Standard & Poor’s Upgrades YSU’s Bond Rating to A+

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Citing increasing enrollment, a strong financial profile and management policies, Standard & Poor’s has upgraded Youngstown State University’s bond rating to A+, the university announced this morning.

In addition, Moody’s Investors Services kept its rating of the university as A2, indicating a “stable outlook.”

“These ratings signify to investors that YSU represents a high-quality investment with only moderate risk,” said Neal McNally, YSU vice president for finance and business operations, in a statement. “But just as important, the ratings reflect the hard work of many people on campus to begin to eliminate the university’s structural budgetary challenges and to establish long-term enrollment strategies.”

This fall semester, enrollment at Youngstown State increased 2.3% — the first year-to-year enrollment increase in six years — and the average ACT score for incoming freshman was 21.77, the highest in school history. Meanwhile, tuition was frozen for this academic year and for the first time in five years, the board of trustees approved an operating budget without a deficit.

“We assessed YSU’s enterprise profile as strong, characterized by an improving demand profile and an in-state student draw, anchored by its important position in the regional economy,” Standard & Poor’s said in its report.

In addition, the credit-rating agency said YSU’s financial profile is “highlighted by robust available resources to debt, low maximum annual debt service burden with no additional debt plans and solid management practices and policies.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.