Contact:
Kellee Edmonds
(202) 478-4662
edmondsk@aascu.org

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2021 – The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) applauds the Department of Education’s announcement of additional guidance on the allowable time period for which grantees may charge costs and lost revenue to their Higher Education Emergency Funds (HEERF II) grant. Colleges and universities must follow this guidance on the use of funds under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA).

The release of guidance on close to $40 billion in funds to be distributed under the HEERF II is a significant step in the right direction for which we thank Secretary Miguel Cardona and the Biden administration. These funds were appropriated by Congress to assist students and institutions of higher education with the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis, and today’s guidance provides much-needed clarity and increased flexibility on how they may best be used to accomplish that goal.

This guidance will expedite the delivery of new funds to increasingly support the needs of the 3.5 million diverse students our member campuses serve and help offset some of the devastating losses that institutions have suffered because of the pandemic. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress as they move decisively to address the many facets of the economic challenges facing the nation and the higher education sector.

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The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of nearly 400 public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development. These are institutions Delivering America’s Promise. Visit us at www.aascu.org.