CARES HEERF Certification and Agreement

Summary

Department of Education form of the Recipient's Certification and Agreement for an award under Section 18004(a)(2) of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund in the CARES Act, with the recipient, signature and date fields left blank. It lets a recipient use the award for its own expenses, including lost revenue and the shift to distance education, and for grants to students for costs of attendance, and urges recipients to devote the maximum possible amount to student grants. Recipients must submit the agreement by September 30, 2020 through grants.gov, may count only expenses first incurred on or after March 13, 2020, and may not treat executive pay, stock buybacks or dividends as allowable expenses. It warns that failure to comply may bring liability under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                         Recipient’s Certification and Agreement
  for an Award under Section 18004(a)(2) of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund,
              Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

       Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136 (March 27, 2020), authorizes
the Secretary of Education (“Secretary”) to make an award in the amount provided in the column
labeled “Total Allocation” on the Table “Allocations for Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act,”
which is hereby incorporated by reference, to __________________________________________
(“Recipient”).
       Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act authorizes the Secretary to make additional awards
                                                                          US
under parts A and B of title III, parts A and B of title V, and subpart 4 of part A of title VII of the
                                                                            E
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (“HEA”), to address needs directly related to the
coronavirus. These awards are in addition to awards made in Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES
                                                              NO
Act and have been allocated by the Secretary proportionally to such programs based on the relative
share of funding appropriated to such programs in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2020 (Public Law 116-94).                                       T
                                                       DO
        Pursuant to Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act, Recipient may use this award to defray
expenses incurred by Recipient, including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred,
technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and
                          Do
payroll (“Recipient’s Expenses”). Recipient also may use this award for grants to students for any

                            cu
component of the student’s cost of attendance, as defined under Section 472 of the HEA, including
food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care (“Student Grants” or “Student
Grant”).                      men
                                 t-
       Pursuant to the Secretary’s authority under the CARES Act and associated with the
coronavirus emergency, as stated in Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020, “Declaring a National
Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak,” Federal Register
Vol. 85, No. 53 at 15337-38 (hereinafter “Proclamation of National Emergency”), the Secretary and
     Ar
Recipient agree as follows:

       ch
       1.     The Secretary will provide Recipient an award for Recipient’s Expenses and Student
         iv
Grants under Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act.
           ed
       2.      Recipient agrees that the amount of the award is the full amount that Recipient may
receive under Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act.
       3.       Although the CARES Act does not require Recipient to use at least 50% of this award
for grants to students (as is required under funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) and Section
18004(c) of the CARES Act), the 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.


                                                   1
      4.     In consideration for the award and as conditions for its receipt, Recipient warrants,
acknowledges, and agrees that:
     (a) The funds shall be used solely for the purposes authorized in Section 18004(a)(2) of the
CARES Act.
       (b) Recipient must submit this Certification and Agreement on or before September 30,
2020 through the website, grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov).
        (c) Consistent with Section 18006 of the CARES Act, Recipient agrees that to the greatest
extent practicable, Recipient will pay all of its employees and contractors during the period of any
disruptions or closures related to the coronavirus. The Department would not consider the following
to constitute Recipient’s Expenses and, therefore, would not view them as allowable expenditures:
senior administrator and/or executive salaries, benefits, bonuses, contracts, incentives; stock
buybacks, shareholder dividends, capital distributions, and stock options; and any other cash or other
benefit for a senior administrator or executive.
        (d) Recipient’s Expenses must have been first incurred on or after March 13, 2020, the date
of the Proclamation of National Emergency.
         (e) If Recipient is a Historically Black College and University or a Minority Serving
Institution, then consistent with Section 18004(d)(2) of the CARES Act, Recipient may use prior
awards provided under Titles III, V, and VII of the HEA to prevent, prepare for, and respond to
coronavirus. Should Recipient avail itself of this flexibility, it must maintain appropriate records and
cost documentation as required by 2 CFR 200.302 and 2 CFR 200.333 to separately account for prior
award funds used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
        (f) Recipient will comply with all reporting requirements including those in Section
15011(b)(2) of Division B of the CARES Act and submit required quarterly reports to the Secretary,
at such time and in such manner and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably
require (See also 2 CFR 200.327-200.329). The Secretary may require additional reporting in the
future under Sections 15011(b)(2) and Section 18004(e), including but not limited to reporting on the
use of the award for Recipient’s Expenses, demonstrating such use was in accordance with Section
18004(a)(2), accounting for the amount of reimbursements to Recipient for costs related to refunds
made to students for housing, food, or other components of the student’s cost of attendance that
Recipient could no longer provide, and describing any internal controls Recipient has in place to
ensure that funds were used for allowable purposes and in accordance with cash management
principles. For grants made to students, the Recipient should maintain records on how grants were
distributed to students, how the amount of each grant was calculated, and any instructions or
directions given to students about the grants. Recipient also should maintain records on the amount
of each grant awarded to each student for production only upon the request of a federal agency.
      (g) Recipient shall comply with all requirements in Attachment A to this Certification and
Agreement.




