In December, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) was signed into law to provide an additional $900 billion in COVID-19 relief. From this total, the Department of Education (ED) received approximately $82 billion for the Educational Stabilization Fund, significantly more than the $31 billion included in the CARES Act last March. These funds are in the process of being distributed to state education agencies for K-12 education, to governors for a second Governor's Emergency Education Relief fund, and to institutions of higher education for postsecondary programs. Because the postsecondary funding is the most complex, and provided directly to institutions, we are going to take a deep dive here into the details of that funding.
To date, ED has made available $20.5 billion from this legislation to public and non-profit institutions of higher education through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). The funds are divided into two portions, much like initial CARES Act funding – money for student aid and money for institutional support. However, the allocation formula in the new law is more beneficial to the institutions that traditionally offer the most CTE programs, who also serve more students on a part-time basis. Instead of being based solely on FTE counts, the formula weighting is now split between total number of students and FTE. The total amount allocated to each institution, as well as the amount in each portion, can be found on the ED website at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/314a1allocationtableheerfii.pdf.
Institutions that already have approved CARES Act HEERF awards for student aid and institutional support are not required to submit new or revised applications to receive additional funding, but rather the additional funding will automatically be added as a supplement to existing grant awards. Institutions that did not apply for both portions of CARES Act funding originally will have to submit a new application through Grants.gov.
As mentioned earlier, a minimum amount of an institution's total grant must be set aside for emergency financial aid grants to students. These financial aid grants may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare. Institutions must have a process to prioritize students with "exceptional need," although this term is not defined in the law or guidance. In two changes to CARES Act processes, students may give consent for their grants to be applied directly to their institutional accounts for charges such as tuition, and CARES Act rules that stated students had to be eligible for financial aid to receive funding do not apply.
The second portion of the funding can be used broadly by the institution to defray expenses associated with coronavirus (including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll) and carry out student support activities, or to make additional financial aid grants to students.
More details about the grant process, uses of funds and other frequently asked questions are available on the ED website. In addition, you can submit questions to ED through their Customer Care Form.