Funding Year 2017 Form 471 "Window" Now Open

FY2017 Form 471 "Window" Now Open

*** Deadline is May 11, 2017 ***

At noon on Monday February 27th, the FY 2017 Form 471 Application Window officially opened; it will close at 11:59 p.m. on May 11, 2017. This is the 471 deadline for ALL applicants – there will not be a separate consortia/library window like last year – for both C1 and C2 funding requests. The absolute final day to post a Form 470 and still have enough time to submit a Form 471 is April 13, but PLEASE DO NOT WAIT THIS LONG as it will only give you a single day to negotiate a contract, obtain board approval (if required), create the EPC Contract Record, and complete the Form 471. For public schools, I recommend that you build a minimum of a 5-7 day buffer to file all 470s.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

tlawrence@sde.idaho.gov

EPC Profile Admin Window Closes Soon

Final Days to Update EPC Profiles

****Deadline is February 26 – which is a SUNDAY****

Schools only have a few days to update their enrollment/NSLP data in each school’s EPC profile before the special FY 2017 E-rate Admin Window closes at midnight on Sunday, February 26.  I strongly encourage you to consider Friday, February 24 as the deadline because we’re told that USAC’s Client Service Bureau (CSB) will not be open this weekend in case you run into issues. After that, the data will be “locked down” and the Form 471 window will open at noon on February 27.  After the Admin Window closes, it will not be possible to update this data in the EPC profiles because that data will be linked to active library and consortia applications.

Entering Enrollment/NSLP (or CEP) Data in EPC

• Update the Enrollment and NSLP data for each school by clicking on the school’s name from your Landing Page. 
• If you need to add or remove any entities, create a Customer Service Case in EPC by Friday, February 24.
• You may also use alternative data (such as surveys, more recent data, etc.), or last year’s data, but regardless of which data you use, you cannot mix funding years.   
• If a school is participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, “CEP” will be noted in the Free/Reduced Lunch Column (Column I) in which case that school’s EPC Profile should mark YES the Community Eligibility Provision and then enter the CEP% number from Column J in the required field. 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at tlawrence@sde.idaho.gov

FY2017 Form 471 Window and Admin Window Dates Announced!!!

Dates:

Admin Window: Open Now – February 26  

Form 471 Window:  February 27 – May 11

We have the dates! USAC has just announced the FY2017 window dates and thus, your E-rate Timetable can be set. Here’s what you should be doing and by when: 

Administrative Window – From now until February 26 – only about 3 weeks, public and nonpublic schools should go into their EPC profiles to update their enrollment/NSLP data and obtain E-rate entity numbers for any new schools or non-instructional facilities. Likewise, if libraries have any changes to their square footage or library buildings, they should make those changes by February 26 as well. After February 26, this data will be locked down and cannot be edited. 

Form 470s – If you haven’t yet posted your Form 470 for services that must be competitively bid for FY2017, you still have some time to do so, although not much. Although the Form 471 deadline is May 11 and therefore the last possible date to file the Form 470 is April 13, you should plan to have your Form 470s posted no later than March 1. This will give you April to evaluate bids and obtain board approval at their April meetings.  

Form 471s – Although the Form 471 deadline is May 11, I strongly encourage you to file early in the Form 471 window, if possible. For contracts that have already been signed or multi-year contracts signed in previous years, filing when the window opens is a great idea to be at the top of the list when they review applications. Regardless, please try to avoid filing your 471 in May, as this will be when the most EPC technical hiccups may occur. 

If you have any questions about the window filing dates, please let me know!

FY 2017 E-rate "Admin Window" to Open Soon

Hello Everyone,

In the next few days, USAC will be announcing the opening of a special “Administrative Window” during which time schools -- not libraries or consortia – can update their schools’ enrollment and NSLP in EPC. This special Admin Window is required in order to avoid having two separate Form 471 filing windows for FY 2017.  The Admin Window is expected to be open for 3-4 weeks, and after that, the school data will be “locked down” and the Form 471 window will open. After the Admin Window closes, it will not be possible to update this data in the EPC profiles because that data will be linked to active library and consortia applications. Please review your schools’ data carefully to ensure that it is accurate. 

As we discussed in the fall training, USAC is expected to allow applicants to use the enrollment/NSLP data that is currently in EPC from FY 2016 – OR – use the updated data that will be in the Idaho NSLP Valid file (you’ll have to use the full data set from one year or the other – you can’t pick and choose which schools use which years’ data). Therefore it is important that you carefully review last year’s enrollment/NSLP data to see which is more advantageous to your district. Although unlikely, your discount may have decreased from last year. Another major reason to not update your data is if the enrollment has declined this year and thus your Category 2 budgets will be less. 

