Higher education bonds

The University of Chicago will offer up about $350 million of taxable and tax-exempt paper this week as it wraps up borrowing for the final phases of a $1.2 billion capital program and gears up for a new fundraising campaign.

New York State legislators will meet Thursday with officials of SUNY Downstate Medical Center to discuss a sustainability plan for a Brooklyn hospital that had been slated to close.

The University of Wisconsin has come under fire after the recent disclosure that it holds $648 million in reserves lawmakers had not previously known about.

Kansas may issue another $202 million of state bonds to finance a national biological defense laboratory at Kansas State University.

Standard & Poor's raised DePaul University's issuer credit rating by one notch to A in recognition of its strong operating performance and overall growth.

Moody's Investors Service said it has placed San Francisco Community College District's A1 rating on review for possible downgrade ahead of a decision on its accreditation.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's board of governors approved up to $32 million in fixed-rate bonding for four capital projects.

Moody's Investors Service last week downgraded to A1 from Aa3 its rating on Michigan Technological University, affecting just under $80 million of outstanding debt.

Voters turned down a tax increase to support $30 million of bonds to expand a community college campus in Hot Springs.

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago plans to sell up to $450 million of new-money and refunding bonds as it finalizes financing plans for a $550 million replacement facility.

City Comptroller John Liu and the New York City Pension Funds called on for-profit universities DeVry and Career Education to reveal students' debt levels.

Gov. Dannel Malloy, pursuant to a state statute, approved $95 million in bond funding for Connecticut State University System 2020 projects during fiscal 2014.

In the second of a series of reports on how the sequestration will affect each public finance sector, Moody's Investors Service said the higher education sector will see minimal impacts in 2013.

New Jersey is seeking applications from the state's colleges and universities for $750 million in bonds approved by voters in the Building Our Future Bond Act in November.

Attempts to reduce student debt will not likely have any financial impact on colleges and universities, Fitch Ratings said in a recent report.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is challenging the nonprofit status of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pennsylvania's largest employer.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded four of Illinois' public universities and left intact the ratings of four others in a review of $2.6 billion of rated debt sparked by late last year by the state's deteriorating credit.

Standard & Poor's has raised Rush University Medical Center Obligated Group's rating by one notch to A in recognition of the system's new patient tower and good operating performance.

Chicago-based Roosevelt University's was downgraded by Fitch Ratings last week and faces further deterioration in the assignment of a negative outlook as the school struggles with enrollment challenges.

The University of Chicago plans to sell up to $400 million of debt through the Illinois Finance Authority to refund existing bonds and finance an ongoing capital program that includes new and renovated facilities.