Crescendo CVO | Contact | Frequently asked questions

Can I obtain a student card at Crescendo CVO?

As a student of Crescendo CVO, you can visit one of our administrative offices in order to obtain a student card.

What forms of study are there?

At Crescendo CVO we strive for the best possible balance between studying, family and work. You decide for yourself what pace you study at.

Modular study

The courses are divided into modules. You decide when you will take which module (also in function of the sequencing as can be found in the official programme profiles and curricula in which the sequence of modules is determined).

Combined study

Some programmes are offered in the form of blended learning. This means that in addition to the bricks and mortar classes, we will ask you to process certain subject matter independently

Who can register?

In order to start a course in adult education, you must meet the conditions of age and nationality. You must be at least 16 years old or you must be at least 15 years old and have completed the first 2 years of secondary education. If you are 18 years of age or older, you must have Belgian nationality or meet the conditions for legal residence in Belgium.

How do I register?

You can register on one of our campuses. Keep in mind the opening hours. These may vary per class location. Upon arrival you simply tell us which course you want to take and we will register you.

Be sure to bring your identity card so that our administration can run smoothly. If you do not have Belgian nationality, we will also ask you for proof of legal residence.

For some courses, you will need to present a secondary school diploma or other. For some others, it is sufficient to pass an admission test. For more information, please go to the registration page.

You can also register online for most courses.

When is the student administration office open?

The opening hours of our student administration offices may vary depending on the class times. They may also vary depending on the class location. You can find an overview of the opening hours on the page campuses and course locations.

How much are the registration fee and the course material?

You pay your registration fee (€ 1.50 per lesson time) and your course material. All prices are listed on the page about the chosen module and/or on the enrolment page. You purchase the course material yourself. You pay a maximum of € 300.00 per semester and per programme for your enrolment.

If, from 1 September 2019, you have already taken a module 3 times within a period of 6 school years, you will pay a higher registration fee for each subsequent registration for this module.

- The standard fee of 1.5 euros becomes 3 euros per hour;

- If you are a partially exempted student, you also pay 3 euros per hour (instead of the standard rate of 0.60 euros per l hour for NT2 or 0.30 euros per hour if you are partially exempted);

- As a fully exempted student, you pay 1.5 euros per hour (instead of the standard 0 euros)

Only 'open modules' can be repeated without paying extra.

This higher registration fee does not count towards the calculation of the maximum 300 euro registration fee per semester per course.

When do I have to pay?

We ask you to pay directly at your registration. If you have a partial or total exemption from registration fees, please bring proof of this with you when you come to register. If you do not have this with you, you will first have to pay the full amount. You can later show your proof of exemption and apply for a refund of the registration fee.

How can I pay?

You can pay at our student administration offices with Bancontact, cash and training vouchers. When you register online, you will pay with Bancontact. We do not accept VISA or Mastercard or any other credit cards.

Am I entitled to an exemption from registration fees?

If you can provide the necessary certificates, you can enjoy partial or total exemption from your registration fee. If you are partially exempt, you only pay € 0.30 per lesson time. Even if you follow Dutch, you only pay € 0.30 per lesson time. This applies, amongst others, to people with a disability, people on unemployment benefit. If you are a civic integration programme participant, a detainee, or if you have a living wage, there is a full exemption from the registration fee. More information about exemptions from registration fees can be found on our exemptions page and on the website of Flemish Education.

What are training vouchers?

If you meet certain conditions, you can apply for training vouchers to finance a course you are following outside normal working hours.

More information can be found here.

When am I entitled to training vouchers?

If you are an employee, temporary worker or European worker and you live in Flanders or in the Brussels Region, you have a low or medium level of education and you follow the training course on your own initiative. If you are highly educated, you are only entitled to training vouchers if you want to follow a career-oriented training course as part of career guidance. Moreover, this programme should then be included in your personal development plan.

