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 84.425F | ED GRANTS 051321 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 051321 002

This opportunity is part of the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) funding made available under Section 2003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), signed into law on March 11, 2021. Through this law, Congress provided roughly $39.6 billion in additional emergency aid for colleges and universities, using funding structures tied to programs previously authorized under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). The Department announced the availability of these ARP HEERF funds through two related streams: the Student Aid Portion (ALN 84.425E) and the Institutional Portion (ALN 84.425F). The specific listing referenced here, Assistance Listing Number 84.425F, focuses on the institutional portion, meaning funds intended for institutional uses tied to coronavirus impacts, though the overall ARP authority also emphasizes that institutions must still provide a required level of direct financial aid to students based on the statutory formula.

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education as defined in sections 101 and 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended. In practical terms, this includes public and private nonprofit colleges and universities that meet the federal definition of an eligible IHE. The opportunity is issued by the Department of Education under the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE). It is categorized as mandatory funding and uses the grant funding instrument type, meaning awards are driven by statutory formula and eligibility rather than a competitive peer-review process typical of discretionary grants.

Funding allocations are calculated using formulas laid out in ARP section 2003(1) and the referenced CRRSAA provisions in section 314(a)(1). The notice indicates that this ARP program largely continues the earlier CRRSAA section 314(a)(1) approach, which the Department implemented as two parallel funding streams: one dedicated to student financial aid grants and one dedicated to institutional expenses and operational needs arising from the pandemic. Even though 84.425F is the institutional stream, the governing rules described in the notice make clear that institutions have obligations to direct a specified portion of their overall HEERF allocation to students as emergency financial aid grants, with the exact minimum determined by the statutory formula and shown in an allocation table for each institution.

Allowable uses under ARP section 2003 are broadly framed around responding to coronavirus-related disruption. Institutions may use grant funds to defray expenses associated with coronavirus, including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs linked to the transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll. The law and notice also emphasize the complementary purpose of providing direct financial aid grants to students, including students who are exclusively enrolled in distance education. Student grants can be used for any component of a student's cost of attendance or for emergency expenses caused by coronavirus, with examples including tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), and child care.

When institutions make financial aid grants to students, they are required to prioritize students with exceptional need, such as Pell Grant recipients. The notice also spells out how to determine the minimum amount that must be spent on student financial aid: it is calculated as the sum of 50 percent of the amounts received under certain CRRSAA formula factors (section 314(a)(1)(A) through (D)) plus 100 percent of the amounts received under other CRRSAA formula factors (section 314(a)(1)(E) through (F)). The Department notes that this required student-aid amount is identified for each institution in the official allocation table, which is a key reference point for budgeting and compliance.

Administratively, the notice repeatedly stresses that the brief description provided is only a synopsis and that the controlling requirements are those published in the official Federal Register application notice. Applicants are directed to review that Federal Register notice for the specific eligibility language, pre-application and application requirements, submission instructions, performance measures, priorities, and agency contact information. It also points applicants to the Department's Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs (published February 13, 2019) for standardized submission guidance and references where the official Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations can be accessed online.

From the source data provided, the opportunity is identified as "ED GRANTS 051321 002," created on May 13, 2021, with an original closing date listed as March 7, 2022. The award ceiling and expected awards fields are not specified in the excerpt, which is consistent with formula-driven programs where total amounts are established by appropriations and allocation formulas rather than a single competitive maximum per applicant. Overall, ALN 84.425F under ARP HEERF is designed to help eligible colleges and universities stabilize operations and address direct and indirect pandemic impacts while ensuring that a statutorily required portion of funds supports students facing financial hardship, with an explicit priority on those with exceptional need.

• 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 84.425F" 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.

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