Higher education bonds

CHICAGO — Ohio State University’s board of trustees this week approved a $1 billion expansion plan of the school’s medical center campus that will rely on $925 million of new-money bonds.

Lower-rated borrowers that couldn't meet the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York's stringent credit requirements are likely to find the door open a little wider in the near future if staff recommendations presented yesterday are implemented.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York approved the state's first qualified school construction bond deal at its monthly board meeting yesterday.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal last week asked two commissions studying state spending to find almost $1 billion in state budget cuts.

DALLAS - The Tyler Junior College District will upgrade and repair critical infrastructure and existing facilities at its campuses in the East Texas city of Tyler with proceeds from today's competitive sale of $24.5 million of 10-year maintenance tax notes.

Moody’s Investors Service last week downgraded Concordia University’s rating one notch to Baa1 on $22.8 million of outstanding debt issued in 1998. The school faces stagnant net tuition rates and reduced support from its governing body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, analysts said.

CHICAGO - Downtown Chicago-based Roosevelt University is planning to sell up to $210 million of new-money and refunding bonds later this year to raise funds for a new multi-use building that will include new student housing as part of its evolution from a commuter school to a residential urban campus.

CHICAGO - Kent State University in Ohio plans to enter the market tomorrow with $225 million of fixed-rate refunding bonds in a transaction that will reduce the school's variable-rate debt by nearly three-fourths and eliminate most of its outstanding swaps and letters of credit.

WASHINGTON — The House yesterday easily approved by a vote of 252 to 171 legislation that would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program, in line with the Obama administration’s push to require all federally guaranteed student loans to be issued directly by the federal government.

WASHINGTON - A group of municipal analysts is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to require muni issuers to file with EMMA certain material event notices related to swaps, bank bonds, and liquidity facilities. But issuers and borrowers are warning that the proposed 10-day deadline for filing material event notices would be difficult or impossible to meet and are pushing for 30 days instead.

CHICAGO - The University of Notre Dame will enter the market as soon as today with $150 million of triple-A rated refunding revenue bonds in a relatively rare debt issuance for the prestigious Indiana Catholic university.

DALLAS - The University of Texas System will offer risk-averse investors $250 million of triple-A rated Build America Bonds backed by the state's Permanent University Fund this week.

DALLAS — A $250 million sale of Build America Bonds by the triple-A rated University of Texas System tops a light docket in the Lone Star state this holiday-shortened week.

Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday revised its outlook for Gonzaga University’s debt to stable from negative, based largely on the its efforts to “significantly reduce” exposure to variable-rate debt.

Huntsville-based financial adviser Phil Dotts has been appointed to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education by Gov. Bob Riley. Dotts appointment, which runs through 2018, is still subject to Senate confirmation next year.

CHICAGO - Indiana's Purdue University plans to enter the market next week with roughly $50 million of certificates of participation divided into a tax-exempt tranche and a taxable series that will be issued under the Build America Bonds program.

DALLAS — Standard & Poor’s raised the underlying credit ratings for the Alamo Community College District and the Houston Community College System to AA-plus from AA as each prepares to bring maintenance tax notes to market.

The University of California this week announced plans to issue more than $1 billion of taxable Build America Bonds next week, as part of an issuance that will total $1.375 billion.

The New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority is seeking an investment adviser and a swap consultant to provide investment and derivative guidance for public and private higher educational institutions that borrow through the conduit.

SAN FRANCISCO - About 100 highly rated higher education, health care, and other not-for-profit issuers are using self-liquidity to support short-term debt, according to a Moody's Investors Service report published this week.