if the number of credits acquired would theoretically allow for advancement. The institution’s online configurator then refuses the encoding, and the student ends up with an undersized PAE.
To fully understand the meaning of the PAE for students, it is essential to distinguish between two logics: the administrative logic (how many credits can I enroll in?) and the pedagogical logic (which UEs can I actually follow given my achievements?). The latter always takes precedence over the former.
PAE and funding eligibility: the thresholds of the tightened Landscape decree
The strict version of the Landscape decree, fully applied since the start of the 2025-2026 academic year, transforms the PAE into a true regulatory checkpoint. Block 1 must be validated in a maximum of two enrollments. Beyond that, the student loses their funding eligibility, unless an exemption is granted by the jury.
This tightening has direct consequences on the composition of the PAE:
- A student who has only acquired a fraction of their block 1 credits after their first enrollment must necessarily enroll in all remaining UEs in their second-year PAE, with no possibility of deferring them.
- The generalized ceiling remains set at 60 credits per PAE, which prevents “catching up” on a delay by overloading their program.
- The maximum duration of the cycle now conditions funding eligibility throughout the entire course, not just at the block 1 level.
In practice, a poorly calibrated PAE in the first year generates a domino effect on the entire subsequent path. We recommend simulating several PAE scenarios before validation, incorporating scheduling constraints and corequisites.
Transitional measures and political turnaround of 2024
The regulatory context has experienced notable instability. Transitional measures voted on April 25, 2024, and promulgated on May 31, 2024, allowed students restarting their block 1 or redirecting to remain eligible for funding in 2024-2025, even with fewer than 60 credits acquired.
The government of the Walloon-Brussels Federation then made a turnaround on October 25, 2024, announcing a return to the strict version of the decree starting in 2025-2026. Students who had planned their PAE based on the transitional rules had to recalculate their trajectory. This political sequence illustrates why the PAE cannot be constructed once and for all: it must be reevaluated each year based on the current legal framework.
PAE in master’s and bridging programs: distinct rules often unknown
Public articles almost exclusively address the PAE in bachelor’s programs. In master’s programs, the logic differs. The student generally has more latitude to arrange their UEs, but programs with specific objectives (didactic, specialized, advanced) impose non-interchangeable blocks of UEs.
In bridging programs, the PAE includes a complementary program of 15 to 60 credits that adds to the master’s curriculum. This complement must be validated according to the same prerequisite rules as the rest of the program. A common mistake is to treat the complementary program as an independent block when it is integrated into the overall calculation of funding eligibility.
For students in AESS (aggregation), the PAE consists of pedagogical UEs and internships. The jury’s validation focuses on the coherence between the chosen internships and the base degree. A PAE of AESS rejected by the jury delays entry into the profession by at least one semester.
Validation of the PAE by the jury: what triggers a refusal
The PAE is not a self-validated document. It systematically goes before the program jury, which can refuse it or request modifications. The most common reasons for refusal fall into three categories.
- Enrollment in a UE for which the prerequisite is not acquired, despite a sufficient total number of credits to move to the next block.
- Scheduling incompatibility making effective attendance at courses impossible, particularly when UEs from two different blocks overlap.
- Exceeding the credit ceiling or, conversely, an abnormally light PAE without justification (employment contract, student-entrepreneur status).
A refused PAE does not mean a permanent blockage. The student returns to “curriculum proposal” mode on the portal, adjusts their selection of UEs, and resubmits. The time between the initial submission and final validation can take several weeks, compressing the preparation time for the first semester.
We recommend making an appointment with the jury president before submission, armed with a PAE project already checked for prerequisites and scheduling. This approach significantly reduces the risk of refusal.
The PAE remains the structuring document of each academic year. With the tightening of the Landscape decree applicable for 2026-2027, every credit enrolled and every UE chosen weighs more heavily on the overall trajectory. A PAE constructed rigorously from block 1 avoids funding eligibility dead ends that cannot be caught up.
