U.S. Department of Education Announces $3.2 Billion in Additional Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds to Support Students at Historic and Under-Resourced Institutions

The U.S. Department of Education announced today $3.2 billion in additional emergency grants under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). These funds will support students who attend over 1,800 institutions of higher education and provide resources to help these institutions recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

Of these funds, $2.97 billion from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) will provide $1.6 billion to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), $143 million to Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and another $1.19 billion to Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and under-resourced institutions eligible for the Strengthening Institutions Programs, many of which are community colleges. Additionally, $225 million comes from additional grants from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) to support public and non-profit institutions and their students with the greatest unmet needs related to the pandemic. Today's announcement increases the total amount of funding made available to colleges under the HEERF to more than $76 billion.

"The American Rescue Plan provided critical funds to make sure our nation’s institutions of higher education – particularly those that serve students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – receive the resources they need in order to provide students with a high-quality education and the social, emotional and mental health supports to earn their degrees and thrive,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “These institutions have a long history of serving our students—particularly students of color, first-generation college students, and other students who are underrepresented in higher education—and the Department stands ready to support them so they can expand their vital services."

The ARP has made historic investments in many of our nation’s historic or under-resourced institutions that educate students whose communities were most acutely affected by the pandemic. These
ARP Section (a)(2) Detail

Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

Strengthening HBCU Master’s Program (HBCU Master's)

Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGIs)

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