NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 17, 2010--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA-' long-term rating to Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities Authority's series 2010 revenue bonds issued on behalf of Thomas Jefferson University (TJU). The 'AA-' rating reflects Standard&Poor's assessment of the university's strong demand profile for all academic divisions with increasing applications, extremely selective admissions, and solid matriculation rates. Also supporting the rating are the university's very healthy financial performance, good revenue diversity with increasing revenue sources and some budget flexibility, and solid levels of financial resources. Credit strengths also include the university's low pro forma maximum annual debt service burden of just 2.8% of fiscal 2009 operations, a good working affiliation with Jefferson Health System,
