Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Emergency Assistance to Institutions of Higher education Program CFDA Number 84.938T | ED GRANTS 050318 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 050318 002

The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) Emergency Assistance to Institutions of Higher Education (EAI) Program, CFDA 84.938T, is a discretionary U.S. Department of Education grant opportunity created to help colleges and universities respond to and recover from major, Presidentially declared disasters that occurred in 2017. Specifically, the program targets areas directly affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as the 2017 wildfires, when those events were declared major disasters or emergencies under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The core idea is to provide rapid, flexible financial support to eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs) that faced disruption, damage, displacement, and urgent needs as a result of those covered disasters.

Funding for the program comes from the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-123). While the legislation ties the appropriation to certain Higher Education Act (HEA) program authorities (including Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work-Study, and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education), the Department makes clear that the allowed uses are broader than those specific program activities. In practice, EAI funds can be used for any purpose authorized under the HEA, giving institutions wide latitude to address disaster-related impacts. Examples of allowable costs noted in the notice include student financial assistance, faculty and staff salaries, equipment, and student supplies and instruments, along with other HEA-authorized purposes that help an institution stabilize operations and support students.

The Department indicates that, to the extent possible, it will prioritize proposals that directly support students who are homeless or at risk of homelessness due to disaster-related displacement. It also intends to prioritize institutions that sustained extensive damage from the covered disasters or emergencies. This emphasis reflects the program's dual focus: keeping students connected to education during extreme disruption and helping institutions remain functional when their physical infrastructure and local conditions have been severely affected.

Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education, with the notice also referencing "others" subject to clarification in the official Federal Register application notice. The opportunity was published with key dates in 2018: applications were made available May 3, 2018; the deadline to submit a required pre-application data form was June 4, 2018; and the final application deadline was August 1, 2018. The Department anticipated making full applications available after reviewing pre-applications, with an intent to release applications about 60 days after publication of the notice.

A central procedural feature of this program is the mandatory pre-application step. Institutions first had to complete a pre-application data information form (downloadable from www.ed.gov/hurricane-help) and submit it by email to EAIProgram@ed.gov by the pre-application deadline. The Department then used those pre-application data to calculate an institutional allotment. Within 30 days after the pre-application deadline, eligible institutions would either receive an emailed notice of their calculated allotment amount or be asked for additional information needed to finalize that calculation. After an institution received its allotment information, it could submit its full application and detailed budget information by the August 1 deadline, generally through Grants.gov (as referenced in the notice), though the notice also describes email and paper submission routes.

Submission options for both pre-applications and applications included (1) emailing a PDF to EAIProgram@ed.gov or (2) mailing the original plus two copies via U.S. Postal Service express mail or a commercial carrier to a named Department contact at the Department's Washington, DC address. The notice warns applicants not to wait until the last minute to email materials because transmission time can vary. It also points applicants to the Department's "Common Instructions" for discretionary grant programs (Federal Register, February 12, 2018) for paper submission requirements and general application rules.

In terms of scale, the notice lists an award ceiling of $20,000,000 and an expectation of about 150 awards. It also notes that late submissions might be considered after on-time submissions are evaluated, and that the Department could reserve funds to accommodate additional requests since the full cost of remedying disaster impacts might not have been known at the time. A key limitation is that no funds would be available after September 30, 2022, effectively setting an outer boundary for the availability of this disaster recovery funding.

Administratively, the program operates under standard federal grants management rules, including the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) across multiple 34 CFR parts, governmentwide debarment and suspension requirements in 2 CFR part 180 (as adopted by the Department), and the Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR part 200 (also as adopted by the Department). The notice also highlights that 34 CFR part 79 applies to all applicants except federally recognized Indian tribes. Finally, the Department states the program is exempt from certain rulemaking requirements under GEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act due to specific provisions in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which is meant to speed implementation for emergency recovery purposes.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a targeted, disaster-recovery grant program for higher education, designed to quickly channel federal support to institutions in 2017 disaster zones, with flexible allowable uses under the HEA and an explicit priority for institutions facing severe damage and for students whose housing instability threatens their ability to stay enrolled.

• The Department of Education in the disaster prevention and relief, education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Emergency Assistance to Institutions of Higher education Program CFDA Number 84.938T" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.938.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 03, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 01, 2018 Applications Available May 3, 2018. Deadline for Transmittal of Pre-Applications June 4, 2018. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications August 1, 2018. Pre-applications and applications for grants under this program may be submitted in one of two ways a. Email an electronic version of your pre-application or application in PDF (Portable Document Format) to EAIProgram@ed.gov, or b. Mail the original and two copies of your pre-application or application by express mail service through the U.S. Postal Service or through a commercial carrier to Beatriz Ceja, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 260-04, Washington, DC 20202-6200. The amount of time it can take to email a document will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the document and the speed of your internet connection. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not wait until minutes before the deadline to begin emailing your pre-application or application. For information on requirements when submitting paper pre-applications or applications, please see the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2018 (83 FR 6003) and available at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf. Note We may consider late pre-applications or applications after on-time submissions are evaluated. We may reserve funds to accommodate additional requests because all of the costs of remedying the effects of the covered disasters or emergencies may not yet be known. No funds will be available after September 30, 2022.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $20,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 150 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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