Why are students criticising the ISEE calculation?

With the start of the school year after the summer break, the ISEE has come back into discussion. This parameter, among other things, allows for determining university fees and supporting the right to education. Recently, however, especially on social networks, there have been numerous discussions about the rigidity of this calculation system, which according to many does not always accurately reflect the economic conditions of students. Italian universities, for their part, apply specific income thresholds to ensure access to benefits, but many users argue that these margins are too low and rigid, excluding a significant portion of the population who are still in difficulty. For the 2024/2025 academic year, for example, the ISEE threshold for benefits related to the right to education has been set at around 27,000 euros: a threshold that could exclude many slightly richer families who are still in economic distress – for example, those living in areas where real estate prices are very high. To the restrictions of the ISEE is added the chronic problem of shortage of accommodation for off-site students. In Italy, there are about 600,000 of these students – and 210,000 live more than two hours away from the city where they attend university. Yet, student residences number only 40,000: this means that every year many people remain outside of student housing, despite meeting the requirements set by the authorities for the right to education.

It is worth noting that accurately determining the wealth of an individual – or even an entire family unit – can be very complex. When we say that someone is wealthy, what exactly are we referring to? Their monthly salary? The properties they own? Their family background? Or the amount in their bank account? The ISEE – which stands for “Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator” – is the parameter that attempts to summarize all this, combining various criteria. The idea of introducing a measure to assess a family's economic situation originated in the 1990s, thanks to the University of Trento, where a disparity in the allocation of scholarships was noted. With the 1994 university reform, the assessment of economic conditions – aimed at promoting benefits – was thus extended, and in addition to relying on income, it began to also consider overall assets and family composition.

What is Unsettling About the ISEE Calculation

But after over twenty years of implementation and several reforms, the calculation of the ISEE continues to generate discussions due to some of its imperfections that would limit its effectiveness and fairness. According to the most critical voices, these weaknesses manifest in various aspects. First of all, the ISEE is based on information from the previous year, which can make the calculation not very representative of the current economic condition. For example, if a person has experienced a sudden change in their income, such as losing their job or a salary reduction, the ISEE may not immediately reflect this new circumstance. Although since 2015 the "current" ISEE has been introduced, allowing for updates to the declaration in case of significant changes, this tool is not always used, and it still requires a relatively complicated bureaucratic process. Another problem is that in the ISEE calculation, the monthly income continues to weigh more than the overall assets. This can lead to unbalanced evaluations, especially for families with low incomes, such as those owning property. In these cases, the indicator could overestimate the family's economic capacity, disadvantaging them in accessing benefits.

An additional issue concerns the way real estate assets are considered in the calculation. The ISEE takes into account the cadastral value of properties, which often does not reflect the actual market price. In many cases, cadastral values are underestimated compared to the actual cost of homes, especially in large cities, leading to a less equitable estimate of overall wealth. This is why the ISEE is considered a parameter that sometimes does not faithfully represent people's real economic conditions. Another known problem is the possibility of manipulating one's declared assets to obtain a lower ISEE: although stricter controls have been introduced over the years, the possibility of exploiting regulatory gaps in the ISEE calculation remains a significant issue. The reforms introduced have tried to address and resolve some of these problems, but the calculation system is still considered too easy to manipulate and is judged not very representative – especially when it comes to the right to education.