Moody’s Sees Positive News (and Some Risks) for Public Colleges

Moody’s finds good news and some risks in a new report on public college and university finances.

“Improved state support and one-time federal pandemic relief along with expense cuts underpinned stronger operating performance for public universities in fiscal 2021,” according to Moody’s. “However, a combination of pandemic related impacts, including enrollment declines, reduced auxiliary operations and increased financial aid led to a notable reduction in student-generated revenues. Future operating performance is likely to moderate to more historical levels, if not weaken, because of the current inflationary environment.”