We could go on all day about our robust financial health, but it sounds better when it comes from third-party experts.
In FY2019, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services upgraded our credit rating to AA-. That brought us in line with the equivalent rating from Moody’s of AA3. The upgrade is part of an overall trajectory of financial growth and continuous improvement at the University.
In FY2019, the University saw a net operating gain of $157.8 million, an increase of 10.3 percent over FY2018; received $579.4 million in research awards, a 19 percent jump over the previous year; and watched our endowment grow to $2.3 billion, an 8 percent rise over FY2018. This past year also marked the conclusion of our first-ever comprehensive capital campaign, which brought in $1.85 billion from more than 175,000 donors, well exceeding the revised $1.5 billion goal.
“We assess the [University’s] enterprise profile as extremely strong, characterized by growing applications, improving selectivity and student quality, and solid reputation, offset by a competitive landscape,” according to the S&P FY2019 ratings report.
Since FY2007, BU has seen four upgrades from S&P and three from Moody’s during a period when downgrades have exceeded upgrades across higher education. Both FY2019 reports noted BU’s excellent strategic positioning, strong institutional governance, and disciplined financial management and planning.
Our solid and multipronged financial model, together with extraordinary philanthropy and award-winning research and scholarship, means we can continue to not only think boldly, but to act. It means we can undertake such initiatives as the ambitious project to build a 19-story Center for Computing & Data Sciences in the heart of campus and fill it with the field’s brightest minds. It means we can forge our own future.