## Introduction

 The  Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or, CARES Act, was passed by  Congress on March 27th, 2020.  This bill allotted $2.2 trillion to provide fast and direct economic aid to the  American people negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that money,  approximately $14 billion was given to the Office of Postsecondary Education as  the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, or HEERF. 

***Note:  This page is dedicated to the first HEERF grant funding established by the CARES  Act. Information pertaining to the new funding (HEERF II) established by the  CRRSAA can be found at this ****link**.****Information about the HEERF III established by the American Rescue Plan can be found  at this****link**.*

## Litigation Updates Applicable to certain institutions   (Last Updated 9/8/2020)

## Latest News (Last Updated 1/29/2021)

**January****28****,  2021:**  The Department is committed to supporting grantees in meeting HEERF  reporting requirements.  To provide  institutions more flexibility we are extending the reporting deadline until 

**February  8, 2021:** for reporting HEERF data.  A  letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary can be accessed here (PDF, 138K).

**January 14, 2021:** The U.S. Department of Education announced  today an additional $21.2 billion is now available to higher education  institutions to ensure learning continues for students during the COVID-19  pandemic under the CRRSAA as HEERF II. Information pertaining to the new  HEERF II funding can be found at our CRRSAA: Higher  Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF II) page here. 

**January 5, 2021:** The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental  Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted on December 27, 2020, provided $22.7 billion  for institutions of higher education. Information regarding the distribution of  these funds is forthcoming and will be posted on this website when available. 

**January 5, 2021:** As announced in today’s *Federal Register*, the  newly enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 supersedes the Department  of Education’s December 23, 2020 *Federal Register*notice that reopened the  HEERF grant program application period for certain limited applicants. The 2021  Appropriations Act prevents the Department from accepting or processing any applications  for new awards under section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act (i.e., the “Student  Aid Portion” program (CFDA 84.425E) and the “Institutional Portion” program  (CFDA 84.425F)).

While  the Department cannot accept or process any applications for CARES Act section  18004(a)(1) program funds, we are still able to accept applications for section  18004(a)(2) and (a)(3) HEERF programs (CFDAs 84.425J, 84.425K, 84.425L,  84.425M, 84.425N) from applicants that meet one of the five conditions  described in the Reopening Notice and that we verified previously have  attempted to apply through grants.gov for one of these HEERF grant  opportunities. Applicants for those funds must submit their revised or  corrected applications no later than **January 11, 2021**.

**January 5, 2021:** The reporting period for the first HEERF  annual report begins today and ends on **February 1, 2021**. The grantee  reporting portal can be accessed here.  A user guide, webinar, and other resources can be accessed here. All HEERF grantees are required to submit an  annual report during this reporting period. 

**December 11, 2020:** All  Institutions are required to submit HEERF annual performance reports via the Annual Report Data Collection System.  As part of this, **every institution is required to submit to heerfannual@ed.gov the names and email  addresses of those individuals who will be authorized to edit and submit your  institution’s HEERF annual performance report.** The Submitter is the one grant  official who will have the authority to submit the report on behalf of the  grantee. The Editors are users who will be able to complete, but not submit,  the data collection form. The Submitter will have Editor privileges and may  also answer questions in the data collection form.  

If your institution has not  already responded to our outreach emails, please send their names and email  addresses in the following format to heerfannual@ed.gov:

- Submitter: (First Name Last Name) (Email address)
-    Editor 1: (First Name Last Name) (Email address)  
- Editor 2 (if needed): (First Name Last Name) (Email address)

Your institution must tell us who will be the Submitter and Editor(s) for your HEERF annual report as soon as possible  if you have not done so already. The reporting period for the first HEERF annual report will be **January 5 to February 1, 2021**. More information is  available at our  reporting page here. 

## Specific Program Information 

### Institutional  Resilience and Expanded Postsecondary Opportunity (IREPO) Grant Program  Competition (FIPSE Competitive Grant)

### Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary  Education (FIPSE) Grant Program (Formula Grant)

### Redistribution of the (a)(1) Reserve

### Student  Portion

### Institutional Portion

### Historically  Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

### Tribally  Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)

### Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)

### Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) 

