New HEERF Guidance on Expenses Through the Pandemic and Calculating Lost Revenue (March 19, 2021)

Summary

A U.S. Department of Education announcement dated March 19, 2021 of new guidance on the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant programs. It changes the Department's prior position, which allowed funds under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) only for costs incurred on or after December 27, 2020, and lets grantees charge costs and lost revenue back to March 13, 2020, the date of declaration of the national emergency. The updates are a Federal Register Notice of Interpretation, a G5 notice amending the Grant Award Notifications, new FAQs on calculating lost revenue and updated FAQs for the CRRSAA (a)(1) and (a)(4) grants. The guidance applies to all HEERF grant funds, including unspent CARES Act funds, CRRSAA funds and ARP funds.

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

Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Department Of Education Heerf Guidance On Expenses Through The Pandemic And Calculating Lo
Case: Department Of Education Heerf Guidance On Expenses Through The Pandemic And Calculating Lost Revenue Www Ed Go

Cite this document

“New HEERF Guidance on Expenses Through the Pandemic and Calculating Lost Revenue (March 19, 2021).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-heerf-guidance-on-expenses-through-the-pandemic-and-calculating-lost-revenue-www-ed-go/, SHA-256 042cedf8eb26fe3a2778aba13737bfada671de1f10e3070aa6ed4229edd839cc.

Full text

March 19, 2021
New HEERF Guidance on expenses through the pandemic and calculating lost revenue
The historic passage of the American Rescue Plan – a $40 billion investment in higher education
- is a victory for our nation’s students and colleges. Meeting the academic needs of our
students, while also ensuring the safety and well-being of all members of the campus
community, is a priority for Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona.
The pandemic has exacerbated the equities within our educational system, and to repair our
schools, leaders need predictable resources. So, in addition to the American Rescue Plan, the
U.S. Department of Education is offering more comprehensive guidance and increased
flexibility regarding the use of funds received under the Higher Education Emergency Relief
Fund (HEERF) grant programs. These updates reflect a change in the Department’s prior
position which previously only allowed funds received under the Coronavirus Response and
Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), to be used for costs incurred on or
after December 27, 2020, the date of the enactment of the CRRSAA. Grantees will now have
the flexibility to charge costs back to March 13, 2020, the date of declaration of the national
emergency.
The Department is also supplementing this change of interpretation with additional guidance
on how grantees may calculate and charge “lost revenue” to their HEERF awards, and the
release of additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the (a)(1) Public and Private
Nonprofit Institution Grants, and (a)(4) Proprietary Institution Grant Funds for Students. These
updates are as follows:

• Federal Register Notice of Interpretation (NOI). The Department is publishing this notice
regarding the allowable time period for which grantees may charge costs and lost
revenue to their HEERF grant. That period is from March 13, 2020 onward. The NOI
becomes official once it is published in the Federal Register.
• HEERF Period of Allowable Expenses G5 Notice. Along with the Federal Register NOI,
above, the attached updated notification details specific, corresponding changes to the
Grant Award Notification (GANs) documents to amend the allowable period of
expenditures back to March 13, 2020.
• HEERF Lost Revenue FAQs. This new set of FAQs responds to the large number of
questions the Department has received from HEERF grantees regarding how institutions
may calculate and account for the amount of lost revenue they incurred as a result of
COVID-19.
• Updated FAQs for CRRSAA (a)(1). These FAQs contain conforming updates to allow for
expenditures incurred back to March 13, 2020, as well as the addition of new FAQs
including guidance on whether HEERF funds may be used to support non-degree
seeking, non-credit, dual enrollment, and continuing education students, among others.
• Updated FAQs for CRRSAA (a)(4). As with the (a)(1) FAQs, we have made conforming
edits to allow recipients of (a)(4) Proprietary Institution Grant Funds for Students to
reimburse themselves for financial aid grants to students made as far back as March 13,
2020, where those grants were not covered with prior CARES Act funds.
This guidance applies to all HEERF grant funds, including unspent CARES Act funds, CRRSAA
funds, and ARP funds.
The U.S. Department of Education will remain focused on ensuring college campuses have
access to guidance, technical assistance, and examples of best practices to inform their efforts
to get students back into classrooms and meet their social, emotional, mental health, and
academic needs.
If you have any questions regarding these updates, please contact the Department of
Education’s HEERF Call Center at (202) 377-3711 or HEERF@ed.gov.

File and source

File: department-of-education-heerf-guidance-on-expenses-through-the-pandemic-and-calculating-lost-revenue-www-ed-go.pdf
Size: 105,584 bytes
SHA-256: 042cedf8eb26fe3a2778aba13737bfada671de1f10e3070aa6ed4229edd839cc
Our copy: department-of-education-heerf-guidance-on-expenses-through-the-pandemic-and-calculating-lost-revenue-www-ed-go.pdf
Original: www.ed.gov