Recently, Pengpai News selected one to two private undergraduate schools and private vocational schools in various provinces across the country to compare their minimum tuition fees for the 2025 academic year with those of 2020. The results showed that over 80% of schools had seen tuition fees increase. Among them, the average increase for private undergraduate programs is 5734 yuan per academic year, and the average increase for private vocational programs is 3146 yuan per academic year. This increase far exceeds the tuition fee increase of public universities. Correspondingly to the increase in tuition fees for private universities, their attractiveness to candidates has declined in recent years. This year, there have been cases in various regions where some private undergraduate programs have repeatedly lowered their admission scores and failed to complete their enrollment plans. On one hand, there is an increase in tuition fees, and on the other hand, it is difficult for graduates from private universities to find employment. The "cost-effectiveness" of applying to private universities has decreased, which is an important reason why private universities are facing enrollment difficulties. Currently, some private universities are facing a dilemma. It's difficult not to raise tuition fees, and it's also difficult to raise tuition fees. Private universities that do not increase tuition fees but increase their operating costs, relying mainly on tuition income to maintain their operations, do not have more funds to invest in strengthening the construction of their teaching staff, improving their operating conditions, and enhancing the quality of talent cultivation. They cannot compete with other public universities in enrollment. Raising tuition fees is also difficult. Currently, tuition fees are one of the important factors for students to apply for universities and choose majors. Some candidates would rather give up private undergraduate programs and choose public vocational colleges. If private universities continue to raise tuition fees, this trend will intensify. How to get rid of the dilemma? The key is that private universities need to broaden their educational resources and improve their fundraising capabilities; On the other hand, we should use the money on the cutting edge of education, be content with our own educational positioning, create distinctive majors, enhance students' employment competitiveness, and make students and parents believe that attending private colleges is "worth it". Unlike public universities, which receive both tuition income and average student funding from the government, many private universities primarily rely on student tuition fees for their educational expenses. Some scholars have called for public finance to provide per capita funding support to non-profit private universities. According to the Implementation Regulations of the Law on the Promotion of Private Education, local people's governments at or above the county level may provide appropriate subsidies to non-profit private schools based on relevant funding standards and support policies such as average student funding for public schools of the same level and type. Some provinces in China have also provided certain financial support to non-profit private universities, but not much. In this context, private universities need to increase their operating income in addition to tuition fees, not to engage in "tertiary industry" management, which will distract the educational energy of private schools, but to attach importance to social donations, especially alumni donations. In this year's college entrance examination enrollment, the enrollment situation of Fujian Fuyao University of Science and Technology and Ningbo Oriental Institute of Technology is promising. Both of these universities are newly established private institutions, but the tuition fee for one university is 5460 yuan/year, while the tuition fee for the other university is 98000 yuan/year. However, the first batch of students can receive scholarships of equal amount for four years. The reason why these two private schools can do so is precisely because of the "donation investment" of the organizers. The undergraduate tuition fee of another private university, West Lake University, is only 6000 yuan per year, due to the establishment of the West Lake University Foundation, which values social donations. Non profit private universities should attach importance to social and alumni donations, and the amount of social and alumni donations they can receive also reflects the recognition of society and alumni for the school's operation. In the United States, alumni donation rate is an important indicator for evaluating the quality of a university's education. In order to improve alumni donation rate, schools not only need to increase students' satisfaction with the teaching quality of the school, but also help graduating students achieve success in their careers and careers through alumni networks. This is precisely what private universities in our country lack. How can alumni donate to their alma mater if students are dissatisfied with the quality of teaching and find it difficult to find employment after graduation? Therefore, private universities should attach importance to the career and career development of all graduating students after graduation, rather than just 'walking away from tea'. Valuing alumni will form a virtuous cycle of education. At the same time, for most private universities, there should be a clear employment oriented educational positioning and they cannot deviate from this positioning. In the era of popularization of higher education, the important value of private universities is to provide differentiated choices for learners. Private universities with low cost-effectiveness do not have the value of differentiated choices and will inevitably be abandoned by students. (New Press) (Author: Xiong Bingqi, a well-known educational research scholar)