| **Program****(with link to website)**                                                                       | **CFDA** | **CARES Act Section** | **Eligibility****(with link to allocation table)**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     | **Deadline**                                                                                                                                                         | **Grants.gov Funding    Opportunity Number** |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|-----------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| Student Portion                                                                                             | 84.425E  | 18004(a)(1)           | All Title IV participating schools*Note: Students cannot apply for assistance directly from the U.S.    Department of Education but should contact their institutions for further    information and guidance.*Allocation Table Here                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | **9/30/2020**                                                                                                                                                        | ED-GRANTS-041020-003                         |
| Institutional Portion                                                                                       | 84.425F  | 18004(a)(1)           | All Title IV participating schoolsAllocation Table Here                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | **9/30/2020**                                                                                                                                                        | ED-GRANTS-042120-004                         |
| Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)                                                   | 84.425J  | 18004(a)(2)           | Institutions that qualify for funding under    the following programs: Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and    Universities (Part B institutions as described in section 322(2) of the    Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)), Strengthening Historically    Black Graduate Institutions (institutions named in section 326(e)(1) of the    HEA), and Master’s Degree Programs at Historically Black Colleges and    Universities (institutions named in section 723(b)(1) of the HEA)Allocation Table Here | **9/30/2020;  1/11/2021**, only for applicants eligible for the limited  reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 *Federal Register*notice    | ED-GRANTS-043020-001                         |
| Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)                                                  | 84.425K  | 18004(a)(2)           | Institutions that qualify for funding under    the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978 or the    Navajo Community College Assistance Act of 1978; are cited in section 532 of    the Equity in Educational Land Grant Status Act of 1994; or are designated as    eligible for funding by the Bureau of Indian EducationAllocation Table Here                                                                                                                                                             | **9/30/2020; 1/11/2021**, only for applicants eligible for the limited  reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 *Federal Register*notice     | ED-GRANTS-043020-002                         |
| Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)                                                                   | 84.425L  | 18004(a)(2)           | Institutions that would be eligible to    participate in the following programs: Predominantly Black Institutions    (PBI), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH), Asian    American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions    (AANAPISI), Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI),    Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI), and Promoting    Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) programsAllocation Table Here                       | **9/30/2020****; 1/11/2021**, only for applicants eligible for the limited  reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 *Federal Register*notice | ED-GRANTS-043020-003                         |
| Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP)                                                               | 84.425M  | 18004(a)(2)           | Institutions designated as eligible in FY    2020 for grant programs in Titles III and V of the HEA that did not receive    18004(a)(2) grant awards as a result of not meeting the requirements for the    Strengthening HBCUs, HBGIs, HBCU Master’s, TCCUs, PBIs, ANNH, AANAPISI,    NASNTI, DHSI, and/or PPOHA programsAllocation Table Here                                                                                                                                                                                  | **9/30/2020; 1/11/2021**, only for applicants eligible for the limited  reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 *Federal Register*notice     | ED-GRANTS-043020-004                         |
| Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)    Formula Grant                           | 84.425N  | 18004(a)(3)           | Public and private nonprofit institutions of    higher education that are eligible under Part B of Title VII of the HEA and    received less than $500,000 total from HEERF (a)(1) and (a)(2) programsAllocation Table Here                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            | **9/30/2020; 1/11/2021**, only for applicants eligible for the limited  reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 *Federal Register*notice     | ED-GRANTS-043020-005                         |
| Institutional Resilience and Expanded Postsecondary    Opportunity (IREPO) – FIPSE Competitive Grant   | 84.425P  | 18004(a)(3)           | This is a competitive grant program.     Please see the Notice Inviting Applications for information regarding    eligibility and selection criteria.*Federal    Register *Notice HereSuccessful Applicants: Allocation Table                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Notice of intent to apply: **9/10/2020**      Application: **10/20/2020**                                                                                  | ED-GRANTS-082120-00                          |

## Reporting and Data Collection

## HEERF Grant Program FAQs:

- 	HEERF Grant Program Auditing Requirements   (March 8, 2021)
- CARES Act HEERF Rollup FAQs   (Rollup of all five previously-released HEERF FAQ documents in one document) (Issued October 14, 2020 and revised November 20, 2020)  
- CARES Act HEERF Round 3 FAQs   (Issued October 14, 2020 and revised November 20, 2020)  
- CARES  Act HEERF Supplemental FAQs  (Issued June 30, 2020 and revised September 08, 2020)  
- CARES Act HEERF Student  FAQs  (Issued May 15, 2020)
- CARES Act HEERF Emergency  Financial Aid Grants to Students under Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) FAQs   (Issued April 9, 2020) 
-  CARES  Act HEERF Institutional Portion under Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c)FAQs  (Issued April 9, 2020) 
- Internal  Revenue Service FAQs regarding CARES Act Grants  (External Site)
- 	Emergency aid granted to students due to COVID are not taxable   (External Site)

## COVID-19 Flexibility FAQs:

- COVID-19 CARES Act Flexibilities Letter to Student Services Grantees  (December 3, 2020)
- COVID-19 Program Match Flexibility Letter to GEAR UP Grantees   (December 3, 2020)
-  COVID-19 Institutional Service Letter  (December 3, 2020) 
-  COVID-19 Letter to HEP Grantees on Flexibilities Available Under CARES Act Section 3518 (July 1, 2020)
- COVID-19  FAQs for Title III, IV, V, and VII Grantees  (June 16, 2020)

## Webinars

**Disclaimer**: The guidance provided in these webinars is related to  Section 18004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES  Act), Pub. L. No. 116-136 (March 27, 2020).  Any guidance in these  webinars and related materials as to allowable and unallowable uses are  applicable for HEERF costs incurred before the effective date of the  Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA),  Pub. L. 116-260, which is December 27, 2020.

Please check the Department’s HEERF II website on a periodic basis for any guidance as to unspent (as  of December 27, 2020) CARES Act HEERF funds and CRRSAA HEERF funds*.*

### October 14, 2020 Reporting Requirements and Lost Revenue Webinar

Principal Deputy Under Secretary Diane Jones and Assistant  Secretary for Postsecondary Education Bob King hosted a webinar on reporting  requirements for HEERF and other topics on October 14, 2020. Please find the  following materials from the webinar:

- Webinar Recording
- Webinar PowerPoint Slides  (PDF, 1.58       MB)
- Post-Webinar email to grantees  (October       20, 2020)

### June 23, 2020 HEERF Technical Assistance Webinar

- Webinar Recording
- Webinar PowerPoint Slides  (PDF, 1.23 MB)

## Contact Information

HEERF@ed.gov
- File  a complaint online with the OIG Here
- Contact  information for the OIG Hotline Here
- HEERF  OIG Hotline Poster 

###  ARCHIVED INFORMATION AS OF AUGUST 13, 2020