S&P Negative on Howard

Standard & Poor’s revised its credit outlook on Howard University to negative as the school and its affiliated hospital have suffered operating losses.

Standard & Poor’s affirmed an A-plus underlying rating on Howard’s $166 million of outstanding debt.

Howard University and the hospital have “made great strides this fiscal year” to reverse the operating losses, analysts said, but are still expected to lose money in fiscal 2009. Its budget struggle remains a challenge as Howard faces aging facilities and competition for students as a relatively small university, the report said.

Howard, founded in 1867, received $150 million in grants from Siemens PLM Software earlier this month. The grants for software development are the largest ever received by the university.

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