Section 18004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act) — Guidance
Summary
Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Supplemental Frequently Asked Questions under Section 18004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, originally issued June 30, 2020, with Question 1 updated August 6, 2020 and Question 5 updated September 8, 2020. The disclaimer says the guidance applies to HEERF costs incurred before December 27, 2020, the effective date of the CRRSAA. Question 1 answers that all institutions were given 1 calendar year (365 days) from the date of award in their HEERF Grant Award Notification to complete performance of their HEERF grant. Other answers address emergency financial aid grants to students, student scholarships, laptop purchases and documenting lost revenues.
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Cite this document
“Section 18004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act) — Guidance.”
Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-cares-act-heerf-supplemental-faqs-www-ed-gov-9617dc45e1/
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Disclaimer: This guidance is related to Section 18004 of the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act), Pub. L. No. 116-136 (March 27,
2020). Guidance in this document as to allowable and unallowable uses are
applicable for HEERF costs incurred before the effective date of the Coronavirus
Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), Pub. L.
116-260, which is December 27, 2020.
Please check the Department’s HEERF II website on a periodic basis for any
guidance as to unspent (as of December 27, 2020) CARES Act HEERF funds and
CRRSAA HEERF funds.
Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund
Supplemental Frequently Asked Questions under Section 18004 of the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
Originally issued June 30, 2020.
Question 1 updated August 6, 2020. Question 5 updated September 8, 2020.
These FAQs constitute a guidance document. Guidance documents represent the Department of
Education’s current thinking on a topic. They do not create or confer any rights for or on any person
and do not impose any requirements beyond those required under applicable law and regulations.
Guidance documents lack the force and effect of law. See U.S. Department of Education’s
Guidance Homepage, https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/types-of-guidance- documents.html.
1. What is the deadline (project period or period of performance) for institutions to
spend Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) funds received under the
CARES Act? 1
All institutions were given 1 calendar year (365 days) from the date of award in their HEERF
Grant Award Notification (GAN) to complete the performance of their HEERF grant. 2
Therefore, for example, if a grantee received a GAN on April 7, 2020, the one calendar year
period of performance for their HEERF grant would be through April 6, 2021.
Please note that after the end of the year-long period of performance, grantees have an
additional 90 calendar days to liquidate their obligations made during their year-long period
of performance as part of the grant closeout procedures (2 CFR § 200.343(b)).
The Department understands that some grantees, even given the emergency nature of the
HEERF grant, may be unable to obligate funds by this time. Consequently, no-cost
extensions (NCEs) of up to 12 months are available as provided for in 2 CFR §
1
A previous version of the FAQ inaccurately stated that schools had until September 30, 2022 to use HEERF grant
funds. This revised version of the answer conforms with the project period listed in the GANs and supersedes the
previously provided FAQ.
2
See Box 6 in your HEERF GAN (“Federal Funding Period”). All HEERF grant programs received a 1 calendar year
period of performance from their GAN.
1
200.308(d)(2). NCEs may not be exercised merely for the purpose of using unobligated
balances. Given the emergency nature of HEERF grants, the Department does not intend an
NCE to extend longer than 12 months. HEERF grantees are encouraged to discuss any need
for an NCE with their respective program officer well in advance of the end of their grant
period of performance.
For general information about grant management, grantee responsibilities, and grant
closeout, please consult our guide, Grantmaking at ED, available here.
2. Are emergency financial aid grants to students (made available under the HEERF in
the CARES Act) available only to students who were enrolled during the semester or
quarter in which the national emergency was declared?
No. Institutions must spend 50 percent of funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) for
emergency financial aid grants to students. Section 18004(c) of the CARES Act states that
the emergency financial aid grants for students are for “expenses related to the disruption of
campus operations due to coronavirus,” and students may incur expenses related to the
disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus after the semester or quarter in which
the national emergency was declared. Although the intent of the CARES Act is to make
emergency financial aid grants immediately available to students, if funds remain after
making these immediate disbursements, eligible students enrolled during subsequent terms
may receive emergency financial aid grants even if they were not enrolled during the spring
2020 term.
3. If an institution decides to use funds received under the Institutional Relief portion of
Section 18004(a)(1) to make additional emergency financial aid grants to students, can
the institution make those awards to students during the summer and fall terms?
Yes. The Certification and Agreement for the Institutional Portion of Section 18004(a)(1)
states: “If Recipient chooses to use funds designated for Recipient’s Institutional Costs to
provide such emergency financial aid grants to students, then the funds are subject to the
requirements in the Funding Certification and Agreement for the Emergency Financial Aid
Grants to Students under the CARES Act, entered into between Recipient and the
Secretary.” Students may experience expenses related to the disruption campus operations
due to coronavirus after the semester or quarter in which the national emergency was
declared.
4. Can an institution use funds under Section 18004(a)(2) or Section 18004(a)(3) to
provide grants for students during the summer and fall terms?
Yes. Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act states that institutions may use funds “to
address needs directly related to coronavirus” and specifically “for grants to students for any
component of the student’s cost of attendance (as defined under section 472 of the Higher
Education Act), including food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child
care.” Students may have needs directly related to the coronavirus after the semester or
quarter in which the national emergency was declared. Similarly, Section 18004(a)(3) of the
CARES Act states that these funds are for institutions that “have the greatest unmet needs
related to coronavirus,” as determined by the Secretary, and that institutions may use funds
2
“for grants to students for any component of the student’s cost of attendance (as defined
under section 472 of the Higher Education Act), including food, housing, course materials,
technology, health care, and child care.” Accordingly, these grants to students may be made
after the semester or quarter in which the national emergency was declared.
