Cover Letter

Dear College and University Presidents,

We have identified your institution as potentially eligible to receive a grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Your institution was not included on the initial allocation table (available at the following link: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/allocationsforsection18004a1ofcaresact.pdf) because the requisite Integrated Postsecondary Education Data system (IPEDS) enrollment data and Federal Student Aid (FSA) Pell Program data was not available for your institution (see the Department’s formula allocation methodology at this link: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerf90percentformulaallocationexplanation.pdf). However, we reserved a portion of the funding appropriated under Section 18004(a)(1) to ensure that all eligible institutions could receive an allocation. Today, we are releasing information on how schools that were not allocated funds in the initial distribution round can access these funds.

Section 18004(c) of the CARES Act requires your institution to use at least fifty percent of the total funds received under section 18001(a)(1) to provide emergency grants to students, and allows your institution to use the remaining funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) to cover any costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus pandemic. Consistent with the approach the Department took with the initial round of Section 18004(a)(1) allocations, your institution’s total allocation is comprised of two separate grants -- the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students portion (student portion) and the Recipient’s Institutional Costs portion (institutional portion).

In order to access both the student portion and the institutional portion of your allocation under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act, please complete the following steps no later than August 15, 2020:

1. Submit the application, including the data requested, that accompanies this letter to HEERF@ed.gov. Your institution was not included in the initial round of Section 18004(a)(1) awards because we did not have the data we needed to calculate your award. As described in the application, please provide the Department with your institution’s full-time equivalent enrollment and the percentage of your students enrolled exclusively in distance education for academic year (AY) 2018-2019. If your institution did not have enrollment in AY 2018-19, please report the most recent data for AY 2019-2020 that exists prior to March 13, 2020. Please also provide your institution’s number of full-time equivalent enrollment of Pell recipients for academic year (AY) 2018-2019, or if your institution did not have enrollment in AY 2018-19, please report the most recent data for AY 2019-2020 that exists prior to March 13, 2020 and the percentage of those Pell recipients who were enrolled exclusively in distance education.

2. Submit the Funding Certification and Agreement forms for both the student portion and the institutional portion (available for download on our Office of Postsecondary Education’s CARES Act website (https://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/caresact.html) and return via grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov), acknowledging and agreeing to the terms and conditions of the funding. Note that if you are not already registered in https://www.grants.gov, you must be sure to register immediately. Because helping students remains our number one priority, please note that your institution must complete and submit the Funding Certification and Agreement form for the student portion before completing and submitting the Funding Certification and Agreement form for the institutional portion or both must be submitted concurrently. When submitting the forms via https://www.grants.gov, please ensure that you use the Funding Opportunity Number: ED-GRANTS-041020-003 for the student portion and the Funding Opportunity Number: ED-GRANTS-042120-004 for the institutional portion.

After your institution has completed these steps and the Department has verified the information, the Department will calculate your award and post your allocation to the allocation table on the OPE CARES Act website: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/allocationsforsection18004a1ofcaresact.pdf. Please note that institutions may submit their application (with requested data to determine allocation) and their Certification and Agreements concurrently. The funds will then be obligated in order to permit institutions to draw down funds, as needed, using the Department’s G5 system*.

While I know you face many challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, I encourage you to use the portion of your award for Recipient’s Institutional Costs to expand your remote learning programs, build your IT capacity to support such programs, and train faculty and staff to operate effectively in a remote learning environment. These activities will help ensure that learning can continue for your students during the Nation’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and strengthen your position to support continued learning in the future. I also encourage you to consider using the funds for Recipient’s Institutional Costs to expand support for your students with the most significant financial needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic, including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as course materials, technology, health care, childcare, food, and housing.

I look forward to continuing to work with you on behalf of America’s students.

Sincerely,

Betsy DeVos

*The Department of Education's Grants Management system. G5 replaces the former e-Grants, Grant Administration and Payment systems. G5 is available to applicants, grantees, payees as well as internal Education staff.