S&P boosts CSU financial outlook, affirms schools A+ bond rating

FORT COLLINS — Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings on Thursday reaffirmed the Colorado State University System’s A+ bond rating and also revised up the school’s financial outlook from negative to stable.

The new report from S&P marks 10 years in a row of an A+ rating for the school. But S&P analysts had previously been concerned about the amount of bonds the school had issued. CSU has invested more than $1 billion in construction over the past decade.

S&P, in its report, cited CSU’s increased enrollment, record-breaking fundraising and sound fiscal management in raising its outlook on the school. CSU in July announced that it had raised a record $198 million during the 2015-16 fiscal year. This year’s freshman class, meanwhile, came in at a record 4,966 students, and overall enrollment is at an all-time high of 33,198.

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University officials had recently warned the CSU Board of Governors about the possibility of a rating downgrade tied to $200 million in new projects approved by the board earlier this month.

“This analysis by S&P affirms that we are deploying our debt capacity in a financially sound way and seeing the very best results, from enrollment increases and generating more revenue and donations, to more alumni support and more research funding,” CSU Chancellor Tony Frank said in a news release. “It’s allowing us to build this campus in a way that is fiscally responsible, as a gift to future generations of Rams.”