Although the CARES Act does not require an institution to use at least 50% of funds
received under Section 18004(a)(2) or Section 18004(a)(3) for grants to students, the
Certification and Agreement for Funds under Section 18004(a)(2) or Section 18004(a)(3),
respectively, states: “[T]he Secretary urges Recipient to devote the maximum possible
amount of the award to Student Grants, including some or all of the award that a Recipient
may use for Recipient’s Expenses, especially if Recipient has a significant endowment or
other resources at its disposal. The Secretary urges Recipient to take strong measures to
ensure that Student Grants are made to the maximum extent possible.”
5. Can institutions use the Student Portion of its CARES Act funds under Section
18004(a)(1) for student scholarships? 3
No. The CARES Act does not allow institutions use the Student Portion of their Section
18004(a)(1) funds for student scholarships. Institutions may use the Student Portion of their
Section 18004(a)(1) funds only for direct emergency financial aid grants to students, not
scholarships.
However, an institution may use the Institutional Portion of its Section 18004(a)(1) award
for student scholarships under limited circumstances. Section 18004(a)(1) requires
institutions to use Institutional Relief funds only to cover “costs associated with significant
changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus” pursuant to Section 18004(c).
Therefore, if an institution wishes to use the Institutional Portion of its Section 18004(a)(1)
award to fund student scholarships, the scholarships must be geared towards these types of
costs. Examples of such allowable scholarships for “costs associated with significant
changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus” include covering the cost of
fees to access an online library in lieu of a physical library (if such fees are otherwise usually
required), providing students with computers and internet access, and subsidizing the added
cost of off-campus housing.
Furthermore, it is important that any scholarships funded by the Institutional Portion of a
Section 18004(a)(1) award would not count toward the minimum fifty percent of an
institution’s total allocation that must be spent on emergency financial aid grants to students
for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.
6. Can institutions use CARES Act funds under Section 18004(a)(2) or Section
18004(a)(3) to make scholarships to students?
Yes. Section 18004(a)(2) and Section 18004(a)(3) of the CARES Act state that institutions
may use funds specifically “for grants to students for any component of the student’s cost
of attendance (as defined under section 472 of the Higher Education Act), including food,
3
This FAQ has been updated on September 8, 2020 to clarify that only the (a)(1) Institutional Portion may be used for
student scholarships in certain limited circumstances.
3
housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care.”
7. Can schools using CARES Act funds under Section 18004(a)(2) or Section 18004(a)(3)
to make scholarships to students advertise those scholarships using such funds?
Yes. The CARES Act does not include the same restriction on pre-enrollment recruitment
activities under Section 18004(a)(2) and Section 18004(a)(3) as it does for funds under
Section 18004(a)(1). Accordingly, the Certification and Agreement for funds under Section
18004(a)(2) and Section 18004(a)(3), respectively, does not contain such a restriction. The
C & A for Section 18004(a)(1) states: “Recipient shall not use funds for payment to
contractors for the provision of pre-enrollment recruitment activities, which include
marketing and advertising; endowments; or capital outlays associated with facilities related
to athletics, sectarian instruction, or religious worship.” The C & A for Section 18004(a)(2)
or Section 18004(a)(3) does not contain this language.
8. Can schools use CARES Act funds under Section 18004(a)(1) to pay salaries and
benefits for employees that work in the dining halls and dorms and who would have
otherwise been paid through student housing fees had COVID-19 not disrupted
campus operations?
Yes. Institutions may use Institutional Relief funds under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES
Act for “costs associated with the significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to
the coronavirus.” The Certification and Agreement for the Institutional Portion of the
HEERF states: “Recipient retains discretion in determining how to allocate and use the funds
provided hereunder, provided that funds will be spent only on those costs for which
Recipient has a reasoned basis for concluding such costs have a clear nexus to significant
changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus.” The Department considers
institutions to have such a reasoned basis with respect to the salaries and benefits for
employees that work in dining halls and dorms and who would have otherwise been paid
through student housing fees, had COVID-19 not disrupted campus operations.
9. If an institution usually purchases 1,000 laptops for students each year, but during the
COVID-19 national emergency needs to purchase 2,000 laptops to accommodate the
student body’s transition to on-line learning as a result of COVID-19 related
disruption can the institution use CARES Act funds to purchase all 2,000 laptops?
Yes. The CARES Act authorizes institutions to use Institutional Relief Funds (provided
under section 18004(a)(1)) or funds made available under 18004(a)(2) or 18004(a)(3) to
purchase all 2,000 computers if the institution experienced disruption of instruction as a
result of COVID-19.
Institutions cannot use Section 18004(a)(1) funds designated by the CARES Act as
emergency financial aid grants to students (50 percent of Section 18004(a)(1) funds) to
purchase laptops or other equipment, even if the institution intends to distribute that
equipment to students.
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10. How do recipients of section 18004(a)(2) and (a)(3) funds document lost revenues? Do
lost revenues relate only to disruption of instruction? Does lost revenue include
revenue lost from cancelled summer camps or unused parking lots?
Upon request from the Department, institutions must provide documents demonstrating
year-over-year decreases in revenue that are the result of a decline in enrollment, a decline
in student fees including housing fees and meal plans, a decline in parking and facilities
revenue, or a decline in revenue from summer programs or other activities disrupted by
COVID-19.
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