This guidance is not award-year-specific and applies across award years.
This AskRegs Knowledgebase Q&A was updated on May 14, 2021 to include guidance in the May 11, 2021 Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) III Frequently Asked Questions, as it relates to HEERF I grants under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), HEERF II grants under the 2021 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA, Section 314 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), and HEERF III grants under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP).
Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF I, II, and III) grants are not Title IV federal student aid funds. They are administered through Grants.gov.
When first applying for HEERF funds of any kind, go to the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund website, CRRSAA: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund website, or ARP: American Rescue Plan website for instructions on how to submit the Grants.gov Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) and upload the Recipient’s Funding Certification and Agreement for grants to students and for grants to institutions separately. These websites direct you to program-specific information:
Public and private nonprofit institutions that previously received student or institutional HEERF II funds do not need to submit a new application to receive HEERF III funds; they will receive a supplemental HEERF III grant award automatically. That notification will be sent to the institution's HEERF Project Director (as designated by the institution). The institution's initial drawdown of funds from the HEERF III student portion and the institutional portion must be done within 90 days of the date of each supplemental HEERF III allocation and constitutes acceptance of each allocation, as well as the terms and conditions associated with each portion.
Proprietary institutions that previously received student HEERF II funds do not need to submit a new application to receive HEERF III funds, but they must complete the Required Proprietary Institution Certification form before August 11, 2021 and before they receive HEERF III funds. The grant notification will be sent to the institution's HEERF Project Director (as designated by the institution). The institution's initial drawdown of funds from the HEERF III student portion constitutes acceptance of the allocation, as well as the terms and conditions associated with it.
Institutions that did not previously receive student or institutional HEERF II funds, including proprietary institutions, must submit an application and certification for HEERF III funds no later than August 11, 2021. HEERF III application instructions can be found in Q&A #2, #3, #4, and #5 in the HEERF III Frequently Asked Questions.
Institutions can no longer apply for HEERF I funds, and the deadline to apply for HEERF II funds was April 15, 2021.
An institution's allocation of HEERF II and HEERF III funds may be found in its respective Allocation Tables.
Upon initial application for all HEERF grants under both the CRRSAA and ARP, the school must submit the Recipient’s Funding Certification and Agreement Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students BEFORE it submits the Recipient’s Funding Certification and Agreement for the Institutional Portion.
Any Questions? All questions related to completing the Recipient’s Funding Certification and Agreement go to:
ED
1-202-377-3711
[email protected]
All questions related to completing the Grants.gov Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) go to:
Grants.gov Customer Support
1-800-518-4726
[email protected]
Grants.gov Self-Service Knowledge Base web portal at: https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants
Update Note: This AskRegs Q&A was updated on January 19, 2021 to reflect requirements under the CRRSAA indicating that rules apply to both leftover HEERF I grants after December 27, 2020 and to HEERF II grants.
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