Higher education bonds

Illinois’ budget crisis and political gridlock have taken a toll on the state’s public colleges and universities, S&P Global Ratings said in a report recapping the credit erosion and warning of a tough road ahead for the schools.

Fifty years ago, Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corp. issued a $1.6 million bond for a now-defunct biblical school. Since then it has handled roughly $7.4 billion in debt.

Kentucky received an abundance of local proposals for its $100 million bond-financed work-training initiative.

City Colleges of Chicago suffered a two-notch downgrade after it drew down reserves to balance its books amid uncertainty over the timing and size of future state funding.

Michigan's Wayne State University expects to return to the bond market to raise up to $14 million for the new business school for which it broke ground last month.

Bard College in New York's Dutchess County was moved further into junk territory Wednesday after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the school's revenue bonds one notch to B1 with a negative outlook citing increased debt levels.

Governors State University lost its investment grade rating in the latest credit fallout to hit Illinois higher education institutions from the state’s budget mess.

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.’s bond outlook is positive and could lead to a rating upgrade because of its financial separation from Vanderbilt Medical Center, S&P Global Ratings said.

The University of Texas System will bring its triple-A credit to two bond deals worth a combined $609 million.

A Kentucky judge has granted a temporary injunction blocking Gov. Matt Bevin from removing the University of Louisville's trustees.

Boosted by new grant funding, the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, led by new executive director Michael Belsky, wants to raise its voice on municipal finance research and education.

S&P Global Ratings dropped Western Illinois University two notches to BBB-minus, citing the state's prolonged budget mess.

The Vermont State College (VSC) Board of Trustees approved a concept Thursday proposed by Chancellor Jeb Spaulding that would unify Johnson State College and Lyndon State College under one administration

The University of California, Merced, received final approval from the UC Board of Regents to move forward with a $1.1 billion public-private partnership.

Kentucky plans to issue $100 million of bonds to support a workforce development training initiative seen as critical to better prepare people for jobs that match the needs of employers in the state.

Jersey City, N.J., has granted a 30-year tax break to jump-start part of an expansion to New Jersey City University.

Southern Illinois University took a second rating hit over the strain of managing through the state’s prolonged budget gridlock.

Passage of a stopgap Illinois budget that keeps the spigot of aid at least partially flowing to the state's cash hungry public universities this year was overshadowed by fresh credit erosion.

The outlook for the University of Louisville was changed to developing after Moody's Investors Service found that Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s dismissal of the board of trustees raised uncertainty about the university’s governance.

The failure of Long Island’s Dowling College placed distressed higher education institutions in the spotlight, prompting a call from one of the most powerful U.S. senators for a credit warning system for students.