E-rate Progress Report/Answers to FAQs
Message Posted May 21, 1998
SLC Issues Progress Report; PDE Answers Frequently Asked Questions
Today the SLC released the following progress report on where they are in the processing of the 30,000 Form 471s. But first, a few answers to the most frequently asked questions that we in the Office of Educational Technology have been receiving:
1) Many schools have asked when funding commitment letters will be mailed. I, personally, don't expect to see them before June 15, at the earliest. If you already have received services for which you requested discounts and you have been invoiced by your vendor, it is in your best interests to pay the full invoice at this time and then recover retroactive
payments from the SLC when you receive your funding commitment letter(those procedures will be released shortly). The only exception to this is where you already have an arrangement with your vendor where they agree to receive their payments after you have received your funding commitment letter.
2) For those schools who faxed a letter to the SLC indicating that you couldn't get through to the Client Service Bureau and your Form 471 would likely be faxed back after the 7-day turnaround time, please be sure that you complete your problem resolution fax, make corrections to your application, and fax it back to the SLC Client Service Bureau as soon as possible. The request that you faxed to SLC headquarters was simply alerting them that you may miss the 7 day turnaround time by a few days and that you were requesting that your application not be displaced from the 75-day window.
3) If your Form 471 was rejected because it was signed in black ink or because of a reason that you believe is the fault of the SLC, it is in your best interest to appeal the rejection. To submit an appeal, send your entire Form 471 and rejection letter, and a cover letter on school district letterhead stating your rationale as to why your application should not have been rejected and why it should be re-instituted, along with any supporting documentation, to: Deb Kriete, General Counsel, Schools and Libraries Corporation, P.O. Box 34351, Washington, DC 20043-4351. In addition, it is a good idea to correct whatever reason your application was rejected and resubmit your Form 471 to the SLC in Iowa City as soon as possible. This will at least qualify you for the first-come, first-served application review if your appeal is denied.
4) If you are signing contracts now for E-rate eligible services beginning in 1998 and extending into 1999 because you believe they will be considered existing contracts for the 1999 calendar year (application process beginning July 1, 1998), you may be wrong. They only will be considered existing contracts IF you file a Form 470 now and have it posted on the SLC website for 28 days before signing your contract. Then on or soon after July 1, you will need to resubmit a Form 470 indicating it is for an existing contract that has been competitively bid on the SLC website. Key point: From now on, the only contracts that may be considered pre-existing and not be bid on the SLC website are those that were signed prior to January 30, 1998.
5) Yes, everyone must re-file a new Form 470 and 471 for services they want discounted in 1999, even if you have a multi-year contract. Discounts are only guaranteed until Dec. 31. This application process begins July 1, 1998 and mostly likely will have another initial filing window. The length of that window has not been determined.
-- Julie
"SLC E-RATE PROGRESS REPORT: MOVING TOWARD FUNDING COMMITMENTS"
"As you know, the Schools and Libraries Corporation received more than 30,000 Universal Service Fund applications within the 75-day window that ended April 15. Before funding commitments can be made on any of these applications, we must data enter and review all of them. We are moving as quickly as possible to accomplish this task and have committed additional resources to do so. But as you will see from the progress report that follows, we also need YOUR help in one crucial way: It is imperative that you regularly check your voice mail, faxes, and mail over the next six to eight weeks. If your school or library will be going into summer vacation, please make necessary arrangements for this coverage. If there is any problem or question regarding your application, we will not be able to complete the process unless we are able to reach you.
Here's a step-by-step progress report on the application review process.
Problem Resolution
All applications received during the 75-day window have now been logged into our tracking system and have been reviewed by the document analysis staff for obvious errors and incomplete information. Thousands of Problem Resolution faxes have gone out, and thousands more will be going out over the next week; applicants have 7 calendar days to respond with the requested information. In addition, our Problem Resolution Team will be contacting some applicants by telephone to correct their applications on the spot. If you have not yet been contacted by the Problem Resolution Team, you should be very sure to monitor your fax machine and voice mail over the next several weeks.
Program Integrity Assurance
Applications which have been data entered are subject to Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) review to ensure compliance with FCC rules. If your application is reviewed, you may receive a phone call from the PIA team requesting additional information or documentation within 7 calendar days. Again, you should make arrangements to regularly monitor your voice mail in the weeks ahead so you don't miss a call from PIA. (The PIA Team will also be conducting post-funding audits throughout the year.)
Funding Commitment Letters
Once all applications have been processed through the PIA stage, funding commitment letters will be sent to all applicants identifying approval or disapproval of discounts for services on a line-item basis. The funding commitment letters will reflect final funding levels set by the FCC for the Universal Service Program for 1998 (see below).
Funding Levels for 1998
The FCC has proposed a funding level of $1.67 billion for 1998. After taking public comments through the end of this week, the FCC will announce its final decision on 1998 funding. In conjunction with the FCC's announcement, the SLC will release its procedures for allocating funds if final demand exceeds available funding. Please note that final demand will not be known until all applications have been completely processed.
Form 486 and Invoicing
Once you have received your funding commitment letter, you will need to submit your Form 486 (which will be released shortly) to the SLC within 5 days for services that are already being rendered. This will allow your service providers to invoice SLC and receive timely payment for the discounted portion of your costs. Once again, please make any necessary arrangements for completing the Form 486 even during the summer break.
SLC deeply appreciates your help and cooperation during these next critical phases of the 1998 application process, and will continue to do all we can to keep you updated on the process."
-- SLC
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Julie L. Tritt
Office of Educational Technology 717/787-5820
Pennsylvania Department of Education 717/787-7222 (fax)
333 Market Street, 10th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126
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