Calculator
![students in computer room](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_banner_desktop/public/2024-02/students-in-computer-room.jpg?itok=mcL6m8eu)
This calculator produces rough estimates of the costs and distributional consequences of reforms to the higher education funding system in Scotland.
This calculator produces rough estimates of the costs and distributional consequences of the current funding model for higher education in Scotland. It allows you to model the impact of different policies on the resources available for teaching and students' living costs, Scottish Government spending, student loan repayments and loan write-offs.
The default system is the system that applied in 2023, for Scottish-domiciled undergraduate students who stayed in Scotland to study.
Change the parameters of the system on the left-hand side of the page. Make sure you press ‘Calculate’ once you have made changes. Indicators of the costs of the system being modelled will appear on the right-hand side and are for a single entry cohort of students. Click on the headers to view the distributional implications of the selected system on a series of charts.
Last updated: 16 01 2024
* The calculator may take a few seconds to appear. If it does not appear, please try again later.
Related content
Authors
![Ben Waltmann](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2023-11/Ben%20Waltmann%20Website%20.jpg?itok=-GgIfIwR)
Senior Research Economist
Ben's main research areas are tax and social protection in developing countries, higher education, and dynamic discrete choice models.
![Kate Ogden](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/Kate_Ogden.jpg?itok=ZH3fqfKn)
Senior Research Economist
Kate joined the IFS in 2020 and works on local government finance and higher education.
Calculator details
- Publisher
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
More from IFS
Understand this issue
![Scottish flag in the wind](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-02/scottish-flag-in-the-wind_0.jpg?itok=vhUo3jPw)
Scottish Budget 2024-25: IFS analysis
![Christine Farquharson](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/Christine%20universities.jpg?itok=ZtxmvU3f)
What has been happening with university finances?
27 June 2024
![Christine Farquharson](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/Christine-Farquharson.jpg?itok=GvFkPCbx)
What does the Conservative's higher education announcement this week mean for apprenticeships and 'low-value' university courses?
1 June 2024
Policy analysis
![Apprentice on computer](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-05/Apprentice-on-computer.jpg?itok=cJ0wv-9T)
High-skilled apprenticeships have high returns – but funding via a ‘crackdown’ on higher education courses is challenging
29 May 2024
![Welsh town with mountains behind](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/Welsh-town-feature.jpg?itok=5axb5wZn)
How would the parties’ tax and spending plans affect Scotland and Wales?
28 June 2024
![John Swinney](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/John-Swinney-Feature.jpg?itok=hYDF6W90)
SNP manifesto: a reaction
19 June 2024
Academic research
![Photo of a group of students graduating](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-03/Graduation%20hats.jpg?itok=HAi9vxeQ)
Higher Education Access and Funding: challenges and policy options
![Working paper cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2023-01/WP202306-Can-higher-education-policy-boost-intergenerational-mobility-evidence-from-an-empirical-matching-model.jpg?itok=ociSM1fN)
Can higher education policy boost intergenerational mobility? Evidence from an empirical matching model
26 January 2023
![Report cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2022-09/Cover%20First%20generation%20elite-%20the%20role%20of%20school%20networks.jpg?itok=hWKFlmid)
First generation elite: the role of school networks
14 September 2022