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What to expect

HBCU Capital Financing Program

Steps in the Process/Timeline

Each project is unique. The timeline below will help you understand the process and steps that will be taken by your institution, Rice Capital Access Program (RCAP) bankers, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Treasury.

We are sensitive to your desire to keep your project on track and will work diligently to help accomplish this goal. After the HBCU Capital Financing Program receives required financial and project documentation, it takes approximately two to three months to process the loan. However, the HBCU Capital Financing Program has closed loans in as few as six weeks. The timeframe depends primarily on your institution’s ability to provide the required documents and the level of negotiations involved in the loan transaction.

Throughout the life of the project, Rice utilizes a comprehensive, state-of-the-art financial planning and forecasting tool that allows us to analyze operating and capital initiatives.  

Enrollment, discount rates, personnel, investments, debt, facilities, and more are considered. Financial statements can be created for up to a 16-year planning window, based on 5 years of historical data, current year data, and 10 years of projected results.

Step Typical
Time Frame		 Details
1
 Initial call
1 business day
Contact a Rice Capital Access Program representative to briefly discuss your project and next steps.
2
 Full application
1-3 weeks
Your institution will complete the Loan Application and submit it along with the required documents to RCAP.
3
 Additional information

 

 Upon
request, 1-3 weeks		 Following a review of your Application, Rice will request additional information to help draft and complete a Decisional Memorandum that makes a lending recommendation to the U.S. Department of Education (ED). We will not take any further action until the institution has submitted all required documents in the appropriate form either via upload to our secure server or in a secure binder(s) labeled appropriately.
4
 Follow-up
5-7 business
days
Additional information may be requested from your institution.
5
 Decision process
2 weeks
RCAP analyses include quantitative analyses of your project and financial documents, such as credit standing, 5-year financial analysis, 5-year projections to determine ability to pay back the loans, debt capacity, project analysis in light of your institution’s strategic plan, and more. We also assess qualitative areas such as the quality of administration and effective delivery of programs.
6
 Decisional Memorandum
14 days
ED signs off on RCAP’s recommendation. RCAP drafts all documents, finalizes terms, and prepares to fund the loan. If the ED does not approve the Decisional Memorandum, the ED will send the institution a letter explaining why it was not approved and possible steps the institution can take to receive an affirmative decision.
7
 Site visit
Within 30 days after approval of the DM by ED
Senior personnel from RCAP and ED will schedule a visit to meet your team on site to discuss your proposed project.
8
 Documentation review
30-90 days
Loan documents are exchanged for review, comment, and finalization. When the ED approves the Decisional Memorandum, a closing date will be set and RCAP will supply all parties with a closing list. All items must be submitted by the institution no less than one week prior to the scheduled closing date.
9
 Closing
Included above
Closing occurs in Washington, D.C., with persons with legal authority to sign present from your institution, ED, and RCAP.
10
 Project launch
Construction contracts and designs are finalized and shovels put to the ground.
11
 Plan approval and monitoring Ongoing RCAP helps coordinate RFPs for architects, monitor the selection of contractors and the use of local/minority vendors, build project plans, and track construction progress.
12 Fund disbursements
7-10 business days following requisition
Typically, payments are made as percent to completion goals are reached. Your institution submits a requisition, RCAP independently verifies completion status, generally retaining 10% of the amount, and RCAP wires funds to your institution.
13
 Repayment
At project completion
The repayment phase begins following project completion, per loan documents.