You can apply for training vouchers for the following programmes:

a programme that is registered in the Flemish Training Incentives database.
- Only valid if you have at most a secondary education diploma (i.e. only for those with a low or medium level of education).
a career-oriented programme
- Valid for people with a short education, people with a medium education as well as people with a high education.
- Career-oriented training is a training that is recommended in the personal development plan (POP) during the course of career guidance.

You can read more information here.

How do I apply for training vouchers?

From 1 September 2020, you will no longer be able to apply for training vouchers via VDAB, but rather via the WSE desk.

This means that you can apply for your training vouchers digitally. More information can be found here.

You can still use your VDAB paper training vouchers after 1 September 2020 until the end of November (if they are still valid).

In order to apply for training vouchers, I have to provide the ODB number of my training. Where can I find it?

You can find the ODB number of your programme in the Flemish Training Incentives database.

What is Flemish training leave?

Under certain conditions, employees in the private sector are entitled to Flemish training leave (the successor to paid study leave). They may be absent from work to follow a training course while their wages continue to be paid. The employer may be reimbursed a lump sum by way of compensation.

Currently, an employee can be absent from work for a maximum of 125 hours via the Flemish Training Leave.

For more information, click here.

Do you want to calculate how many hours of training leave you will receive? Click here.

Am I eligible for Flemish training leave?

Employees from the private sector and contractual employees in autonomous public companies can make use of Flemish training leave. However, government employees cannot make use of this rule.

The new regulations for Flemish Training Leave apply in the Flemish Region. Only employees working in a Flemish site unit of a company are eligible for Flemish Training Leave.

Do you work in Brussels or Wallonia? Then please contact the service responsible for paid study leave in the Brussels-Capital Region or the Walloon Region.

How do I apply for Flemish training leave?

When you enrol, you ask for a certificate of regular enrolment for each module. Our staff will give you this document within 20 days of the start of the programme. You will provide this certificate to your employer before 31 October. If you start the module after 31 October, you will receive your certificate within 8 days. This also applies to late enrolment. The certificate must be delivered to your employer within 15 days of enrolment.

You can find a detailed step-by-step plan on the website of the Flemish Government.

For which training courses can I apply for Flemish training leave?

For an overview of the most recent information, please visit the website of the Flemish government.

You can apply for study leave for the following languages: French, English, German and Dutch.

What is a stamp-checking exemption (for unemployment benefit)?

If you are unemployed, you can apply for a stamp-checking exemption to take classes during the day. To do this, you must request or download the necessary documents from VDAB, which will be filled in by a staff member of the student administration office.

Am I entitled to child benefit?

If you are younger than 18, your parents are entitled to child benefit. If you are between 18 and 25 years old, you are also entitled to child benefit under certain conditions. For example, you must be enrolled in a course that has at least 17 class hours per week and you must attend it regularly. For more information about child benefit, please contact one of our student administration offices.

I would like to start my own business as an independent entrepreneur. Am I entitled to a premium?

Yes, if you meet certain conditions. In that case the transition premium will help you take the step.

Can I get an exemption?

Have you successfully completed a training course in the past? Or have you gained a lot of experience? Then you can apply for an exemption. The director can grant an exemption on the basis of an exemption test or study certificates of previously acquired training or on the basis of experience. More information about this can be found in the centre regulations of Crescendo CVO.

I interrupted a training prematurely. Will I be exempted from modules that I have already done?

Have you ever started a course and interrupted it? Then you can apply for an exemption for the modules for which you have received a partial certificate. This is on condition that the training profile has not changed.

I think my language skills are good enough for a higher level. How can I know which level is suitable for me?

You can register for a module in a higher language level if you can provide proof of your current level. This could be, for example, a partial certificate from one of our branches or a diploma or certificate from other institutions.

Check your level HERE

What is a partial certificate?

If you pass a module, you will receive a partial certificate of the module in the training programme in question.

What is a certificate?

You will receive a certificate of the training programme if you pass all modules of the programme. If you have followed a module of this programme in another programme or in another CVO, you will be exempted on the basis of the partial certificate obtained.

