Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Higher Education Under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), Section 2003 of the American Rescue Plan Act, 2021 (ARP) Assistance Listing Number 84.425E | ED GRANTS 051321 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 051321 001

This grant opportunity is part of the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) authorized by Section 2003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), signed into law on March 11, 2021 (Pub. L. 117-2). ARP provided roughly $39.6 billion in additional relief for colleges and universities, using the existing HEERF structure that had already been set up under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) (Pub. L. 116-260). The Department of Education announced these funds through programs listed under Assistance Listing Numbers (ALNs) 84.425E and 84.425F, continuing the two-stream approach used earlier: 84.425E is the Student Aid Portion (money that must be distributed to students as direct financial aid grants), while 84.425F is the Institutional Portion (money the institution can use for eligible institutional purposes tied to COVID-19 impacts).

ALN 84.425E specifically focuses on direct aid to students. Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education (IHEs) as defined under sections 101 and 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), meaning public and private nonprofit colleges and universities that meet those federal definitions. The funding is mandatory (not discretionary/competitive in the typical sense) and allocations are calculated by federal formula rather than being awarded through a scored proposal competition. The formulas referenced in the notice come from ARP section 2003(1) and CRRSAA section 314(a)(1), and the Department provided an allocation table showing the amount associated with each institution.

The central purpose of the 84.425E Student Aid Portion is to provide financial aid grants to students to address needs related to the coronavirus. These grants can be used for any component of a student's cost of attendance or for emergency costs arising due to COVID-19. The notice highlights common examples such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), and child care. A key feature of ARP-era HEERF is that institutions may provide these student grants to students who are exclusively enrolled in distance education, reflecting how many students continued their programs online during the pandemic. When distributing these grants, institutions are required to prioritize students with exceptional need, and the notice specifically points to Pell Grant recipients as an example of the population that should be prioritized.

Although this listing number is the Student Aid Portion, the overall ARP HEERF framework also allows grant funds (across the programs announced) to be used for institutional COVID-19 impacts, including defraying expenses associated with coronavirus. The notice gives examples of allowable institutional expenses such as lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs related to transitioning to distance education, faculty and staff training, and payroll. In practice, that institutional-use flexibility is associated with the companion stream (ALN 84.425F), while ALN 84.425E is the stream dedicated to student grants. The notice also explains how the Department determines the minimum amount an institution must direct to student financial aid grants: it is calculated as the sum of 50 percent of the amount the institution receives under the CRRSAA formula factors in section 314(a)(1)(A)-(D), plus 100 percent of the amount received under the formula factors in section 314(a)(1)(E)-(F). That required student-aid amount is shown for each school in the official allocation table.

Administratively, the Department emphasizes that the funding opportunity description provided is only a synopsis and that the binding requirements, terms, and instructions are contained in the official Federal Register notice. Applicants are directed to consult the Federal Register for full details on pre-application and application requirements, submission instructions, performance measures, priorities, and contact information. The notice also points institutions to the Department's standard "Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs" (published February 13, 2019, 84 FR 3768) for general application and submission guidance, even though HEERF allocations themselves are formula-based. The opportunity information provided includes the internal funding opportunity number (ED GRANTS 051321 001), the agency (U.S. Department of Education), the ALN (84.425E), and a listed closing date of March 7, 2022.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Higher Education Under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), Section 2003 of the American Rescue Plan Act, 2021 (ARP) Assistance Listing Number 84.425E" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.425.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-05-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-03-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for ED GRANTS 051321 001

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