Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 183 - POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION COVID-19 MITIGATION RELIEF PROGRAM ACT (§§ 37-183-1 — 37-183-9) › Section 37-183-5 - Postsecondary Education COVID-19 Mitigation Relief Program established; purpose; application; award and allocation of funds

(1)
There is established the Postsecondary Education COVID-19 Mitigation Relief Program for public and private postsecondary educational institutions to be administered by the department, which shall set the dates and deadlines for applying for an award under this section. The program is established for the purpose of providing reimbursement to eligible postsecondary educational institutions for unreimbursed expenses directly related to COVID-19. The department shall establish such rules and regulations as it deems necessary and proper to carry out the purposes and intent of this section.
(2)
The department shall approve applications for reimbursement from each eligible postsecondary educational institution. For each eligible postsecondary educational institution, the department shall only award funds equivalent to the lesser of the total of itemized eligible COVID-19-related expenses or the maximum allowable for each institution based on the total number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 scholastic year, who were actively enrolled as a part-time or full-time student on March 1, 2020, as determined by the student allocation formulas specified in subsections (3) and (4) of this section. To qualify for reimbursement, each postsecondary educational institution's application for reimbursement must, in addition to specifying the amount of reimbursement requested, also include an itemized expense report that evidences the eligible expenses incurred by the eligible postsecondary educational institution.
(3)
(a)
Each four-year postsecondary educational institution shall be eligible to be reimbursed at an amount equivalent to Five Hundred Sixty-eight Dollars ($568.00) per student actively enrolled as a part-time or full-time student on March 1, 2020. Each four-year postsecondary educational institution's reimbursement shall be determined upon the submission of the itemized expense report, required under subsection (2) of this section. Failure of a four-year postsecondary educational institution to submit the itemized expense report will subject the institution to forfeiture of any allotted funds designated for the specific institution's eligible maximum reimbursement amount.
(b)
Upon a showing of itemized eligible COVID-19-related expenses, the eligible maximum reimbursement amount allowed for each four-year postsecondary educational institution, as determined by the student allocation formula prescribed in paragraph (a) of this subsection, shall be as follows:
(i)
Alcorn State University .................... $ 1,854,520.00
(ii)
Delta State University .................... $ 1,946,536.00
(iii)
Jackson State University .................... $ 3,603,960.00
(iv)
Mississippi State University .................... $ 11,704,776.00
(v)
Mississippi University for Women .................... $ 1,523,944.00
(vi)
Mississippi Valley State University .................... $ 1,147,928.00
(vii)
University of Mississippi .................... $ 11,981,392.00
(viii)
University of Southern Mississippi .................... $ 7,320,384.00
(ix)
Belhaven University .................... $ 2,272,000.00
(x)
Blue Mountain College .................... $ 340,800.00
(xi)
Millsaps College .................... $ 433,952.00
(xii)
Mississippi College .................... $ 2,465,688.00
(xiii)
Rust College .................... $ 364,088.00
(xiv)
Tougaloo College .................... $ 397,600.00
(xv)
William Carey University .................... $ 2,433,312.00
(c)
The department shall directly allocate to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning the amount of One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Dollars ($130,000.00) to be used for COVID-19-related expenses.
(d)
The total allocating authority provided to the Department of Finance and Administration under the provisions of this subsection (3) shall not exceed Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00).
(4)
(a)
Each two-year postsecondary educational institution, upon a showing of itemized eligible COVID-19-related expenses, shall be eligible to be awarded funds equivalent to the lesser of the total of its itemized eligible expenses or the base amount of Three Hundred Fifty-one Thousand Five Hundred Fifty Dollars and Seventy-one Cents ($351,550.71) available to each respective institution, as determined by calculating the total amount of unreimbursed expenses incurred by all two-year postsecondary educational institutions multiplied by the full-time equivalent (FTE) rate of fifteen percent (15%), and divided by the total number of two-year postsecondary educational institutions based on a thirty-seven percent (37%) reduction. The total of the base amount actually awarded to each institution under this paragraph (a) shall be deducted from the eligible maximum reimbursement amount allowed for each institution under paragraph (c) of this subsection.
