Northeastern Pennsylvania Hospital&Education Authority Wilkes University; Private Coll/Univ - General Obligation

Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BBB' long-term rating to the Northeastern Pennsylvania Hospital&Education Authority, Pa.'s series 2016A revenue refunding bonds issued for Wilkes University (university). At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'BBB' rating on the university's series 2007 and 2012 bonds outstanding. The outlook is stable. We assessed the university's enterprise profile as strong characterized by a robust enrollment increase in fall 2015, expectations for future enrollment increases, and good programmatic diversity. This is partly offset by our view of the university's limited demand profile, with weak selectivity, graduation and matriculation rates for the rating. We assessed the university's financial profile as adequate, with consistent full-accrual operating surpluses posted due to its conservative

...Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its '###' long-term rating to the Northeastern Pennsylvania Hospital & Education Authority, Pa.'s series 2016A revenue refunding bonds issued for Wilkes University (university). At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its '###' rating on the university's series 2007 and 2012 bonds outstanding. The outlook is stable. We assessed the university's enterprise profile as strong characterized by a robust enrollment increase in fall 2015, expectations for future enrollment increases, and good programmatic diversity. This is partly offset by our view of the university's limited demand profile, with weak selectivity, graduation and matriculation rates for the rating. We assessed the university's financial profile as adequate, with consistent full-accrual operating surpluses posted due to its conservative budgeting despite a high reliance on student revenues to support operations. However, available resources remain below-average relative to rating...

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