The Department for the Economy (DfE) has modelled increasing university tuition fees to about £7,000 a year from the current £4,630 to raise money.
But significant changes to fees would require a decision by a Stormont minister and a change in legislation.
The department has to find savings of about £130m in 2023-24.
That will mean cuts to funding to universities, Further Education (FE) Colleges and bodies like Invest NI, Tourism NI and NI Screen.
Revenue-raising measures such as a rise in tuition fees would be longer-term and would not help the department's 2023-24 budget position.
The department's funding was cut by £10m in the recent budget for Northern Ireland but inflation and additional pressures mean officials have to find more in savings.
Its annual resource budget in 2023-24 - for day-to-day spending - is just over £772m.
