Methodology for Calculating Allocations, American Rescue Plan Act, Section 314(a)(1) (May 11, 2021)

Summary

A Department of Education methodology, published May 11, 2021, for calculating Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund allocations under the American Rescue Plan Act (Pub. L. 117-2) with the formula in section 314(a)(1) of the CRRSAA as modified by section 2003 of the ARP. It states that 91% ($36,021,958,700) will go to public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education under three factors: 75% by enrollment of Federal Pell Grant recipients not enrolled exclusively in distance education, 23% by enrollment of non-Pell students on the same basis, and 2% by enrollment of Pell recipients enrolled exclusively in distance education. The Department says it approximated the factors with IPEDS data and 2018/19 Pell Grant data from the Office of Federal Student Aid. It notes that the ARP provides approximately $198 million to distribute under section 314(a)(3) of CRRSAA.

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Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Department Of Education Methodology For Calculating Allocation Www Ed Gov Cb12C76E9A
Case: Department Of Education Methodology For Calculating Allocation Www Ed Gov Cb12C76E9A

Cite this document

“Methodology for Calculating Allocations, American Rescue Plan Act, Section 314(a)(1) (May 11, 2021).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-methodology-for-calculating-allocation-www-ed-gov-cb12c76e9a/, SHA-256 87296317ced9bba93fda4524fb940aa108f2cb61575c4a726c8887c7a2439869.

Full text

  Methodology for Calculating Allocations Under the American Rescue
   Plan Act of 2021 pursuant to Section 314(a)(1) of the Coronavirus
     Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021

                                       Published May 11, 2021

Of the funds available for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) under the American
Rescue Plan Act (Pub. L. 117-2) (ARP), 91% ($36,021,958,700) will be awarded to public and private
nonprofit institutions of higher education (IHEs), as defined in sections 101 and 102(c) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), using the allocation formula established in section 314(a)(1)
of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) as modified
by section 2003 of the ARP.

The allocations are calculated based on three formula factors:

        (1) 75% of the funds will be awarded to IHEs based on each IHE’s relative share of enrollment of
        Federal Pell Grant recipients who were not enrolled exclusively in distance education courses
        prior to the coronavirus emergency, split evenly between total (i.e., headcount) enrollment and
        full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment;

        (2) 23% of the funds will be awarded to IHEs based on each IHE’s relative share of enrollment of
        students who were not Federal Pell Grant recipients and who were not enrolled exclusively in
        distance education courses prior to the coronavirus emergency, split evenly between total
        enrollment and FTE enrollment; and

        (3) 2% of the funds will be awarded to IHEs based on each IHE’s relative share of enrollment of
        Federal Pell Grant recipients who were enrolled exclusively in distance education courses prior to
        the coronavirus emergency, split evenly between total enrollment and FTE enrollment.

Please note that the Minimum Amount for Student Aid was calculated for each institution as the sum of:
1) 50% of the funds allocated according to the first and second factors and 2) 100% of the funds allocated
according to the third factor.

The first and third factors primarily allocate funds based on undergraduate enrollment since Federal Pell
Grant eligibility is limited to undergraduate students who have not earned a baccalaureate degree or a first
professional degree, as well as students in certain postbaccalaureate teacher education programs. The first
factor only includes enrollment of students NOT exclusively enrolled in distance education courses prior
to the qualifying emergency while the third factor ONLY includes enrollment of students exclusively
enrolled in distance education courses prior to the qualifying emergency. The second factor allocates
funds based on undergraduate and graduate enrollment, excluding any students enrolled exclusively in
distance education courses prior to the qualifying emergency.

Because the limitations of available data preclude calculating precise amounts for the factors listed above,
the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) approximated the factors using the best available data
from ED’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and Pell Grant Volume data
provided by the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).

The first factor was determined as follows: The relative share of undergraduate students awarded Federal
Pell Grants was calculated based on the institution’s share of total Federal Pell Grant recipients as


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reported by FSA for the 2018/19 award year. The FTE enrollment of these Federal Pell Grant recipients
was approximated by looking at the ratio in IPEDS between 2018/19 FTE undergraduate enrollment and
2018/19 undergraduate total enrollment. To approximate total and FTE enrollment of Federal Pell Grant
recipients who were not enrolled exclusively in distance education, the estimated total and FTE
enrollment of Federal Pell Grant recipients was multiplied by the percentage of fall 2019 undergraduate
degree/certificate-seeking students not enrolled exclusively in distance education as reported in IPEDS.
The first factor was weighted evenly between total enrollment and FTE enrollment.

The second factor was determined by subtracting the approximated total and FTE enrollment of Federal
Pell Grant recipients (if any) from the total 2018/19 total and FTE enrollment of students as reported in
IPEDS and then multiplying the difference by the percentage of fall 2019 undergraduate, graduate, and
professional students not enrolled exclusively in distance education as reported in IPEDS. Each
institution’s relative share of the resulting enrollment was used to calculate their share of the second
factor. The second factor was weighted evenly between total enrollment and FTE enrollment.

The third factor was determined as follows: The relative share of undergraduate students awarded
Federal Pell Grants was calculated based on the institution’s share of total Federal Pell Grant recipients as
reported by FSA for the 2018/19 award year. The FTE enrollment of these Federal Pell Grant recipients
was approximated by looking at the ratio in IPEDS between 2018/19 FTE undergraduate enrollment and
2018/19 undergraduate total enrollment. To approximate total and FTE enrollment of Federal Pell Grant
recipients who were enrolled exclusively in distance education, the estimated total and FTE enrollment of
Federal Pell Grant recipients was multiplied by the percentage of fall 2019 undergraduate
degree/certificate-seeking students enrolled exclusively in distance education as reported in IPEDS. The
third factor was weighted evenly between total enrollment and FTE enrollment.

Some additional points to note:

    •   The data used to determine distance education participation are based on a fall unduplicated
        enrollment which is different from FTE enrollment and, in the case of the total FTE enrollment,
        also different from FTE enrollment for a 12-month period. The unduplicated enrollment is a
        simple headcount of students enrolled in classes, whereas the FTE enrollment counts part-time
        students in accordance with their enrollment rate.
    •   Allocation amounts were calculated at the 6-digit OPEID.
    •   Some data was adjusted based on available information regarding change of ownership or
        affiliation.
    •   For some IHEs, the approximated FTE enrollment of Federal Pell Grant recipients exceeded the
        total FTE enrollment. For these IHEs, the total non-Pell FTE enrollment was set to 0, making the
        IHE ineligible for the second factor.
    •   The ratio of FTE undergraduate enrollment to undergraduate headcount enrollment was capped at
        100 percent.
    •   Schools that are currently ineligible per the PEPS weekly data extract as of April 7, 2021, or for
        whom IPEDS data was unavailable, are excluded from the allocation table.
    •   There may be some currently participating and eligible schools which may be excluded from this
        formula, in particular schools that recently gained eligibility and did not participate in the Title IV
        programs during the 2018/19 award year. While no reserve is being withheld from the funding
        available for these allocations, the ARP provides approximately $198 million for the Department
        to distribute pursuant to section 314(a)(3) of CRRSAA, which directs the Department to prioritize
        institutions that had not, after distributing other HEERF funding, received an allocation.




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