Higher education bonds

After a lengthy search, Texas Tech University has decided to keep interim chief financial officer Noel Sloan on a permanent basis.

The University of California and a union representing more than 12,000 researchers, healthcare, and technical workers reached a tentative labor agreement this week after two years of negotiations.

CHICAGO - Standard & Poor's lowered its rating on Western Illinois University to A-minus from A and assigned a negative outlook. It also revised its outlook on Governors State University's A-minus rating to negative.

Colorado State University will improve its main campus in Fort Collins with proceeds from a $141 million bond deal expected to price Tuesday.

The democratic caucus of the California State Assembly has released a "budget blueprint" for next year that includes boosting higher education spending and creating a rainy day fund.

Gonzaga University is planning to sell $53 million of revenue bonds to fund construction costs for a new building to replace its antiquated student center.

The Internal Revenue Service thinks that interest on $720 million of bonds issued by the New Hampshire Health and Education Facilities Authority from 1998 to 2011 should not be tax-exempt.

The University of Colorado Board of Regents on Wednesday unanimously approved $140 million to remodel athletic facilities.

Moody's Investors Service has stripped Central College in Iowa of its underlying investment grade rating over its stressed operations.

Manhattan, Kan., home of Kansas State University, will have about $145 million of general obligation debt outstanding after it issues $21 million of bonds and notes in a competitive sale Tuesday.

The University of Texas Regents approved $265.5 million of bonds backed by the state's Permanent University Fund.

During a board meeting Wednesday, the University of California's new president proposed a tuition freeze for the next academic year in order to keep costs affordable.

Texas A&M University System will price $210 million of top-rated bonds backed by the state's Permanent University Funds in a competitive sale Wednesday.

Moody's Investors Service has revised its outlook on the University of Chicago Medical Center's Aa3 rating to negative over declines in is operating margins over the last two fiscal years.

The State University of New York promised to restore ambulance service to Brooklyn's Long Island College Hospital on Friday after opponents of the facility's closure threatened legal action, arguing the cancellation violated a Sept. 4 court order.

Moody's revised its outlook on Penn State to positive from stable, citing the $60 million settlement with sex-abuse victims of ex-assistant football coach Gerry Sandusky.

Houston Community College District carries the largest debt load among community colleges in Texas with $617 million, according to Texas Comptroller Susan Combs.

The University of Oklahoma is considering further football stadium improvements amid record levels of expansion at competing universities.

The Internal Revenue System has closed an audit of bonds issued by the board of regents of the University of Houston System in 2004 with no change to the bonds' tax-exempt status.

Moody's lowered the rating of Alabama State University to A3 from A2, and said the rating could drop further when the final results of a forensic audit are known.