Higher education bonds

The Internal Revenue Service has closed its audit of $162.53 million of general fee revenue bonds issued by Auburn University, Ala., in 2007 with no change the bonds' tax-exempt status.

Voters on March 5 will select three new trustees for a seven-person Los Angeles Community College District board in a district that has been riddled with controversy.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has signed House Bill 7, which allows the state's public universities to issue $363.3 million of own bonds secured by specific fees to fulfill pent-up capital needs.

The University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority hits the market Wednesday with a $263 million sale that will nearly double its modest debt levels to help finance a five-year $670 million capital program that includes a new off-campus facility.

The Illinois Finance Authority board advanced a handful of small direct or private placements for an array of not-for-profits.

The range of risks facing the higher education sector could lead to uneven credit performance in 2013, according to Standard & Poor's.

Tulane University in New Orleans will continue its post-hurricane renewal effort with a negotiated sale of $98.6 million of revenue bonds.

In the State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a plan for stronger regulation of colleges and universities, which Moody's Investors Service calls a credit negative in the near term.

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook to negative from stable on Xavier University, a private, Jesuit institution based in Cincinnati. The ratings agency affirmed its A-minus rating on the school.

The board of Wayne State University last week approved a plan to sell $92 million of general revenue bonds this spring to finance new construction, including a new building in Detroit.

Moody's Investors Service last week downgraded its underlying rating to Baa1 from A2 on Northeast Ohio Medical University.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded Boston University to A1 from A2 on Tuesday.

A recent report projecting a surplus in the Pell Program is a credit positive for colleges and universities, according to Moody's Investors Service.

National Park Community College, serving Hot Springs, Ark., will ask voters for general obligation bonds for a new technical campus.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy's two-year, $21.5 billion budget includes $1.8 billion worth of capital funds and a bioscience initiative for UConn.

An Orange County Superior Court Judge has 90 days to rule on a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Finance and the chancellor of the state's community colleges against Orange County after the county diverted money from education to balance its budget.

Legislation has been introduced in California to curtail the use of some capital appreciation bonds sold by school and community college districts.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the College of New Rochelle's bonds to Ba1 from Baa3.

Standard & Poor's raised its long-term rating and underlying rating on the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency's bonds issued for Clark University to A-plus from A.

University of California President Mark Yudof has said he will step down as head of the 10-campus system at the end of August.