Certification and Agreement (ALN 84.425F) — Public and Nonprofit Institution Grant Funds for Institutions

Summary

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Certification and Agreement (ALN 84.425F), (a)(1) Institutional Portion, titled Public and Nonprofit Institution Grant Funds for Institutions. It sets terms and conditions for an institution's use of grant funds awarded under section 2003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. It states that the recipient may use the funds to defray expenses associated with coronavirus and to make additional emergency financial grants to students, and may voluntarily decline all or a portion of the institutional funds by submitting the Voluntary Decline of HEERF form by August 11, 2021. The form has fields for institution name, authorized representative, DUNS Number, OPE ID and date.

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 New C A Www Ed Gov E51B6B86D5
Case: Department Of Education New C A Www Ed Gov E51B6B86D5

Cite this document

“Certification and Agreement (ALN 84.425F) — Public and Nonprofit Institution Grant Funds for Institutions.” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-new-c-a-www-ed-gov-e51b6b86d5/, SHA-256 9e4dc480055ae27347075de114ef633de0bd1bced933dfaed577507e5d9f5230.

Full text

Public and Nonprofit Institution Grant Funds for Institutions – Page 1

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
Certification and Agreement (ALN 84.425F) ((a)(1) Institutional Portion)

PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT INSTITUTION GRANT FUNDS FOR INSTITUTIONS

The terms, conditions, and requirements governing your institution’s (Recipient’s) use of these
grant funds awarded pursuant to section 2003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP)
(Pub. L. 117-2) (award or grant) by the U.S. Department of Education (Department) are
governed by section 2003 of the ARP and section 314 of the Coronavirus Response and Relief
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) (Pub. L. 116-260) and the following terms
and conditions of this Certification and Agreement (C&A):

Use of Grant Funds:

1. Under section 314(c) of the CRRSAA, Recipient, an institution of higher education as
defined in section 101 or 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
(HEA), 20 USC § 1001 or 1002(c), may use these grant funds for Recipient’s
Institutional Costs to defray expenses associated with coronavirus (including lost
revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a
transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll); and make
additional emergency financial grants to students, which may be used for any component
of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus,
such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or child care.

2. Under section 2003(5) of the ARP, Recipient must use a portion of their institutional
funds received under this award to (a) implement evidence-based practices to monitor
and suppress coronavirus in accordance with public health guidelines and (b) conduct
direct outreach to financial aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid
adjustment due to the recent unemployment of a family member or independent student,
or other circumstances, described in section 479A of the HEA (20 USC § 1087tt).

3. Recipient may, but is not required to, use funds designated for Recipient’s Institutional
Costs to provide additional emergency financial aid grants to students. If Recipient
chooses to use these grant funds designated for Recipient’s Institutional Costs to provide
additional emergency financial aid grants to students, then those funds are subject to the
requirements described in the ARP Grant Funds for Students Agreement.

4. The Secretary urges Recipient to devote the maximum amount of funds possible to
emergency financial aid grants to students, including some or all of the funds allocated
for Recipient’s Institutional Costs. The Secretary urges Recipient to take strong measures
to ensure that emergency financial aid grants to students are made to the maximum extent
possible.

5. Recipient acknowledges that no grant funds may be used to fund construction; acquisition
of real property; contractors for the provision of pre-enrollment recruitment activities;
marketing or recruitment; endowments; capital outlays associated with facilities related to
Public and Nonprofit Institution Grant Funds for Institutions – Page 2

athletics, sectarian instruction, or religious worship; senior administrator or executive
salaries, benefits, bonuses, contracts, incentives; stock buybacks, shareholder dividends,
capital distributions, and stock options; or any other cash or other benefit for a senior
administrator or executive.

6. Recipient acknowledges that it may voluntarily decline all or a portion of its ARP (a)(1)
institutional funds. The recipient may indicate this by submitting the Voluntary Decline
of HEERF form (OMB Control Number 1840-0856) to the Department by August 11,
2021. Recipient further acknowledges if it submits this form, it will be ineligible for the
future redistribution of ARP HEERF grant funds to other institutions with greater needs
due to the coronavirus.

Grant Administration:

7. Recipient acknowledges that consistent with 2 CFR § 200.305, it must minimize the time
between drawing down funds from G5 and paying incurred obligations (liquidation).
Recipient further acknowledges that if it draws down funds and does not pay the incurred
obligations (liquidates) within 3 calendar days it may be subject to heightened scrutiny by
the Department, Recipient’s auditors, and/or the Department’s Office of the Inspector
General (OIG). Recipient further acknowledges that returning funds pursuant to mistakes
in drawing down excessive grant funds in advance of need may also be subject to
heightened scrutiny by the Department, Recipient’s auditors, and/or the Department’s
OIG. Finally, Recipient acknowledges that it must maintain drawn down grant funds in
an interest-bearing account, and any interest earned on all Federal grant funds above $500
(all Federal grants together) during an institution’s fiscal year must be returned (remitted)
to the Federal government via a process described here:
https://www2.ed.gov/documents/funding-101/g5-returning-interest.pdf.

