Introduction
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or, CARES Act, was passed by Congress on March 27th, 2020. This bill allotted $2.2 trillion to provide fast and direct economic aid to the American people negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that money, approximately $14 billion was given to the Office of Postsecondary Education as the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, or HEERF.
Note: This page is dedicated to the first HEERF grant funding established by the CARES Act. Information pertaining to the new funding (HEERF II) established by the CRRSAA can be found at this link. Information about the HEERF III established by the American Rescue Plan can be found at this link.
Litigation Updates Applicable to certain institutions (Last Updated 9/8/2020)
Latest News (Last Updated 1/29/2021)
January 28, 2021: The Department is committed to supporting grantees in meeting HEERF reporting requirements. To provide institutions more flexibility we are extending the reporting deadline until
February 8, 2021: for reporting HEERF data. A letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary can be accessed here (PDF, 138K).
January 14, 2021: The U.S. Department of Education announced today an additional $21.2 billion is now available to higher education institutions to ensure learning continues for students during the COVID-19 pandemic under the CRRSAA as HEERF II. Information pertaining to the new HEERF II funding can be found at our CRRSAA: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF II) page here.
January 5, 2021: The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted on December 27, 2020, provided $22.7 billion for institutions of higher education. Information regarding the distribution of these funds is forthcoming and will be posted on this website when available.
January 5, 2021: As announced in today’s Federal Register, the newly enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 supersedes the Department of Education’s December 23, 2020 Federal Register notice that reopened the HEERF grant program application period for certain limited applicants. The 2021 Appropriations Act prevents the Department from accepting or processing any applications for new awards under section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act (i.e., the “Student Aid Portion” program (CFDA 84.425E) and the “Institutional Portion” program (CFDA 84.425F)).
While the Department cannot accept or process any applications for CARES Act section 18004(a)(1) program funds, we are still able to accept applications for section 18004(a)(2) and (a)(3) HEERF programs (CFDAs 84.425J, 84.425K, 84.425L, 84.425M, 84.425N) from applicants that meet one of the five conditions described in the Reopening Notice and that we verified previously have attempted to apply through grants.gov for one of these HEERF grant opportunities. Applicants for those funds must submit their revised or corrected applications no later than January 11, 2021.
January 5, 2021: The reporting period for the first HEERF annual report begins today and ends on February 1, 2021. The grantee reporting portal can be accessed here. A user guide, webinar, and other resources can be accessed here. All HEERF grantees are required to submit an annual report during this reporting period.
December 11, 2020: All Institutions are required to submit HEERF annual performance reports via the Annual Report Data Collection System. As part of this, every institution is required to submit to heerfannual@ed.gov the names and email addresses of those individuals who will be authorized to edit and submit your institution’s HEERF annual performance report. The Submitter is the one grant official who will have the authority to submit the report on behalf of the grantee. The Editors are users who will be able to complete, but not submit, the data collection form. The Submitter will have Editor privileges and may also answer questions in the data collection form.
If your institution has not already responded to our outreach emails, please send their names and email addresses in the following format to heerfannual@ed.gov:
- Submitter: (First Name Last Name) (Email address)
- Editor 1: (First Name Last Name) (Email address)
- Editor 2 (if needed): (First Name Last Name) (Email address)
Your institution must tell us who will be the Submitter and Editor(s) for your HEERF annual report as soon as possible if you have not done so already. The reporting period for the first HEERF annual report will be January 5 to February 1, 2021. More information is available at our reporting page here.
Specific Program Information
Congress created several different formula and discretionary allocations within HEERF. Please click on the links below to be taken for information and resources for the specific program or distribution.
