University systems to sell $685 million of bonds

California’s two state university systems plan to sell $685 million of bonds over the next month to raise money from investors to pay off higher-interest-rate bonds and fund construction projects.

California State University, the state’s largest college system, will sell $360 million of bonds Thursday, according to the California treasurer’s office. On March 27, California’s Public Works Board will sell $325 million of debt on behalf of the University of California, which is refinancing bonds that were sold when interest rates were higher.

The Cal State system’s credit rating was raised by Moody’s Investors Service one rank to A1, the fifth-highest, in advance of the bond sale. The proceeds of the sale will be used to refinance $160.3 million of bonds, most of which were sold for its Channel Islands campus, and pay for projects such as campus housing and student unions, according to Standard & Poor’s, which also gives the university debt its fifth-highest rating.