UNITED STATES

Enrolment drop hurts university revenues – Moody’s

Add one more strain to the finances of US universities: a decline in enrolment. Last week the US Census reported that college enrolment declined for the first time in six years in the autumn of 2012. That, in turn, threatens higher education revenue, said Moody's Investors Service, reports Reuters.

Already, "precipitous enrolment declines” for the autumn of 2013 had hurt the credit quality of two private colleges and a public one. "Enrolment declines in higher education are credit negative because they heighten competitive pressure for all universities. This limits opportunity to grow tuition revenue, now the primary revenue for the majority of public and private universities," said Moody's.
Full report on the Reuters site