Zhejiang University is welcoming their alumni to donate 5,000 yuan ($815) in exchange for naming a stadium seat after them, a move that many people are questioning as a ploy for the school to raise funds.

The school's alumni officially made the offer on its website last Monday, saying that it has 3,705 seats up for grabs. Each alumnus who purchases a seat can pick which one they want to buy, and a copper sign with their name engraved on it will be nailed to the chair of their choosing.

Motives questioned 

Skeptics are doubtful the money will be put to use for the school or its alumni and describe the move as a desperate attempt to make money off students who have long graduated. One web user complained, saying that "it seems that the university only needs you for your money, or else they would never stay in touch with you."

Chen Lu, a post-graduate student at Zhejiang University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that she, too, personally disapproves of the initiative.

"The stadium falls under public infrastructure, so I'm not sure then why people should pay for it," she said, adding that a lack of transparency on how the profits will be used undermines the legitmacy of the initiative.

Token of appreciation

According to Zhang Meifeng, general secretary of Zhejiang University Alumni, the project is meant to give alumni a token way to give back to the school that provided their education.

"We want to make it easier for alumni to give back to the university," she told Xinhua last Thursday, adding that often at least 100,000 yuan is required to start a scholarship, a traditionally popular way for alumni to give back to the school.

Therefore, the new project gives alumni without swelling salaries an affordable way to contribute to the legacy of the school, she added.

Although being debated for its intentions, the move is nothing new. Shanghai-based Fudan University offered donors some 3,000 in 2005, with prices ranging from 1,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan per seat, to celebrate its centennial anniversary. Peking University, Shandong University, Nanjing University and Tsinghua University have since followed suit.

Showing gratitude  

Alumni from top universities are more likely to donate to show gratitude for the high standard of education they received at their school, Chen Zhiwu, a professor from Yale University, said in a 2012 Southern Weekly report.

Cheng Xuyu, an organizer with Xiamen University's Beijing alumni office, told the Global Times on Tuesday that donations also make it possible for the school to fund social events for alumni, which helps the former students maintain relationships and build new connections with their old college mates.

According to cuaa.net, a national website dedicated to tracking alumni at Chinese universities, Zhejiang University boasts an alumni of 66 billionaires from the last 12 years. Meanwhile, Beijing-based Peking University, Tsinghua University and Renmin University made the top three in a 2013 list for having received the most money from alumni.