Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS) Program

The Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success program is a federal discretionary grant initiative administered by the U.S. Department of Labor in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education. The program is designed to strengthen institutional capacity at colleges and universities to better serve veteran students by establishing centralized, coordinated systems of support. These Centers of Excellence are intended to function as comprehensive hubs that address the academic, financial, physical, and social needs of veterans transitioning into postsecondary education environments. The program aligns with broader federal priorities to improve educational attainment, workforce readiness, and long-term career outcomes for military veterans. The primary objective of the program is to fund institutions of higher education to create model programs that improve recruitment, retention, persistence, and completion rates for veteran students. Funded institutions are required to establish a Center of Excellence on campus that acts as a single point of contact for veteran services. These centers must coordinate across multiple institutional offices, including admissions, financial aid, academic advising, health services, career counseling, and disability services. Each funded project must also include a designated coordinator responsible for overseeing program implementation and ensuring alignment with program goals. Grant funds may be used for a wide range of supportive services tailored to veteran students. Allowable uses include outreach and recruitment, academic tutoring, career counseling, financial aid assistance, housing support, and transition programs that help veterans adapt to campus life. Institutions may also fund veteran-specific programming such as cultural events, peer support groups, and partnerships with military bases or National Guard units. While administrative costs are permitted, they must be reasonable and necessary, and no subgrants may be issued to other entities to carry out project activities directly. Eligibility for the program is limited to institutions of higher education as defined under the Higher Education Act. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, which lowers barriers to participation for eligible institutions. Applicants must comply with federal administrative and cost principles and adhere to all civil rights and nondiscrimination requirements associated with federal funding. Additionally, institutions must demonstrate a plan to sustain the Center of Excellence beyond the grant period, ensuring long-term impact and institutionalization of services. The application process requires submission through Grants.gov and includes multiple components such as a project narrative, budget narrative, abstract, and required federal forms. Applicants must register with both SAM.gov and Grants.gov prior to submission, and early registration is strongly encouraged due to processing timelines. Applications are evaluated based on criteria including need for the project, significance, quality of design, adequacy of resources, and evaluation strategy. Peer reviewers score applications, and final funding decisions may consider additional factors such as past performance and geographic distribution. The funding opportunity provides an estimated total of 9 million dollars, with individual awards ranging from 1.5 million to 3 million dollars over a 36-month project period. Approximately four awards are expected. The application window opens May 21, 2026, and closes June 23, 2026. Intergovernmental review deadlines extend to August 24, 2026. While the program is not explicitly stated as recurring, similar federal discretionary programs are often reissued periodically, though future cycles are not guaranteed. Awardees are expected to track performance metrics such as enrollment, persistence, and completion rates among veteran students and report annually on program outcomes.

Align proposal with required absolute priority components; demonstrate sustainability beyond grant period; clearly coordinate cross-campus services; address evaluation criteria directly