Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): American Rescue Plan (SSARP) Program, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425T | ED GRANTS 020322 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 020322 002

The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) American Rescue Plan (SSARP) Program, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425T, is a U.S. Department of Education grant opportunity created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to help colleges and universities address remaining, unmet coronavirus-related needs after other major federal relief funds have already been distributed. The central idea behind SSARP is to provide targeted support to the institutions the Secretary of Education determines are still facing the greatest gaps, especially after accounting for funds available under HEERF III (the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund authorized through the American Rescue Plan). In practice, this program is meant to function as a backstop: it is aimed at schools whose pandemic-related costs, lost revenues, or operational disruptions were not fully covered through prior allocations.

A key feature of the program is its focus on institutions that may have been under-served by earlier distribution formulas. The synopsis specifically highlights two examples of schools SSARP is intended to reach: institutions with large graduate student populations, and institutions that did not otherwise receive an allocation under the American Rescue Plan Act. That emphasis matters because earlier relief programs often relied heavily on metrics more closely tied to undergraduate enrollment and need-based aid participation, which could leave some graduate-heavy institutions with comparatively less support even if their COVID-related impacts were substantial.

Eligibility is limited to institutions of higher education (IHEs) as defined in Section 101 of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1001). In plain terms, applicants must be public institutions or private nonprofit institutions; for-profit colleges are not included in the eligible applicant categories described in the synopsis. Beyond being an eligible type of institution, applicants must also meet the additional eligibility requirements associated with the absolute priority or priorities under which they apply. The notice indicates that, with the exception of Absolute Priority 2(c), institutional eligibility is determined using the institution's six-digit OPEID, which is the Office of Postsecondary Education identification number used to track and administer federal student aid and other federal higher education programs.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is listed as a mandatory grant (rather than a typical discretionary competition), and it sits under the Department of Education's education funding activity category. The government-wide listing information included in the source data identifies the opportunity as "ED GRANTS 020322 002," with a creation date of February 3, 2022, and an original application closing date of April 8, 2022. The synopsis does not provide an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the text provided, and it directs applicants to the official Federal Register notice for those details and for the governing rules.

The description repeatedly stresses that the short summary is not a substitute for the official application notice published in the Federal Register. Applicants are told to rely on the Federal Register version for the controlling requirements, including pre-application and application steps, how to submit, required performance measures, the specific priorities that shape eligibility and review, and program contact information. It also points applicants to the Department of Education's Revised Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs (published December 27, 2021) as the place to find standard application procedures and addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, even though SSARP itself is presented here as a mandatory grant program. Overall, the message is that SSARP funding is designed for a narrow set of public and private nonprofit IHEs with demonstrable remaining COVID-related needs after HEERF III, and that the fine-grained eligibility and application mechanics are defined in the Federal Register notice and related instructions.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): American Rescue Plan (SSARP) Program, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425T" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.425.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-02-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-04-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

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