May 4, 2022 Annual HEERF Reporting ReminderA Reminder that institutions must complete and submit Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Annual Performance Reports, which covers activity funded between January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. All annual reporting must be submitted through the data collection portal. This applies to institutions that have available balances but did not expend any funds and institutions that have expended all funds during the reporting period. The deadline to submit the reports is May 6, 2022. Institutions that fail to submit their annual report by the deadline will lose access to HEERF grant funds as a result of noncompliance with reporting requirements specified in their HEERF Certification and Agreement. The Department is unable to grant or support extension requests for annual reporting. For information and assistance with HEERF annual reporting, please visit the HEERF Grantee Support page and FAQs. Grant Opportunity: Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success ProgramThis week, the Department of Education (Department, ED) issued a notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2022 for the Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS) Program. The purpose of this program is to encourage institutions of higher education (IHEs) to develop model programs to support veteran student success in postsecondary education by coordinating services to address the academic, financial, physical, and social needs of veteran students. The Department will give preference to applications that are designed to improve students’ social, emotional, academic, and career development, particularly underserved students. ED will also prioritize projects that will be implemented by community colleges, HBCUs, TCUs, HSIs, and other MSIs. The deadline to apply is June 16, 2022. For more information and to apply, click here. Grant Opportunity: Training Program for Federal TRIO ProgramsLast week, the Department of Education (Department, ED) issued a notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2022 for the Training Program for Federal TRIO Programs (Training Program). The Training Program provides grants to train the staff and leadership personnel employed in, participating in, or preparing for employment in, projects funded under the Federal TRIO Programs, to improve project operation. The deadline to apply is June 10, 2022. For more information on how to apply, click here. Senate Takes Next Procedural Step on USICA/COMPETES ConferenceThis week, the Senate is taking up votes on 28 “Motions to Instruct Conferees” of the USICA (Senate) and COMPETES (House) conference. The conference is designed to resolve differences between the two pieces of legislation, which are focused on U.S. innovation and global competitiveness. Notably, the House-passed version includes a provision that would extend Pell Grant eligibility to workforce training programs as short as 150 clock hours, largely based on the JOBS Act. Another provision would establish a student data system to better inform students and institutions on outcomes. This provision is based on the College Transparency Act. ACCT continues to advocate and urge for the inclusion of both provisions in the final legislation. For more information on the Senate proceedings and votes, click here. ACCT NOW is the go-to resource for issues affecting community colleges. Our new website features original reporting and research, as well as of-the-moment legislative updates. ACCT NOW also includes articles, reports, and research from outside sources that benefit the ACCT community. Spread the word. Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) E-Alert network. To join, simply e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with 'LAW Alert' in the subject of the e-mail. For more community college news from inside the beltway, follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/CCTrustees) or like us Facebook (facebook.com/CCTrustees). Have questions? Contact us with any questions or concerns about public policy and ACCT's advocacy on behalf of two-year colleges and two-year college trustees. ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts are sent to interested ACCT members to keep you up to date on important legislative activities that impact community colleges. If you no longer wish to receive ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts, reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. |