Ithaca College

Contributed on behalf of Gerald Hector, Vice President for Finance and Administration

On Thursday, August 20, 2015, we received news that Moody’s Investors Service has reaffirmed our A2 stable rating from two years ago. This rating signifies that we are financially stable, and we are operating within acceptable parameters that will allow us to continue to provide the academic and operational excellence that make our institution great. The rating is a direct result of the bond issuance process we are currently going through in order to refinance two tranches of debt that have “bullet maturities” in fiscal year 2016 and 2017.

This rating also reinforces our continued prudence and diligence around sound financial management inside what some will describe as the “new normal” in higher education. The detailed report highlights not only the positives of our financial strength, but it also shares some of the areas in which we have to continue to pay close attention. Many of those areas we discussed Thursday in the All College meeting. Our strong operating performance, reasonable cash reserves, and financial ratios are some of our major financial strengths, while our overreliance on student driven revenues, the levels of our fundraising, and our ability to grow net tuition revenues were cited as some of our challenges.

The rating is a sober reminder that even though we are financially strong, some of the variables on which we rely for that financial strength are outside of our control, and only through prudent, strategic and focused decisions will we be able to stay ahead of the challenges so many are faced with today. The points from the All College meeting, and also from other correspondence that will come in the future, should and will resonate with us all, as we collectively strive to ensure that we maintain our financial strength so that we can play a major role in educating the next generation of world leaders.

This rating could not have been achieved without the collective efforts and sacrifices of everyone on this campus. There is an old saying that goes, “The turtle did not start moving until he stuck his neck out of his shell.” We have stuck our necks out to be bold about our initiatives, and we can clearly see now that we are moving. This is just the beginning of moving IC to the forefront of higher education nationwide.