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The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has today (7 April 2020) published funding allocations to Scotland’s colleges and universities for the academic year 2020-21.

This year’s announcement comes at a time of unprecedented challenges for further and higher education. SFC has already committed to ensuring stability and continuity by maintaining existing payment processes to ensure funds continue to flow to institutions. The publication of funding allocations for the coming academic year will assist colleges and universities with their forward financial planning at this very difficult time.

Key highlights for the university sector are as follows:

  • Teaching funding has increased by 3.1% (£20.3 million).
  • Research and Innovation budgets have received an inflationary increase of 1.8% (£5.2 million).
  • Funding for other national investments has increased by £8.8 million.
  • Capital maintenance funding has been broadly maintained, in cash terms, at the same level as last year.

Key highlights for the college sector are as follows:

  • Teaching funding has been increased by 5% (£23 million).
  • We are providing funding (£17.3 million) towards pension costs over the 16 month period April 2020 to July 2021.
  • Student Support funding has increased by 12.4% (£15.2 million).
  • We have maintained support for the Flexible Workforce Development Fund and our match-funding for our European Social Fund programme and will continue to support ongoing commitments to other non-core programmes, which include national sector-wide services and strategic projects.
  • The capital funding budget has decreased by £11.9 million, however due to the recent completion of Forth Valley College’s new Falkirk campus funds have been freed up to allow an increase of £10.2 million for sector-wide capital maintenance.

Full details are available in the announcements on university and college funding.

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