Entering Enrollment and NSLP Data in Each School’s Profile
February 8, 2016
~ Libraries will NOT enter this data ~
~ Helpful Screenshots Attached ~
The new Form 471 no longer requires applicants to enter their enrollment and NSLP data in Block 4 of each application. Instead, schools are required to update each school’s EPC profiles with their enrollment and NSLP data PRIOR TO starting their Form 471s, and then the Form 471 pulls that data from the district’s EPC profile. Likewise, consortia will no longer enter the enrollment/NSLP data for their consortia members; their discounts will be determined by the consortia members they identify as receiving services on their Form 471. Libraries also will no longer list any enrollment or NSLP data as this data will be ported from the school district’s profile for which the main library is located.
PDE’s Bureau of Food and Nutrition has just released the raw National School Lunch Data that was submitted by schools to PDE in October 2015, as well as the CEP data for participating schools. The spreadsheet is attached and is available on the PA E-rate website under the Discount Calculations at: https://e-ratepa.org/?page_id=743. This 2015 data is what schools and libraries should list in each school’s EPC profile unless they want to use alternative data (such as surveys, more recent data, etc.). Schools also are permitted to use last year’s data, but it’s not ideal because it confuses the PIA reviewers.
The data that should be listed in the EPC profile should be the Enrollment and Free/Reduced Lunch data (from columns W and X). If the school is participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, open the second tab (CEP % Data) and use the Enrollment and CEP % data in the EPC profile. Attached is a page showing screenshots of the EPC profile pages for both CEP schools and non CEP schools.
Where to Modify Enrollment/NSLP Data in EPC:
To access the page in your EPC profile to update this information, follow these steps from your EPC Landing Page (attached are screenshots explaining exact where to go):
> Go to your EPC Landing Page (home screen). Click on the USAC Logo in the top left side of the page to get there.
> Click on the School’s name for which you want to modify (tab through to see other schools as they only show 5 to a page)
> This screen will show the school’s data currently in the system. To modify this data, click on Modify Organization at the top right side of the page
> Scroll down to the School Information Section and enter the relevant data. Note: The data currently in the fields is what you listed on your FY 2015 Form 471, Block 4.
> Note, the system will require you to fill in 0 for the part time fields if you only have full time students. It also will require you to select NONE if you didn’t use an Alternative Discount Mechanism.
> After you click Submit, the system will ask you to assign a Nickname to this change. I suggest you use “{School Name} Updated NSLP data for FY 2016” or something similar.
> To return to the list of schools, click on the USAC Logo on the top left side of the page to return to your Landing Page. Start the process over for the next school.
A few very important notes:
1) Each school’s profile page has fields for State School and LEA Codes and NCES codes. You are not required to enter this data, but if you want the State School and LEA Codes, they are contained in the PDE NSLP file.
2) Likewise, each school’s profile page asks for the FCCRN. This stands for FCC Registration Number and is a unique number given to each district or organization. Each school does NOT have an FCCRN and despite the warning below the box which says “You will need to provide your FCC RN in order to file any E-rate forms” you do not have to list anything in this box.
3) You also aren’t required to list the school’s longitute and latitude date or the website URL.
4) When the SLD’s PIA staff reviews your applications, they use the attached data to validate your discounts. If you have other data (such as from an income survey or more recent NSLP data), you may use it but you should expect a call from the PIA staff requesting thorough documentation to validate your figures.
5) This spreadsheet only contains buildings that have students participating in the NSLP program. If your school does not participate in the NSLP, they still must be included in your EPC Portal and have enrollment and NSLP eligibility data entered. If you do not have the NSLP data and cannot obtain it from other sources, you can list 0 and receive the minimum 20% E-rate discount for that school.
6) Don’t forget: Your EPC profiles must contain ALL of the buildings that are receiving E-rate discounted services, including your non-instructional facilities (NIFs), such as bus barns, administration buildings, etc. If you have not yet added those NIF buildings into your EPC Portal, call USAC at 888-203-8100 and have them added.
7) There is a template to upload the enrollment/NSLP or CEP data into EPC instead of going through this process school by school (which will be useful for large school districts). However, the template was just release and hasn’t been tested. It’s available under > Related Actions, then > Upload Entity Profile Data.
8) Consortia will NOT enter this data for their member schools/districts. In fact, they cannot enter this data for their members (it all has to be done at the district level). However, if the IU has obtained a Consultant Registration Number (CRN), they can enter this data on behalf of their schools if, as the consultant, they’ve been given full or partial rights.
9) If you have any questions about your NSLP information, contact Joan Plank at the Bureau of Food and Nutrition at 717-783-6558. If you have questions about your CEP information, contact Eliza Hanft at ehanft@pa.gov.
10) If you have any questions about calculating your E-rate discounts, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.
— Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
717-730-9060 – f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org
penn*link