Experts are warning that Scottish universities need to merge or start sharing services as cash issues continue to harm the country's further education sector.
Financial pressures are proving particularly challenging at universities outside of the central belt as institutions in Edinburgh and Glasgow find it easier to attract foreign students.
Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) analysis found that funding for students per year of study has fallen by nearly a fifth in the last decade.
The IFS says Holyrood's funding given to Scottish institutions does not cover the full costs of the free tuition offered by the Scottish Government, meaning money has to be found from elsewhere in university budgets.
Sources from five of Scotland's 15 universities have expressed their frustration with the government and don't have belief in ministers to produce solutions for the sector's problems.
"They have proven themselves to be profoundly unradical when it comes to education," one source told The Times.
They added: "Any discussion about different ways of raising money is met with, ‘You want to introduce fees’."
Meanwhile, two sources at Robert Gordon University have said student numbers from Nigeria have fallen "off a cliff" due to geopolitical uncertainty in the African country.
Claire McPherson, the director of Universities Scotland, which represents all of the country’s institutions, said: "Our higher education sector is well managed and financially adept.
"However, funding cuts continue to impact institutions’ operations and place limitations on the contribution the sector can make to Scotland’s economy and in communities across the country."
A Scottish Government spokesman said that more than £1bn was invested in teaching and research in this year’s budget, which he called “the most challenging … since devolution”.
He added: “The Scottish government is resolute in its commitment to free tuition. The latest data shows since this policy was put in place, the number of Scottish students entering full-time first degree courses at university has increased by 31 per cent, with record numbers of students from our poorest communities.”