COD earns triple-A rating from S&P, Moody's

College of DuPage has received reaffirmation of the coveted Triple-A (Aaa/AAA) bond rating this week from Moody's Investors Services and Standard & Poor's, the highest rating possible.

“Beyond the validation of our strong financial practices at College of DuPage, this is extremely good news for our taxpayers,” said Board Chairman David Carlin. “The Triple-A rating, the highest achievable, says these firms consider us a near perfect investment. That means the college can issue bonds at a lower cost and expend less tax dollars when retiring the debt. Everyone wins.”

In the past two years, College of DuPage has saved taxpayers $2.8 million in interest payments through the refinancing of bond debt.

The college provided on-campus presentations last month to representatives of both ratings agencies, who were taken on a tour of the college's soon-to-be-opened Homeland Security Center, Culinary & Hospitality Center and Student Services Center.

“They were incredibly impressed with the College from the standpoint of growth, conservative fiscal responsibility and a willingness to invest in our students' futures through the construction of state-of-the-art facilities,” said COD President Robert L. Breuder. “For COD to yet again earn the Triple-A rating, particularly in this environment with record state and local budget deficits, is a tremendous accomplishment. The agencies had to be very comfortable with the way we manage operations to maintain these ratings. The college and our taxpayers will benefit from this continued confidence.”

Agency representatives were equally impressed by the fact that the College was able to increase credit hours and build the unallocated fund balance, which has grown by more than $50 million over the past two years. With a projected Fiscal Year 2011 total credit hours of 549,750, the college will have increased total credit hours by almost 77,000, or 16.3 percent, since FY2009.

“Also cited were the good working relationship between the Board and administration, the diversified tax base growth in DuPage County and the College's significant liquidity during a difficult economy,” President Breuder said.

For more information, contact Associate Vice President for External Relations Joe Moore at (630) 942-2371, e-mail moorej7718@cod.edu.