Saying the school has a strong enrollment trend and improved financial operating performance, S&P Global Ratings on Monday raised its financial outlook on New Jersey Institute of Technology to “stable” while maintaining the university’s long-term credit rating at an A level.
A credit rating is an assessment of the creditworthiness of a borrower — in general terms or with respect to a particular debt or financial obligation. In other words, being stable and steady means it will be cheaper for NJIT to borrow money for projects.
S&P wrote highly of NJIT in its report.
“The rating and outlook reflect NJIT’s rising enrollment trend, diverse academic programs and strong research capabilities, including being only one of three Carnegie Classified R1 research universities in New Jersey, with consistently strong student and faculty quality and retention rates,” S&P noted.
“We understand further financial improvement is anticipated for fiscal 2022 as revenue exceeded budget and stimulus funds provided some relief.”
NJIT President Teik Lim described S&P’s upgrade as encouraging and foundational to his goal of making NJIT a preeminent polytechnic university in the U.S.
“This action by S&P reflects the upward trajectory of NJIT,” Lim said. “We are attracting more students than ever, and that is because they see the success of our graduates, the impact of our research and the spirit of innovation that exists throughout NJIT.”
NJIT is on the rise in a number of ways.
During the past 10 years, NJIT has seen total enrollment climb 21%, to an all-time high of 12,000. At the same time, the university diversified its curriculum with new programs in financial technology, forensic science and cyberpsychology and achieved the highest research classification of R1 from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
The higher education rankers have also taken notice — with U.S. News & World Report, Money, Forbes and The Princeton Review recognizing NJIT as a top national university on various rankings and lists.
