Higher education bonds

Kent State University’s board last week approved $250 million of capital projects that feature $210 million of general receipt-backed borrowing.

Hospitals, universities and other not-for-profit issuers are enjoying exceptionally low ­borrowing costs and rampant demand for their debt. The only problem is it is not likely to last forever.

New York’s large public university systems plan to market back-to-back bond issues this week with two tax-exempt offerings totaling $323.7 million.

A pair of billion-dollar deals — one in Texas and the other in Utah — will be part of an estimated $7.92 billion expected to be priced in the primary market this week, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer. The mammoth deals will help pump some life into what has recently been a lackluster municipal market that’s short on volume.

CHICAGO — The Iowa State Board of Regents will competitively sell $20 million of debt Thursday in the final financing for the $43 million reconstruction and expansion of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa.

The amount of debt that will be issued to build a new state hospital in New Orleans could be pared by $55 million to $100 million of expected additional federal reimbursements for hurricane damage to shuttered Charity Hospital.

The municipal market was unchanged to slightly firmer Tuesday in a primary-driven session in which two universities led the way by bringing nearly $1.5 billion of combined debt to market.

DALLAS — The University of Texas System is preparing to price $631 million of taxable and tax-exempt bonds Tuesday, including $430 million for a new UT Southwestern Medical School hospital in Dallas.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — The University of California will sell $670 million of mostly taxable Build America Bonds next week, its largest foray into the market this year, to help pay for campus upgrades.

CHICAGO — The Regents of the University of Minnesota on Wednesday will sell $146 million of bonds in two issues to fund biomedical science research facilities. The deal will offer a mix of tax-exempt revenue debt supported by a state appropriation and taxable Build America Bonds backed by the school’s credit.

CHICAGO — The Ohio State University will enter the market Tuesday with $741 million of bonds to launch a $2 billion capital expansion program.

New York plans to market its second qualified school construction bond deal next week with a $133.5 million offering on its personal income tax credit.

The federal government has formally announced an end to California’s role servicing guaranteed federal student loans, bringing an end to a program that state budget writers had viewed as a billion-dollar cash cow.

Illinois’ public universities have now received all or most of their fiscal 2010 state aid appropriation — a credit positive for the schools — but ongoing liquidity strains are expected until the state solves its budget crisis, Moody’s Investors Service said Monday.

The Tennessee State School Bond Authority plans to competitively sell $245 million of tax-exempt and taxable higher education revenue bonds Wednesday.

Pennsylvania State University will receive up to $122 million of federal funds to lead a team to develop energy-efficient technologies for buildings.

CHICAGO — Ohio has launched a new bond program aimed at lowering borrowing costs for two-year colleges across the state.

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons Monday announced the appointment former Treasurer Robert Seale to the board that oversees the state’s college savings plans program.

CHICAGO — The University of Akron in Ohio is pricing $135.7 million of bonds Wednesday that will allow the school to shift its debt into fixed-rate mode and terminate a costly interest-rate swap.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has told the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency that if it wants to settle a bond-related tax dispute, the settlement will have to cover all $700 million of its outstanding student loan debt.