(b)
The remaining eighty-five percent (85%) of the unreimbursed expenses incurred by all two-year postsecondary educational institutions shall then be divided by the total number of FTE students enrolled in all two-year postsecondary educational institutions to be reimbursed at an amount equivalent to Five Hundred Forty-five Dollars and Forty-two Cents ($545.42) per FTE student at each respective two-year postsecondary educational institution as of March 1, 2020, based on a thirty-seven percent (37%) reduction. Each postsecondary educational institution's reimbursement shall be determined upon the submission of the itemized expense report, required under subsection (2) of this section. Failure of a postsecondary educational institution to submit the itemized expense report will subject the institution to forfeiture of any allotted funds designated for the specific institution's eligible maximum reimbursement amount.
(c)
Upon a showing of itemized eligible COVID-19-related expenses, the eligible maximum reimbursement amount allowed for each institution, as determined by the student allocation formulas prescribed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, shall be as follows:
(i)
Coahoma Community College .................... $ 1,104,018.54
(ii)
Copiah-Lincoln Community College .................... $ 1,641,377.19
(iii)
East Central Community College .................... $ 1,429,800.67
(iv)
East Mississippi Community College .................... $ 1,943,536.14
(v)
Hinds Community College .................... $ 4,900,064.29
(vi)
Holmes Community College .................... $ 2,908,719.58
(vii)
Itawamba Community College .................... $ 2,511,704.35
(viii)
Jones County Junior College .................... $ 2,359,313.34
(ix)
Meridian Community College .................... $ 1,697,113.29
(x)
Mississippi Delta Community College .................... $ 1,453,472.11
(xi)
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College .................... $ 4,220,356.11
(xii)
Northeast Mississippi Community College .................... $ 1,866,958.52
(xiii)
Northwest Mississippi Community College .................... $ 3,372,657.14
(xiv)
Pearl River Community College .................... $ 2,497,523.94
(xv)
Southwest Mississippi Community College .................... $ 1,248,446.98.
(d)
The department shall directly allocate:
(i)
To the Mississippi Community College Board the amount of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00); and
(ii)
To the individual two-year postsecondary educational institutions, based on full-time enrolled students for all COVID-19-related education expenses, including, but not limited to, PPE and hardened technology infrastructure, the amount of Thirteen Million Eight Hundred Forty-four Thousand Nine Hundred Thirty-seven Dollars and Eighty-one Cents ($13,844,937.81).
Funds allocated under this paragraph (d), at the discretion of the individual two-year postsecondary educational institutions, may be transferred to the Community College Board for consortium distance learning purchases. The Community College Board shall provide the department with the number of full-time enrolled students at the two-year postsecondary educational institutions. Funds allocated under this paragraph (d) shall be for all COVID-19-related education expenses, including, but not limited to, PPE and hardened technology infrastructure at all two-year postsecondary educational institutions.
(e)
The total allocating authority provided to the department under the provisions of this subsection (4) shall not exceed Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00).
(5)
The department may retain One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00) for administrative expenses of the program.
(6)
The total allocating authority provided to the department under the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall not exceed One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000.00).
(7)
Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, the department shall develop regulations, procedures and application forms to govern the administration of the program, which at a minimum, shall require eligible postsecondary educational institutions to:
(a)
Submit an application for a grant for reimbursement;
(b)
Demonstrate the need and purpose of the grant funds received to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the operation of the school and its delivery of instruction; and
(c)
Provide an itemized list of reimbursable-eligible expenses, as defined in Section
37-183-3
, which the eligible postsecondary educational institution has previously incurred, is presently incurring or will incur in the future, as such expenses relate to mitigation of the impact of COVID-19.
(8)
The department shall report on the utilization of the program to the Chairs of the Universities and Colleges Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and the Governor by October 1, 2020. At a minimum, the report shall contain:
(a)
The name of each educational institution;
(b)
The total amount of reimbursement requested by each educational institution; and
(c)
The total amount of reimbursement received by each educational institution.
Added by Laws, 2020, ch. 489, HB 1793,§ 3, (became law without the Governor's signature on July 9, 2020).