Moody's Investor Service to assess Southern's credit rating

BATON ROUGE, LA (NBC33) — Southern University's credit rating is in trouble, and lower enrollment may be to blame.

Moody's Investor Service says they're looking at how Southern spends their money because they're afraid they won't be able to pay back their $61 million in debt.

At a board meeting set for Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors will declare a financial emergency at Southern.

Financial advisor Patrick Coogan says a lower credit rating will make things more expensive for students and faculty at Southern.

"If Southern's credit score or credit rating is lower than LSU's, it's going to cost them more to build projects and build classrooms than it would LSU,” said Coogan. “Over the long haul of the project, Southern's going to pay more than LSU would."

Moody’s says they'll review the school's credit rating for about three months before they make a final decision.