Higher education bonds

CHICAGO — With a round of positive credit action to tout, DePaul University in Chicago will enter the market this month with $165 million of debt that will include its first new-money sale to fund capital projects in more than a decade.

DALLAS — The Austin Community College District will trim plans for its expansion into Hays County after losing a chance to issue Build America Bonds, officials said.

New Jersey should issue $2.7 billion of general obligation bonds to help finance a backlog of capital projects at its public universities and colleges, according to a report released late Tuesday.

A $1 billion, largely bond-financed expansion of the Ohio State University Medical Center got a boost last week with the announcement of a $100 million federal grant. The project is Ohio’s largest labor initiative and is projected to create up to 10,000 new jobs and 5,000 construction jobs.

DALLAS — Texas higher education institutions could issue up to $3.2 billion in tuition-backed revenue bonds under a bill introduced for the legislative session that begins next week.

Northern Arizona University expects this month to pay off $21 million of debt from a 2002-03 bond issue for academic projects, easing debt service over the next 10 years and increasing its ability to borrow, vice president Jennus Burton said.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $130.96 million of consolidated revenue bonds issued in September 2002 by the Board of Regents of the University of Houston System to finance the acquisition, construction, and renovation of facilities.

Standard & Poor's raised its long-term and underlying ratings on Indiana University to AA-plus from AA.

Alabama federal Judge Keith Watkins accepted a settlement Monday ending a two-year-old lawsuit involving swaptions between the Alabama Public School and College Authority and JPMorgan.

The Kansas Board of Regents will seek a $50 million increase in state aid to higher education in fiscal 2012 to restore some of the money lost to budget cuts over the past two years.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Institute of Technology is in danger of losing its investment-grade level rating from Moody’s Investors Service as it struggles with operating deficits that have forced draws on its endowment and bank lines to cover debt service and other obligations.

Moody’s Investors Service last week downgraded $1.4 billion of Maine Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority reserve fund bonds to A1 from Aa3 due to a new rating methodology for pooled debt programs.

Trustees of the Austin Community College District were expected on Tuesday night to approve a truncated sale of $33.5 million of Build America Bonds to build a campus that will serve a new area that joined the district in November.

The Illinois Finance Authority on Tuesday advanced bond deals for two privately developed state university student housing projects and financings for a handful of borrowers rushing to tap federal stimulus bond programs ahead of their expiration.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York last week at its monthly board meeting gave final approval to more than $1 billion of bonds for a number of projects.

With an upgrade in hand, the University of Missouri System will enter the market Wednesday with up to $265 million of Build America Bonds to fund improvements at various campuses and its health care facilities.

Kent State University has postponed a $250 million capital program amid opposition from the Ohio Board of Regents.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm next week is expected to sign into law a $383 million capital budget that would fund dozens of projects at universities and community colleges across Michigan.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal met this week with education officials to discuss the likelihood of additional spending cuts in the fiscal 2012 budget.

Moody’s Investors Service has revised its outlook for Alabama State University’s A2 rating to negative from stable due to concerns about its increasingly leveraged balance sheet and limited growth in financial resources as the current economic climate undermines its traditional level of state support.