Navigating the PIA Application Review Process
March 11, 2024
Attached: PIA Review Guide FY 2024
~ 50% of submitted FRNs are already in Wave Ready Status! ~
~ PIA Review Guide Attached ~
Congratulations to 457 PA schools and libraries that have already submitted their FY 2024 Form 471s! Many applicants have already begun to receive PIA inquiries and this message is designed to explain the PIA review process and how to access the PIA inquiries. If you haven’t yet submitted your Form 471, please do so ASAP as the deadline is March 27, 2024.
The Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) process is a detailed USAC review of each Form 471 to determine whether the products and services requested are eligible for E-rate funding, whether you complied with the competitive bidding requirements, whether your requested discount rate is valid, whether you have stayed within your Category 2 budget, and whether you are an eligible entity. Not everyone receives a PIA inquiry, and receiving an inquiry doesn’t necessarily mean there is a problem with your application. This year it appears that most inquiries are asking for vendor documentation to validate requested dollar amounts, including taxes.
How it Works:
- All PIA inquiries are done in EPC, and all applicant responses to these inquiries must be submitted via EPC.
- When the PIA team has a question, an e-mail is sent to the Form 471 contact that contains a link to the actual PIA inquiry(s) in EPC.
- Before clicking on the link in the e-mail, first sign into EPC. Then:
- > Click on the link in the e-mail
- > Select “Respond to Inquiries” at the top right corner of the PIA Inquiry Page, which will then turn the Inquiry Name into an active blue hyperlink
- > Click on the hyperlink and the list of questions will appear. You must respond to all of the questions in an inquiry at the same time.
- Often, there is a long list of questions in the PIA inquiry. If a question is not applicable, but the text box will not allow you to proceed without an answer, simply list N/A. You can also always use the narrative box at the bottom to explain your answer.
- If you are unclear about the questions being asked, you may e-mail the PIA reviewer to request clarifications. Use the e-mail address that was listed at the bottom of the original PIA reviewer’s message.
- If you ever want to check and see if there are any outstanding PIA inquiries for your organization, go to the Pending Inquiries section at the top of the EPC Landing Page. All “users” for the organization will see and can respond to all inquiries, even if they are not the contact for that form. This is a great feature so non-Form 471 contacts can see the questions that are being asked of other users within their organization, including consultants.
Deadline to Reply: These are serious inquires that must be addressed in a timely fashion. PIA inquiries typically provide 15-day deadlines for responses but I encourage you to respond as soon as you receive the e-mail. The sooner you respond, the sooner you’ll receive your E-rate FCDL. If you haven’t responded to the PIA inquiry within 7 days of the initial request, PIA will send you a reminder. If you haven’t responded after 15 days, USAC may act on the information they already have to make a funding decision (which typically means denial).
Need an Extension? You can request a 7-day extension of the original deadline if you need more time. To do so, access your PIA Inquiry in EPC, choose Related Actions, then Request Extension. The first extension request will be automatically granted. If you still need more time, you may request an additional extension, but you must have a really good reason for needing an extension.
A guide to the PIA review process, including screenshots of the EPC PIA inquiry pages, is attached. Slide 13 of the guide also shows where to find the current status of your Form 471 application.
If you have questions about the PIA review process, contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.
— Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org