Tomorrow is Final Day to Update Enrollment/NSLP Data in EPC

January 14, 2019

This is your final reminder that tomorrow, January 15, is the final day to make changes to your school or library’s EPC profiles.  If you haven’t yet updated the enrollment and NSLP (or CEP%) data for each of your schools (or made changes to any updated library data), you have until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow night to do so.  If you need assistance updating the data, please contact me and I can help!

The PDE DRAFT (unofficial) enrollment/NSLP data (as of Dec. 11) and helpful Guide are available at: https://e-ratepa.org/?p=28241.  This is the data that was originally submitted by each LEA on their October 2018 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:  Draft Building 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. 11, so if you made any updates to your Oct. 2018 claim form since then, they will not show in this list.  Although I encourage everyone to use the October 2018 data, schools are permitted to use alternative data (such as surveys, more recent data, etc.).  If you use data different from the Oct 2018 data, just be prepared to validate/prove this data during PIA review.

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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. 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.

Where to Update EPC Profiles

You must access each school’s EPC Profile page to update this information.  There are two places to find a list of schools in EPC:  1) On the Landing Page (5/page), or 2) on the Discount Rate Page (10/page).  Personally, I recommend that you use the Discount Rate Page so you can then easily ensure that your totals are accurate, and determine the discount for FY 2019.  To access the Discount Rate Page and update each school’s data, follow these steps (also outlined with screenshots in the Guide):

Log-In to EPC at: https://portal.usac.org/suite/ and go to your EPC Landing Page.  Passwords are only good for 60 days so if it’s been longer than that, you’ll have to reset it.  If you don’t have an EPC account, call CSB at 888-203-8100 and have them create one for you.
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 data and update.  Click “Submit” at the bottom of the page, then click the space bar when it asks for a modification nickname.  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.

STEP 8 — 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.

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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