To provide institutions more flexibility, the Department of Education (ED) extended the reporting deadline to February 8, 2021 for reporting Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) data.
All Institutions are required to submit HEERF annual performance reports via the Annual Report Data Collection System. HEERF reporting requirements and additional resources are available on the ED Reporting and Data Collection website.
The full letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary of Postsecondary Education is below.
Dear HEERF Project Director:
Thank you for your efforts to responsibly and equitably spend funds received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). HEERF provides funding to institutions to, among other things, offer emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted, many of whom are facing financial challenges and struggling to make ends meet. We recognize that this has been a challenging time for educators, administrators, students, and families, and we acknowledge your work to ensure safe and supportive learning environments in a variety of forms. An important responsibility related to the receipt of these CARES Act funds is reporting on the use of funds. Transparency to Congress, the Department, and most importantly to the public, is critical.
In December 2020, the Department notified all grantees of the process for submitting the information through the HEERF Annual Reporting Data Collection Tool which opened on January 5, 2021, with a due date of February 1, 2021. The report should include expenditures from March 13 through December 31, 2020.
Thank you to all institutions that have already submitted their data. The Department is committed to supporting grantees in meeting these reporting requirements. To provide institutions more flexibility we are extending the reporting deadline until February 8, 2021 for reporting HEERF data.
Additionally, the Department has set up a CARES Act Reporting Help Desk for your questions or concerns. You may reach the Help Desk via phone at (888) 673-7310 or at CARESActReportingHelpDesk@ed.gov. In addition, Department staff have been available and are reaching out to grantees to help support the submissions.
We wish to emphasize the importance of meeting this February 8 deadline. We are available to provide support to grantees who are having technical issues, so please reach out as noted above. Grantees that do not report or cannot demonstrate a reasonable effort to report may be subject to one of several follow-up administrative actions available to the Department. It is important to contact the Department, either through the Help Desk or your assigned Program Specialist, if you are having any difficulties reporting or do not expect to meet the deadline. Please note the Help Desk will accept emails only over the weekend.
Our goal is to support grantees in submitting timely and accurate CARES Act data to demonstrate to the public that funds are being used for allowable purposes such as advancing safe, effective instruction. Please let us know how we can help you meet that goal.
Tiwanda M. Burse
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education
Source:
CARES Act: HEERF Reporting Extension
HEERF Student Reporting Requirements