Education secretary, first lady to announce American Rescue Plan education grants

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday will announce the final set of education grants under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), The Hill has learned.

Cardona and Biden will be joined by ARP Coordinator Gene Sperling and leadership from the Community College of Philadelphia, Coahoma Community College and Southwestern Michigan College to announce the 244 colleges and universities that will receive the grants.

“The institutions that serve our highest-need students were not only hit hard by the pandemic, but in many cases have also struggled with chronic underinvestment and funding inequities,” said Cardona in a statement.

The administration will disburse $198 million in Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund grants, 90 percent of which will go to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), minority-serving institutions (MSIs), community colleges, rural institutions and institutions serving large populations of low-income students.

“This funding from the American Rescue Plan will help HBCUs, MSIs, community colleges, and other inclusive institutions better support their students, from investing in campus mental health, to providing financial relief, to meeting housing, transportation, and child care needs,” said Cardona. 

The Community College of Philadelphia, Coahoma Community College and Southwestern Michigan College were chosen for the press conference with administration officials because of their efforts to reduce attendance costs for students.

According to the Department of Education, those institutions have reduced or eliminated tuition, eliminated outstanding balances and taken measures like reducing food costs through food pantries.

A majority of institutions covered under the grants announced Wednesday will be required to distribute roughly half the funds directly to students who require support to pay for basic needs like housing and food.

Coronavirus relief funds played a key role in increasing state higher education budgets even as enrollment and tuition revenue took a dive during the pandemic, according to a report by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.

The pandemic dip in enrollment aggravated a decadelong pattern of decreasing enrollment in higher education.

According to an analysis of the report by Inside Higher Ed, per-student revenue increased by 1.1 percent in fiscal 2021 with the influx of federal funds — without accounting for federal funds, total education revenue would have been down by 0.3 percent.

Wednesday’s allocation will be the last under the ARP, which disbursed more than $13 billion to MSIs, more than $10 billion to community colleges, over $2.6 billion to HBCUs and approximately $190 million to tribal colleges and universities.

“When we invest in stronger supports for our students, we help remove barriers to their success so that they can stay on track with their studies, complete their degrees, and ultimately, build rewarding careers,” said Cardona.