8. Recipient may charge indirect costs to grant funds made available under this award
consistent with its negotiated indirect cost rate agreement. If Recipient does not have a
current negotiated indirect cost rate with its cognizant agency for indirect costs, it may
appropriately charge the de minimis rate of ten percent of Modified Total Direct Costs
(MTDC) under 2 CFR § 200.414. Recipient may also charge reasonable direct
administrative costs to the grant funds made available under this award.

9. Recipient acknowledges that any obligation under this grant (pre-award costs pursuant to
2 CFR § 200.458) must have been incurred on or after March 13, 2020, the date of the
declaration of a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease
(COVID-19) Outbreak (85 FR 15337).

10. Recipient must promptly and to the greatest extent practicable expend all grant funds
from this award within the one-year period of performance (2 CFR § 200.77) specified in
Box 6 of this Grant Award Notification (GAN).
Public and Nonprofit Institution Grant Funds for Institutions – Page 3

11. Recipient must, to the greatest extent practicable, continue to pay its employees and
contractors during the period of any disruptions or closures related to coronavirus
pursuant to section 315 of the CRRSAA.

Reporting and Accountability:

12. Recipient must promptly and timely provide a detailed accounting of the use and
expenditure of the funds provided by this award in such manner and with such frequency
as the Secretary may require.

13. Recipient must comply with all requirements of the Single Audit Act Amendments of
1996, 31 USC § 7501, et seq. (Single Audit Act) and all applicable auditing standards.
Considering that the HEERF grant program is a new program not previously audited or
subjected to Department oversight, and the inherent risk that comes with a new program,
the Department strongly suggests that the HEERF grant program be audited as a major
program in the first fiscal year(s) that the institution received a HEERF grant.

14. Recipient acknowledges it is under a continuing affirmative duty to inform the
Department if Recipient is to close or terminate operations as an institution or merge with
another institution. In such cases, Recipient must promptly notify in writing the assigned
education program officer contact in Box 3. Additionally, Recipient must promptly notify
the assigned education program officer if the Recipient’s Authorized Representative
changes.

15. Recipient must cooperate with any examination of records with respect to the advanced
funds by making records and authorized individuals available when requested, whether
by (a) the Department and/or its OIG; or (b) any other Federal agency, commission, or
department in the lawful exercise of its jurisdiction and authority. Recipient must retain
all financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other non-Federal
entity records pertinent to a Federal award for a period of three years from the date of
submission of the final expenditure report pursuant to 2 CFR § 200.334.

16. Recipient acknowledges that failure to comply with this Certification and Agreement, its
terms and conditions, and/or all relevant provisions and requirements of the CRRSAA or
ARP or any other applicable law may result in Recipient’s liability under the False
Claims Act, 31 USC § 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 the “Applicable Law”
section of this Certification and Agreement, below.

Applicable Law:

17. Recipient must comply with all applicable assurances in OMB Standard Forms (SF) SF-
424B and SF-424D (Assurances for Non-Construction and Assurances for Construction
Programs), including the assurances relating to the legal authority to apply for assistance;
Public and Nonprofit Institution Grant Funds for Institutions – Page 4

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.

18. Recipient certifies that 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 supplementing of Federal grants under this
program; Recipient must complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, “Disclosure Form to
Report Lobbying,” when required (34 CFR part 82, Appendix B).

19. Recipient must 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, 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.

Institution Name: _________________________________________
Authorized Representative (typed name): ______________________________________
Authorized Representative Title: _________________________________________
DUNS Number: _________________________________________
OPE ID: _________________________________________
Date: _________________________________________

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 1840-0842. Public reporting burden for
this collection of information is estimated to average 5 hours per response, including time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering, and maintaining the data
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond
to this collection is required to obtain or retain a benefit (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
(Pub. L. 117-2)). If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate,
suggestions for improving this individual collection, or if you have comments or concerns
regarding the status of your individual form, application or survey, please contact Karen Epps,
400 Maryland Avenue, SW. Washington, D.C. 20202 directly.

OMB Number: 1840-0842
Expiration Date: 12/31/2023

File and source

File: department-of-education-new-c-a-www-ed-gov-e51b6b86d5.pdf
Size: 126,798 bytes
SHA-256: 9e4dc480055ae27347075de114ef633de0bd1bced933dfaed577507e5d9f5230
Our copy: department-of-education-new-c-a-www-ed-gov-e51b6b86d5.pdf
Original: www.ed.gov