Institutional Resilience and Expanded Postsecondary Opportunity (IREPO) Grant Program Competition (FIPSE Competitive Grant)
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) Grant Program (Formula Grant)
Redistribution of the (a)(1) Reserve
Student Portion
Institutional Portion
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)
Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP)
| Program (with link to website) | CFDA | CARES Act Section | Eligibility (with link to allocation table) | Deadline | Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Number |
| Student Portion | 84.425E | 18004(a)(1) | All Title IV participating schools Note: Students cannot apply for assistance directly from the U.S. Department of Education but should contact their institutions for further information and guidance. Allocation Table Here | 9/30/2020 | ED-GRANTS-041020-003 |
| Institutional Portion | 84.425F | 18004(a)(1) | All Title IV participating schools Allocation Table Here | 9/30/2020 | ED-GRANTS-042120-004 |
| Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) | 84.425J | 18004(a)(2) | Institutions that qualify for funding under the following programs: Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Part B institutions as described in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)), Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions (institutions named in section 326(e)(1) of the HEA), and Master’s Degree Programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (institutions named in section 723(b)(1) of the HEA) Allocation Table Here | 9/30/2020; 1/11/2021, only for applicants eligible for the limited reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 Federal Register notice | ED-GRANTS-043020-001 |
| Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) | 84.425K | 18004(a)(2) | Institutions that qualify for funding under the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978 or the Navajo Community College Assistance Act of 1978; are cited in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land Grant Status Act of 1994; or are designated as eligible for funding by the Bureau of Indian Education Allocation Table Here | 9/30/2020; 1/11/2021, only for applicants eligible for the limited reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 Federal Register notice | ED-GRANTS-043020-002 |
| Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) | 84.425L | 18004(a)(2) | Institutions that would be eligible to participate in the following programs: Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH), Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI), Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI), and Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) programs Allocation Table Here | 9/30/2020; 1/11/2021, only for applicants eligible for the limited reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 Federal Register notice | ED-GRANTS-043020-003 |
| Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) | 84.425M | 18004(a)(2) | Institutions designated as eligible in FY 2020 for grant programs in Titles III and V of the HEA that did not receive 18004(a)(2) grant awards as a result of not meeting the requirements for the Strengthening HBCUs, HBGIs, HBCU Master’s, TCCUs, PBIs, ANNH, AANAPISI, NASNTI, DHSI, and/or PPOHA programs Allocation Table Here | 9/30/2020; 1/11/2021, only for applicants eligible for the limited reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 Federal Register notice | ED-GRANTS-043020-004 |
| Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) Formula Grant | 84.425N | 18004(a)(3) | Public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education that are eligible under Part B of Title VII of the HEA and received less than $500,000 total from HEERF (a)(1) and (a)(2) programs Allocation Table Here | 9/30/2020; 1/11/2021, only for applicants eligible for the limited reopening announced in the Department’s December 23, 2020 Federal Register notice | ED-GRANTS-043020-005 |
| Institutional Resilience and Expanded Postsecondary Opportunity (IREPO) – FIPSE Competitive Grant | 84.425P | 18004(a)(3) | This is a competitive grant program. Please see the Notice Inviting Applications for information regarding eligibility and selection criteria.
Successful Applicants: Allocation Table
| Notice of intent to apply: 9/10/2020 Application: 10/20/2020 | ED-GRANTS-082120-00 |
Reporting and Data Collection
HEERF Grant Program FAQs:
- Construction Reporting Letter FAQ (April 19, 2024)
- HEERF Grant Program Auditing Requirements (March 8, 2021)
- CARES Act HEERF Rollup FAQs (Rollup of all five previously-released HEERF FAQ documents in one document) (Issued October 14, 2020 and revised November 20, 2020)
- CARES Act HEERF Round 3 FAQs (Issued October 14, 2020 and revised November 20, 2020)
- CARES Act HEERF Supplemental FAQs (Issued June 30, 2020 and revised September 08, 2020)
- CARES Act HEERF Student FAQs (Issued May 15, 2020)
- CARES Act HEERF Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) FAQs (Issued April 9, 2020)
- CARES Act HEERF Institutional Portion under Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c)FAQs (Issued April 9, 2020)
- Internal Revenue Service FAQs regarding CARES Act Grants (External Site)
- Emergency aid granted to students due to COVID are not taxable (External Site)
COVID-19 Flexibility FAQs:
- COVID-19 CARES Act Flexibilities Letter to Student Services Grantees (December 3, 2020)
- COVID-19 Program Match Flexibility Letter to GEAR UP Grantees (December 3, 2020)
- COVID-19 Institutional Service Letter (December 3, 2020)
- COVID-19 Letter to HEP Grantees on Flexibilities Available Under CARES Act Section 3518 (July 1, 2020)
- COVID-19 FAQs for Title III, IV, V, and VII Grantees (June 16, 2020)
Webinars
Disclaimer: The guidance provided in these webinars is related to Section 18004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act), Pub. L. No. 116-136 (March 27, 2020). Any guidance in these webinars and related materials 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.
October 14, 2020 Reporting Requirements and Lost Revenue Webinar
Principal Deputy Under Secretary Diane Jones and Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Bob King hosted a webinar on reporting requirements for HEERF and other topics on October 14, 2020. Please find the following materials from the webinar:
- Webinar Recording
- Webinar PowerPoint Slides (PDF, 1.58 MB)
- Post-Webinar email to grantees (October 20, 2020)
June 23, 2020 HEERF Technical Assistance Webinar
- Webinar Recording
- Webinar PowerPoint Slides (PDF, 1.23 MB)
Contact Information
Have questions about HEERF grants? Email HEERF@ed.gov
Think an institution is misusing or abusing ED funds? Do not let CARES Act Funding for Schools and Students end up in the wrong hands. File a complaint online with our Inspector General (OIG) or call their Hotline.
- File a complaint online with the OIG Here
- Contact information for the OIG Hotline Here
- HEERF OIG Hotline Poster
ARCHIVED INFORMATION AS OF AUGUST 13, 2020