What if the course is fully booked?

All courses have a maximum capacity and therefore a maximum number of enrolments. We cannot make reservations for these courses in advance. So try to be on time when the registrations for a course are open. Please contact the administration office for more information about the current enrolment periods. If a course is fully booked but you still want to register, we can put you on a waiting list. If another student cancels their enrolment for the course, we will contact you to inform you that a place has become available.

Am I obliged to be present in every class?

In adult education you are not obliged to be present in every class. We do, of course, recommend you to come as much as possible so that you can succeed more easily in your training course.

If you have study leave or Flemish training leave to follow the course, you are expected to attend every class. In order to retain your right to study leave or Flemish training leave, you may be absent without justification (i.e. absent without a valid reason) for 10% of the teaching hours in the current module.

More information about this can be found on the website of VDAB.

What should I do if I am unable to attend due to illness or work?

If you are absent due to illness, you can report your absence online via the website. You can also upload a doctor's certificate. If you do so, you have been absent for a valid reason. If, exceptionally, you have to work during a class, you can ask your employer to provide written proof of this. In that case, we also consider this to be a justified absence.

I would like to cancel my enrolment. Can I get my enrolment fee back?

If you want to cancel, you have to do so before the 3rd class moment. Only then will you get your enrolment fee back. To cancel, please contact the administration office of the location where you are taking classes.

Can I cancel my registration?

You can cancel your registration for a course at any time. To do so, you can telephone or e-mail the administrative office where you registered, or you can do this in person. If you wish to cancel your registration, please bear in mind certain conditions:
- you fill in a claim (with a link to a claim) if you cancel your course before the third class moment. An administrative fee of 20 euros will be charged.
- no claim is possible after the third class.

Who can I turn to if I have a complaint?

If you have a complaint, it is best to first discuss it with the person you have a complaint about. If this does not prove to be effective, you can contact the mediation service. Complaints can be about the administrative framework, the exam organisation, the postponement or moving of exams, etc.

Can I copy and print on campus?

You can use a copier on the campuses of Mechelen, Lier, Heist-op-den-Berg and Zaventem. For this you can contact the administration office of the course location. Please note that we charge € 0.05 per copy.

Can I use a computer outside of classes?

Our campus in Mechelen has an Open Learning Centre on the fourth floor. Here 6 computers are at the students' disposal. Each computer has access to the internet (wifi). The learning centre is open on school days from 8.30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8.30 a.m. to 12 noon.

Campus GLTT Halle also has an Open Learning Centre. If you wish to make use of this, please contact the administration office.

What to do in the event of an alarm?

The guidelines on what to do in the event of a fire or bomb alarm, together with the evacuation plan, are displayed at the door of each room. In the event of fire, danger or alarm, follow the guidelines of your instructor and qualified personnel.

I am a student at Crescendo CVO and I have had an accident on the way to or from my course location. What should I do?

If you have had an accident on the way to your course location or back home, the insurance will cover you if you took the shortest route. This unfortunately does not include a diversion, for example stopping by a shop. The insurance will only reimburse medical expenses directly related to the incident. Make sure you report the accident to the administration office within two working days. An email notification is sufficient: sven.van.steenwegen@crescendo-cvo.be or ellen.pauwels@crescendo-cvo.be . They should be informed within two days.

I am a student at Crescendo CVO and I have had an accident during class. What should I do?

Report the accident to your teacher immediately. For minor injuries, the teacher will provide first aid. For serious injuries, the administration office is called in, where a first aid appointed person is present. The administration office reports the accident to the person in charge and insurance will cover medical expenses directly related to the incident. Be sure to report the accident to the administration office within two working days.

Smoking, alcohol and drugs

It is forbidden to use alcoholic beverages and drugs on campus. Smoking is forbidden everywhere, even outside, within the campus walls. This smoking ban also includes electronic cigarettes.