American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Simulated Distribution of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds

 

​​The American Rescue Plan Act ​provides almost $40 billion in relief funds that will go directly to colleges and universities to support the overwhelming costs that institutions and students face in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.​​​

The final bill includes approximately $36 billion for nearly 3,500 public and private, nonprofit colleges and universities, and approximately $395.8 million for about 1,630 for-profit institutions. Institutions will be required to spend at least half of their allocations on emergency financial aid grants to students. Approximately $200 million will be allocated to institutions based on exceptional need, similar to December’s Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSSA). Finally, the bill provides nearly $3 billion to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority serving institutions.

These sortable, searchable databases below are a simulation of how ED might distribute the emergency funds for public and private nonprofit and proprietary institutions. Click here for the methodology on how we compiled the numbers. (Note: It is not known if ED will use this methodology, but previous simulations on CARES Act and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act have been very accurate.)

Downloadable PDFs of both charts are available on the sidebar.


American Rescue Plan Simulated HEERF Allocations: Nonprofit Institutions


American Rescue Plan Simulated HEERF Allocations: Proprietary Institutions