On Wednesday, June 30, Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed Fairmont State University’s stable outlook with an A2 rating to the University’s revenue refunding bonds, maintaining its score from the most recent ratings received in 2018. Although national trends are reflecting downgrades in ratings for higher education institutions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fairmont State University has remained stable due to its financial position and leadership under President Mirta M. Martin.

According to a press release issued by Moody’s, “The assignment of the A2 rating incorporates Fairmont State’s good strategic positioning and solid financial position, including sound liquidity and healthy operating performance.”

“I am grateful we’ve achieved this strong financial stability rating again,” said Mirta M. Martin, Fairmont State University President. “And when I say ‘we,’ I mean it. The financial strength of an institution is only partly due to its strategies – it’s the exceptional people in our Falcon Family that truly made this possible; people like our CFO, Christa Kwiatkowski who leads our Finance Division. At a time when other schools across the country are struggling under decreased state budgets and the impact of COVID-19, Fairmont State University continues to grow stronger and stronger. And that is a direct reflection of our extraordinary faculty, staff, students, our Board of Governors and executive leadership team.”

According to Moody’s, “The University’s solid financial position is evidenced by consistently healthy operating performance including strong operating cash flow margins and healthy liquidity. The University maintains a regionally important role within the state, and has experienced stable enrollment rates despite the effects of the pandemic.”

Further, Moody’s reported in its release, “The stable outlook reflects Moody’s expectations of sustained healthy operating performance including management’s ability to continue expense adjustments to align with revenue trends. The outlook also includes expectations for stable enrollment, generating adequate pledged revenues for debt service.”

“Fairmont State is proud to stand as a leader in higher education across the country by demonstrating our ability to soar in an unstable environment,” Martin added.

The system of rating securities was originated by John Moody in 1909. The purpose of Moody’s ratings is to provide investors with a simple system of gradation by which future relative creditworthiness of securities may be gauged.