                                                   2
       (h) Recipient shall promptly and to the greatest extent practicable use the award for
Recipient’s Expenses and Student Grants by one year from the date of this Certification and
Agreement, and document its efforts to do so as part of the report specified in subsection (e) above.
        (i) Recipient shall cooperate with any examination of records with respect to the award for
Recipient’s Expenses and Student Grants by making records and authorized individuals available
when requested, whether by (i) the U.S. Department of Education and/or its Inspector General; or (ii)
any other federal agency, commission, or department in the lawful exercise of its jurisdiction and
authority.
       (j) Recipient’s failure to comply with this Certification and Agreement, its terms and
conditions, and/or all relevant provisions and requirements of the CARES Act or any other applicable
law may result in Recipient’s liability under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq.; OMB
Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR
part 180, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485; 18 USC §
1001, as appropriate; and all of the laws and regulations referenced in Attachment A, which is
incorporated by reference hereto.
RECIPIENT or Authorized Representative of Recipient                ____________________
OPEID Number                                                       ____________________
DATE                                                               ____________________




                                                 3
                   Attachment A to Recipient’s Certification and Agreement
                        for an Award under Section 18004(a)(2) of the
                 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act


Recipient assures and certifies the following:
   •   Recipient will comply with all applicable assurances in OMB Standard Forms 424B and D
       (Assurances for Non-Construction and Construction Programs), including the assurances
       relating to the legal authority to apply for assistance; access to records; conflict of interest;
       nondiscrimination; Hatch Act provisions; labor standards; Single Audit Act; and the general
       agreement to comply with all applicable Federal laws, executive orders and regulations.

   •   With respect to the certification regarding lobbying in Department Form 80-0013, no Federal
       appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting
       to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or
       employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the
       making or renewal of Federal grants under this program; Recipient will complete and submit
       Standard Form-LLL, “Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying,” when required (34 C.F.R. Part
       82, Appendix B); and Recipient will require the full certification, as set forth in 34 C.F.R. Part
       82, Appendix A, in the award documents for all subawards at all tiers.

   •   Recipient will comply with the provisions of all applicable acts, regulations and assurances;
       the following provisions of Education Department General Administrative Regulations
       (EDGAR) 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99; the OMB Guidelines to
       Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part
       180, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485; and the
       Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal
       Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2
       CFR part 3474.


                                      Paperwork Burden Statement
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection
of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control
number for this information collection is 1840-0843. The time required to complete this information
collection is estimated to be 2,561 total burden hours. If you have any comments concerning the
accuracy of the time estimate or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: Hilary Malawer,
400 Maryland Avenue, SW. Washington, D.C. 20202.




                                                   4


File and source

File

department-of-education-cares-heerf-certification-and-agreement-www-ed-gov-5942049036.pdf

Size

258,789 bytes

SHA-256

8c6665fa3310221ebdcc75d06042d86a468b4d9b1cf6a23a0151c4ef44ab25a1

Our copy

department-of-education-cares-heerf-certification-and-agreement-www-ed-gov-5942049036.pdf

Original

www.ed.gov