Higher education bonds

The University System of Georgia has completed consolidating eight of the state's 35 public colleges and universities to address, in part, the decline in state funding.

Arizona State University plans to issue $112 million of revenue bonds in a deal that comes a week before the Arizona Legislature convenes to consider education spending measures.

Market participants mostly support a revised proposal by the MSRB that would require primary distributors or underwriters of 529 savings plans to submit information to the MSRB, but urged the board to keep information confidential and to consider additional changes.

The Houston Community College District will issue $300 million of general obligation bonds two months after voters approved $425 million of debt to expand the system.

Dauphin County, Pa., expects to make a $1.5 million bond debt payment for Harrisburg University for the second straight year.

On the heels of its downgrade of Puerto Rico's general obligation debt, Moody's Investors Service has cut the ratings for the U.S. territory's electric power authority and university system.

Moody's Investors Service lowered Roosevelt University's rating one notch to Baa3 as the Chicago-based school struggles with enrollment challenges.

The University of Kansas will ask the 2013 Legislature for $30 million of 10-year bonds to help build a $75 million facility in Kansas City.

A plan proposed by the National Institutes of Health could pressure United States universities, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

Moody's Investors Service said that Georgia Perimeter College faces more negative credit pressure because its accreditation has been placed on warning by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or SACS.

Fitch Ratings has assigned a stable outlook for 2013 to the colleges and universities sector, based on demand and enrollment, liquidity, and risk management.

Mountain State University in West Virginia has redeemed its outstanding tax-exempt debt as the private nonprofit institution winds down its operations.

Public-private partnerships will take over operations in 2013 at three Louisiana State University hospitals and another one under construction.

Representatives from a rating agency and the investment community weighed in on the dramatic changes affecting the higher education business model at The Bond Buyer 501(c)3 conference.

The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation entered into the closing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service over $165 million of education loan revenue bonds they issued in 1998.

California's state and local fiscal policies and the impact on credit ratings came under fire during a UCLA Anderson Forecast presentation Tuesday on the college campus.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York's board on Wednesday approved $175 million of new financings for healthcare, higher education, and non-profit institutions.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded to B3 from Ba3 its rating on Ashland University, Ohio, and kept its outlook negative.

Moody’s Investors Service placed the Aa2 long-term bond ratings of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, under review for possible downgrade.

The South Texas Higher Education Authority is the latest student loan bond issuer to enter into a voluntary closing agreement program with the Internal Revenue Service.