BATON ROUGE - A number of Louisiana's public colleges face the threat of a credit rating downgrade because of state budget problems.

National credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service announced this week it put several campuses on review for possible downgrade, because of possible budget cuts.

Credit ratings determine how much it costs to borrow money. A downgrade could boost debt repayment costs and make it more difficult to borrow.

The schools whose ratings will be reviewed are: LSU, the University of New Orleans, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, Louisiana Tech University, Southeastern Louisiana University, McNeese State University and the Southern University System.

Lawmakers are deciding whether they will raise taxes to close budget gaps. Even with tax hikes, higher education still faces cuts.