Two top-level U.S. Education Department (ED) officials on Monday provided some more insight on how the department will implement the $12 billion coming to community colleges through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act.
In a webinar on Monday hosted by the Association of Community College Trustees and the American Association of Community Colleges, Michelle Asha Cooper, ED’s acting assistant secretary for postsecondary education, and Rich Williams, chief of staff for ED’s postsecondary education office, provided a half-hour overview of the guidance the department released last week. Much of the discussion focused on top-item issues, but the pair also answered questions posted by webinar participants.
Cooper and Williams addressed how colleges will receive the new ARP funds, how they may use these funds and how they should document the use of the funds.
Over the next few weeks, the department will disburse the funds by adding each college’s allocation to the funds they received through the two previous recovery packages, Cooper said. Colleges that haven’t received funds through those relief plans will need to apply for ARP funding.