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Free Tool · Finance & Planning

Free Program Costing Calculator

Evaluate the cost per student seat by combining direct instructional salaries with infrastructure overhead variables across every academic programme.

Runs entirely in your browser · No login · No data uploaded

Programme Details
Direct Instructional Costs

Add each lecturer or instructor. Cost = hourly rate × total teaching hours for this programme.

Infrastructure Overhead

Add recurring infrastructure costs allocated to this programme (annual or per-semester amounts).

Teaching Materials & Other Costs

Add materials, consumables, software licences, or any other direct programme costs.

Add instructional costs and overhead items, then click Calculate to see the cost per student.

How to Calculate Programme Delivery Cost Per Student in 3 Steps

Follow these steps to get results in under a minute

01
Enter programme details
Input the programme name, currency, number of enrolled full-time equivalent students, and the academic year. The enrolled student count is the denominator used to derive the cost per seat.
02
Add all cost components
Log direct instructional costs — each lecturer's total teaching hours and hourly rate. Then add infrastructure overhead items such as venue rental, administration, utilities, and IT support. Finally, add teaching materials and any other direct costs.
03
Calculate and export the cost report
Click Calculate Programme Cost to see the total cost, cost per student seat, and a breakdown by category. The bar chart shows where the largest cost drivers are. Export a PDF for budget reviews or accreditation submissions.

Real Results from Real Users

Trusted by lecturers and students across Sri Lankan universities

4.9
★★★★★
4 reviews
DA
Dinesh Amarasinghe
Vice Chancellor for Finance
★★★★★

"We were operating several programmes at a loss without realising it because our cost tracking was spread across four spreadsheets. This tool gave us a consolidated per-student cost view in minutes."

SP
Sujani Perera
Programme Director
★★★★★

"The separation of instructional costs from overhead helps us identify which cost centres are controllable and which are fixed commitments. Exactly the analysis format our governing board expects."

AF
Arosha Fernando
Budget Analyst
★★★★☆

"We run a mix of full-time and part-time lecturers with different hourly rates. Being able to enter each one separately and see the aggregate instructional cost per student made the budget justification process straightforward."

NB
Nishantha Bandara
Academic Quality Manager
★★★★★

"We use the cost-per-student output when setting tuition fee bands each year. This tool gives us a defensible calculation that we can share with the finance committee and the student council."