Update Enrollment/NSLP in EPC Before Jan 10

January 2, 2018

Attached: Entering Enrollment-NSLP Data in EPC Profiles FY 2018

Attached: Guide to Quickly Updating Enrollment-NSLP in EPC

~ Helpful Guides Attached ~

Happy New Year, E-raters!  Welcome to 2018!  I know you may be extra busy with the first day back, but I need you to focus on an important E-rate task within the next 7 days.

The Funding Year 2018 E-rate ”Admin Window” closes on January 10 which means schools must update the enrollment/NSLP (or CEP %) data in each of their schools’ EPC profiles and add any new schools/admin buildings now if they haven’t already done so.  After January 10, USAC will “lock down” the data at which time it will not be possible to make changes to the EPC school profiles because that data will be linked to active library and consortia applications.

The PDE DRAFT (unofficial) enrollment/NSLP data (as of Dec. 5) is available at: https://e-ratepa.org/?p=23291.  This is the data that was originally submitted by each LEA on their October 2017 NSLP Claim Form (which is the month that goes into the official data file).   The data that you will use is on the 1st tab (named:  Oct 2017 NSLP Draft Data), which contains the Enrollment and NSLP needed for each school’s EPC profile.  If a school is a CEP-participating school, they will use the Enrollment and CEP Percentage shown on the spreadsheet (note, this is technically the Identified Student Percentage, but USAC calls it the CEP Percentage).  Note:  This data is from Dec. 5, so if you made any updates to your Oct. 2017 claim form since then, it will not show in this list.

What To Do Now (if you haven’t already)

  1. Review the entities in your EPC Portal and contact USAC at 888-203-8100 to have any new entities added, such as new schools, libraries, NIFs, etc.
  2. Update the Enrollment and NSLP (or CEP) data in each school’s EPC profile.  Although I encourage everyone to use the October 2017 data, schools are permitted to use alternative data (such as surveys, more recent data, etc.).  If you use data different from the Oct 2017 data, just be prepared to validate/prove this data during PIA review.   If a school is participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, “CEP” will be noted in the Free/Reduced Column (Column G) 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 EPC field.
  3. Use the attached “Guide to Updating EPC Profiles” which contains screenshots of the EPC profile pages for both CEP schools and non CEP schools.  Use this Guide and you will succeed!

Where Should You Update EPC Profiles? 
One of the most arduous aspects of updating each school’s enrollment and NSLP data in EPC is the large number of clicks needed to find each school.   Here’s a shortcut:  from your EPC Landing Page, click on the District’s Name and then select “Discount Rate.” Then click on “Show Entities” to bring up the entire list of schools in your EPC profile.  From there, right click on each school’s name and select “Open in a new tab.”  Then just click on each tab, select Manage Organization and update the data.  When you’re done updating the data in each tab, click on the District’s tab and Discount Calculations again for the data to refresh.

Below are very specific steps, and a Guide with screenshots is attached.

STEP 1 – Click on District’s Name from EPC Landing Page under the USAC logo (beside the word Welcome).  Or click on the District’s Name which is at the top of the “Entities” list on the Landing Page.
STEP 2 – Click on “DISCOUNT RATE” from the top toolbar.
STEP 3 – Click on “SHOW ENTITIES” and a list of schools will appear.

STEP 4 – Right Click on each school name and select “Open link in new tab.”   Do this consecutively for each school name on the list.  This will create a long list of tabs at the top of your browser.
STEP 5 – Click on the tab for the first school, and then click “MANAGE ORGANIZATION” to open the “editable” version of the page.
STEP 6 – Scroll down the page to the Enrollment and NSLP date and update.  Click “Submit” at the bottom of the page, and then proceed to the next tab in your browser to modify that school’s Enrollment and NSLP data.  Do this for each school.
STEP 7 – After each schools’ data has been updated, then click on the first tab which should be the District’s tab.  Click on “DISCOUNT RATE” again which will update all of the data.  Review the Enrollment and NSLP data to ensure the totals are accurate.  If they do not match the totals you have, click on “SHOW ENTITIES” to determine where the inaccurate data exists.

A Few Additional Notes:

  1. This PDE draft data 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.
  1. 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.
  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.  If you choose to enter this data, and if the system gives you an error for these fields, just erase the data and hit Submit.
  1. 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).
  1. If you have any questions about your NSLP information, contact the PDE Bureau of Food and Nutrition at 717-783-6558.  If you have questions about your CEP information, contact Eliza Hanft at ehanft@pa.gov.   If you have questions about updating your EPC school profiles, please contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.

Happy EPC Updating!

— Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
717-730-9060 – f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org

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