Reminder: You should NOT update your FY 2017 enrollment/NSLP data in EPC now – you must wait for the Admin Window to open.   

Also, at some point before your Form 471 is filed, you’ll want to review the Connectivity Data in your EPC Profile to ensure it’s still accurate. If nothing has changed, you don’t have to do anything. If something has changed, you’ll want to update it before the Form 471 is filed.   

Let me know if there are questions with this process. I can be reached at tlawrence@sde.idaho.gov. 

Have a great day! 

Audio Version of Idaho E-Rate Training Presentation

Hello Everyone and Happy 2017! Its hard to believe we are in 2017 already. I wanted to let everyone know I finally completed the audio version of the E-Rate presentation I did across the state. I have posted to the link below for those who were not able to attend the training in person or if you need a quick refresh on a topic. I broke the presentation up into sections to make it easier to find something and time commitments. My goal is to have this audio version available closer to when the the training has commenced.

Presentations can be found here: https://goo.gl/OtM2VW

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the presentations.

Thanks,
Todd

FY 2016 Form 486s Due Dates for Funded Applicants

FY 2016 Form 486s Due Dates for Funded Applicants

~ Be Careful of CIPA Certifications ~

This is a reminder that the FY 2016 Form 486 deadline is due and overdue for many ID applicants.  The 486 certifies receipt of services/CIPA compliance, and is due within 120 days of the funding commitment letter date or the start of services (whichever is later). If your Form 486 is OVERDUE file the form ASAP so you don’t lose E-rate funding.

Also, be careful when clicking on the CIPA certifications at the end of the form and don't get “click happy” and checked the 3^rd CIPA certification indicating that CIPA doesn’t apply. USAC is now holding those applications until the applicant calls to have them cancelled so they can refile.  Below is a screenshot of the certifications – be sure to ONLY click the 1^st button.

A few important notes:

* If you have not yet received your FCDL, you cannot submit a 486 for those FRNs still pending SLD decision. When those applications are funded, those applicants will then have 120 days from the date of the FCDL to submit their 486.

* If you want discounted bills, you must file your Form 486 right away so the service provider can invoice USAC.

* The new 486 is really easy to use as the fields are now all pre-populated.  

* If you have an FRN that you no longer need, please file a Form 500 to release the funds (and get off of future lists!).  The easiest type-in version is at:  http://www.e-ratecentral.com/formsRack/app/Form500.asp.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Thank you, 

Todd 

Confusion About Invoice Deadline Extension Request E-mails

Yesterday, USAC sent bulk Invoice Deadline Extension Request (IDER) decision e-mails to applicants nationwide and the contents of those e-mails has created mass confusion.  I hope this message sheds a little light on why you may have – or may not have – received an e-mail.

1)  If you submitted an IDER using Submit a Question between October 26 – October 31, USAC has not yet issued decision e-mails on those yet.  They’re likely coming next week.  The IDER decision e-mails that were issues yesterday were for those submitted using Submit a Question on or before October 25.

2)  The IDER decision e-mails that were issued yesterday contained 3 different types of “decisions” as follows:

• Approved
• Dismissed – Dismissed because an IDER request had already been approved via another request.  There was no need for USAC to issue a second approval and so it was “dismissed.”
• Denied – Denied because the funding cap had already been exceeded. 

3)  If you received an e-mail but never submitted an IDER, it’s most likely because your vendor submitted an IDER for one or more of your FY 2015 FRNs and you were simply sent a courtesy copy of the decision e-mail.  In my opinion, USAC shouldn’t have copied applicants on these.

4)  If you submitted the IDER in the Online BEAR tool, you received instant approval and would NOT have received an e-mail from USAC yesterday unless a separate IDER was submitted (either by you or by your vendor).

If you want to see whether your IDER has been approved, go to:  http://www.sl.universalservice.org/utilities/FRN_CurFundExt.asp and select Year 18 - FY 2015 from the drop down list.  You can then search by FRN number. 

The bottom line is this:  If you submitted a FY 2015 invoice deadline extension request on or before October 31, 2016, it has been or will be approved.  USAC is not denying ANY IDER requests for which there is still funding remaining in the funding commitment.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at tlawrence@sde.idaho.gov 

Happy Election Day!