Faced with a rapid deterioration in their finances in 2020, America’s colleges and universities issued a record amount of bonds this year. For decades, colleges and universities largely sold bonds to finance new construction of academic buildings, dorms and sports complexes, and to tackle deferred maintenance. Some schools issue taxable bonds because they come with fewer restrictions governing use of the funds. Unlike most public universities, the flagship can’t issue debt of its own because of state statutes. Without the ability to issue debt on its own, “we face more pressure to do immediate expense reductions."

Source: Mint December 26, 2020 16:52 UTC