For the nation’s universities, income from donations solicited as part of the endowment fund system is essentially their version of incense money and, similarly, there are questions over how this money is used. With the establishment of the university endowment fund, institutions were expected to manage donations and were allowed to solicit funds, giving them more financial flexibility. Before the National University Endowment Fund Establishment Act (國立大學校院校務基金設置條例) was amended in 2015, endowment fund management committees were responsible for the money. NCCU was followed, in order, by National Tsing Hua University, National Taiwan Normal University and National Cheng Kung University. If a new financial oversight and management mechanism is not put in place, before long national universities might be facing a crisis of credit overextension.

Source: Taipei Times November 29, 2019 15:56 UTC