Research on the Trend Change of Social Donation Income of Colleges and Universities in China

Higher education funds are the blood of the development of general higher education, and social donation income is an important supplement to higher education funds. Based on the 1999-2018 China education funds statistical yearbook, this paper studies the current situation of social donation income of colleges and universities in China, analyzes the donation income of different levels of education and different countries, and analyzes the imbalance degree from the perspective of the central, local and provincial governments. The study found that during the period of 1998-2017, although the social donation income of ordinary colleges and universities in China keeps increasing in absolute value, the proportion relative to the total funds of colleges and universities has been declining, and its potential supplementary role is far from playing out. From the perspective of provinces, there are great differences across the country, the average coefficient of variation is 1.73, the average Gini coefficient is 0.7, the imbalance is obvious, and remains stable, the downward trend is not obvious. Moreover, the degree of imbalance in the eastern and central regions is relatively high, but it has been a downward trend in the past 20 years, which can drive the overall decline; the degree of imbalance in the western and northeast regions is generally on the rise, especially in the western region, which is a problem worthy of attention. Based on the above results, this paper discusses how to expand the channels for universities to accept donations, learn from American non-profit private universities, and adjust the system by the government.