DEADLINE TODAY: Quarterly Reports on CARES Funds Due

While the first quarterly report on the use of CARES Act funds is due July 10, the Department of Education’s electronic portal for posting such reports is not yet active.  As a result, institutions are expected to report information on a publicly available portion of their websites. 

Colleges already have to do monthly reporting on the student portion of CARES Act funds. This additional reporting is required under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA), that requires all federal grantees receiving $150,000 or more, including CARES Act funding recipients, to report the information on a quarterly basis.  On July 9, the department released an update on this federal grant reporting which is due on July 10. The information needed to be reported includes:

• Name of entity receiving award 
• Amount of award 
• Funding agency 
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) program number for grants 
• Program source 
• Award title descriptive of the purpose of the funding action 
• Location of the entity (including congressional district) 
• Place of performance (including congressional district) 
• Unique identifier of the entity and its parent 
• Total compensation and names of top five executives  

The monthly reporting required for the student portion of CARES Act funds was detailed in an announcement to financial aid professionals via IFAP electronic notices in May.  Guidance on reporting the use of institutional funds is not available.  

Monthly reporting on the student portion of funds should include the following:

1. An acknowledgement that the institution signed and returned to the department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
2. The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from the department pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
3. The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of the date of submission (i.e., as of the 30-day Report and every 45 days thereafter).
4. The estimated total number of students at the institution eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
5. The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
6. The method(s) used by the institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
7. Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.

Related to the monthly reporting on student funds, the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) researched 100 colleges and issued a summary, based on the monthly institutional reporting that is publicly available, analyzing how colleges are using CARES Act funds and complying with the reporting requirements. TICAS found that a significant majority of colleges distributed emergency grants to students either automatically or based on an institutional application, and issued the money quickly.