Stevens Receives "A"s from Standard & Poor’s and Moody's Investor's Services with Bond Ratings' Upgrades

HOBOKEN, N.J. – School may be out for the summer, but Stevens Institute of Technology received two "A"s this past month from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investor’s Service which puts the applied sciences and engineering school in the top of its class of U.S. universities.

"These marks document the financial health and prove the fiduciary responsibility of Stevens, its trustees and the campus community," said Susan Vogt, vice president for Administration and Finance of Stevens. "Stevens is in one of its best financial conditions and we appreciate the confidence of Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s in the university by upgrading their respective ratings. These ratings shows that we conduct good business and provide a solid product --- a broad-based education for use in the next millenium."

Standard & Poor’s assigned its single "A" rating to the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority’s revenue bonds series 1998 I issues for Stevens on July 24. The organization raised its rating on the Authority’s outstanding bonds series 1992 issued for Stevens to single "A" from single "A minus." The outlook is designated as stable.

Moody’s upgraded Stevens’ New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority revenue bond from "Baa1" to "A3" on July 29.

In its report, Standard & Poor’s said that the ratings reflected: steady increases in enrollment driven by stronger undergraduate matriculations, improved retention and expanded off-campus graduate programs; the "excellent" condition of Institute’s plant and limited debt needs; successful completion of a major capital campaign (the "Drive for National Excellence" campaign which raised $100 million) and improved liquidity ratios.

The rating report cited the following increases over the past several years:

• 12% increase in undergraduate enrollment from fall 1994 to fall 1997,
• Average SAT scores rising in fall 1997 to 1290 from fall 1993 scores of 1230, and
• Stevens’ total endowment reached $110 million with at least another $10 million added in fiscal year 1998.

Moody’s noted that successful execution of competitive strategy in a highly competitive market, modest leverage and manageable additional debt needs and recent strengthening of fundraising and satisfactory annual operations, as factors for its rating upgrade.

"Market conditions now appear to be favorable for Stevens for the next several years at least," stated the report. "The demographic demand in the local market and the national demand for technology education both appear to be increasing. Moody’s expects that this small institution with less than 2,600 students will continue to differentiate itself in the highly competitive engineering school market in the northeastern United States."

The report also cited other accomplishments:

• Stevens has improved its freshmen yield to 33% from the 25% - 30% range five years ago
• Selectivity has also strengthened modestly to 67%
• S.A.T scores of 1290 indicate student quality is high, and
• Recent fundraising and balanced operations provide credit stability.

"Management has also been adept in taking advantage of its location in the dense New Jersey/New York market to expand its part-time graduate educational programs delivered off-campus to employees of regional corporations," Moody’s analysts stated in the report. "Graduate full-time equivalent enrollment of 1,118 accounts for 44% of total enrollments. Off-campus employer links are becoming central to the market strategies of most technology-orientated universities and Stevens’ location provides significant advantages compared to some smaller-city competitors elsewhere in the northeast."

The "Drive for National Excellence" comprehensive campaign was announced in 1992 with a then targeted goal of $73 million. Goals were set at that time to secure the university’s position in the top percentage of engineering schools in the United States and to create capital projects for laboratory construction and renovations, building a new, state-of-the-art athletic and recreation center, increasing Stevens’ endowment, establishing faculty development initiatives and raising the level of scholarships and fellowships. The campaign reached its goal in 1995 and concluded in June of 1996 with more than $100 million in gifts and pledges.

The campaign was ranked by several leading associations in the top 20 of institutions of higher education for alumni giving.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research.  The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.

Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts.  Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world.  Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.