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ED Announced HEERF Data Collection Form

  • 3 min read
Ed

Last month, the Department of Education (ED) posted an information collection request form to satisfy Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) reporting requirements in the Federal Register. The purpose of this new data collection is to provide ED with the information necessary to monitor the HEERF funds that institutions spent in accordance with the allowable uses of funds and will be shared with the public to promote transparency. This new reporting requirement does not replace the 30-day Fund Report detailed in ED’s May 6 Electronic Announcement, which requires institutions to post certain information about their distribution of the HEERF student emergency grants on their websites, which continue to require updates every 45 days.

ED estimates it would take institutions 1.5 hours to complete the survey. The first submission of this new data collection would be due on Jan. 29, 2021; the second on Sept. 30, 2021; and the third on Sept. 30, 2022.

Comments on the proposed HEERF Form will be accepted until September 28, 2020. Public comments are encouraged, however, ED is has requested comments on the following directed questions:

  1. What data in this form will be difficult to collect or report and why? Are there changes that could be made to improve the quality of the data or reduce the burden?
  2. The Department believes the data requested under this collection will be valuable for multiple purposes, such as measuring program performance and informing future program design. The Department is interested in learning the extent to which others, particularly stakeholders at the State and local level, agree that this data is valuable for their own purposes and whether there is additional data that would be valuable for the Department to collect from its grantees?
  3. The Department is interested in reducing the burden of data collection and making use of existing data when at all possible. For example, are there alternative methods to collect data or data that is already collected on institutional expenditures related to HEER funding under section 18004a of the CARES Act?
  4. Will the proposed method for collecting the number of FTE positions created or retained as a result of HEER funds awarded to IHEs yield accurate data? Is there an alternative methodology that would improve the accuracy of the data?

Sources:
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Data Collection Form
NASFAA: ED Announces Additional Reporting Requirements for CARES Act HEERF Funds
FAME: HEERF Data Collection Form – Important Announcement