The Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) will introduce new financial support from the 2026-2027 academic year to protect students in precarious circumstances from the impact of higher tuition fees.
The university announced the measure on Tuesday in response to a reform introduced by the French Community of Belgium. Under the new system, the full tuition fee will rise from €835 to €1,194 from the next academic year.
Although the reform includes fee adjustments based on income, ULB said some students could still miss out on the planned reductions despite facing financial hardship.
To address this, the university will introduce two support schemes. The first will apply to students whose income falls within the thresholds set by the French Community, but who are excluded from the legal reductions for administrative reasons or because of their particular circumstances.
Through the ULB’s student social services, those students will be able to have their tuition reduced to €325, €485 or €835.
The university will also create an exceptional support measure for students whose income is slightly above the thresholds for reduced fees. They too will be able to cap their tuition at €835.
ULB said that, through these two schemes, students supported by its social services will not have to pay the full €1,194.
The university noted that around one in four students receives financial support each year either from the institution or from the French Community of Belgium.
The new measure will take effect from the start of the 2026-2027 academic year and will be reviewed in depth to assess its social and financial impact.
