Morgan State University Newsroom Morgan State University
For Immediate Release:
February 12, 2015
Morgan State University President David Wilson today announced that Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services has reaffirmed Morgan’s ‘A+’ credit rating and has projected the University’s long-term outlook as stable.
“This is excellent news for us because this very good credit rating means that we are considered a good risk on the bond market, allowing us to borrow money at better interest rates, which will save the University money,” said Dr. Wilson. “But it also is recognition by Standard and Poor’s that Morgan’s fiscal management is one of its strengths.”
In making the announcement, Standard and Poor’s noted that this affirmation of the University’s bond rating was based largely on its “recent enrollment stabilization, its consistently strong financial support from the State of Maryland, low debt burden, and good financial resources relative to debt” for the A+ rating category. MSU is one of the nation’s oldest historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), a fact that did not escape the rating agency. S&P officials said the University’s niche in the marketplace as a HBCU was also key to the rating.
Morgan’s stable outlook is the result of what Standard and Poor’s calls an “expectation” that the University’s enrollment will remain stable and debt burden will continue to be low while state support stays strong.
Morgan’s financial auditors also had positive news for the University. S B and Company LLC, a certified public accounting and business advisory firm, recently released the results of its Morgan audit, giving the University a clean, unqualified audit.
President Wilson credited the state for its support of Morgan and also the work of his finance team for helping him to prudently manage resources through a difficult recession while still moving the institution forward.
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie classified doctoral research institution offering more than 60 academic programs leading to bachelor’s degrees as well as programs at the master’s and doctoral levels. As Maryland’s premier public urban research university, Morgan serves a multi-ethnic and multi-racial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information on Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
