{"id":32887,"date":"2020-12-14T21:44:28","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T21:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e-ratepaorg.local\/?p=32887"},"modified":"2020-12-28T18:24:02","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T18:24:02","slug":"updating-discount-data-and-category-2-enrollment-data-for-fy-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=32887","title":{"rendered":"Updating Discount Data and Category 2 Enrollment Data for FY 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 14, 2020<\/p>\n

Attached:\u00a0Draft NSLP Data Oct 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

Attached:\u00a0Entering Enrollment-NSLP in EPC FY 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

Typically this week is when I send the draft enrollment and NSLP data to this listserve, instructing schools that it\u2019s time to update their data for the upcoming year before the \u2018Admin Window\u2019 closes in early January.\u00a0 This year, due to both the new Category 2 rules and the fact that so few schools are operating NSLP programs this year because of the pandemic, the guidance is much different.\u00a0 Please read this message carefully and decide if you need to take action in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

Category 2 Budgets:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starting with E-rate FY 2021, the enrollment data used for Category 2 budgets has a few new provisions:<\/p>\n

1. Schools can use different enrollment figures for their Category 2 budget calculations than what is used in the discount calculation data.\u00a0 Then, in future years that C2 enrollment data will remain the same unless the enrollment increases in which case they can update the data to claim a higher Category 2 budget for the remainder of the C2 budget cycle (which is FY 2021 \u2013 FY 2025).\u00a0 However, if the enrollment decreases, schools are not required to make any adjustments and the higher enrollment data (and higher C2 budget) will remain.<\/p>\n

2. Due to fact that so few schools are operating NSLP programs this year (only 36 school districts in PA), the FCC is permitting schools to use enrollment data from last year (Oct 2019) or this year (Oct 2020) to calculate their Category 2 budget for FY 2021.\u00a0 Note:\u00a0 for this year\u2019s Admin Window, and this year only, USAC has pre-populated the district-wide enrollment using the data that schools listed on FY 2020 Form 471 applications.\u00a0 Despite the carry over of this data this year, the C2 enrollment fields and the discount calculation fields are not linked in EPC and any updates that are made in either the C2 profile or the school\u2019s discount calculation profile will not be transferred to the other.\u00a0 The only exception to this is that schools may update the C2 enrollment data at the bottom each school\u2019s profile page in lieu of doing it on the district\u2019s Manage Organization page.<\/p>\n

3. Schools enter their Category 2 enrollment figure in a new location in EPC \u2013 at the bottom of their School District\u2019s Manage Organization page in a new section called \u201cCategory Two (C2) Budget Information.\u201d\u00a0 In that section, districts can enter their district-wide enrollment total, or their school-level enrollments.\u00a0 Why would a district want to update enrollment at the school level instead of using the aggregate district-level enrollment?\u00a0 If a district has 10 or fewer schools, and any of those schools has less than 150 students, it will be advantageous for the district to enter enrollment data by school so the EPC system will use the \u201chybrid\u201d method of calculating C2 budgets, thus giving the district a higher budget.\u00a0 Districts with 11 or more schools are not eligible to use the hybrid method and have no reason to consider entering their enrollment data by school.<\/p>\n

My advice:
\n<\/em><\/strong>— If your district\u2019s overall enrollment has\u00a0increased\u00a0this year\u00a0and\u00a0you\u2019re applying for Category 2 funding in FY 2021, update your Category 2 Budget Info Profile with the higher enrollment to maximize your C2 budget.<\/p>\n

— > If you choose to update your C2 enrollment and your district has 10 or fewer schools, enter the data by school instead of listing a district-wide enrollment total so the EPC system will calculate using the hybrid C2 budget calculation method.<\/p>\n

— See the attached\u00a0Guide to Updating C2 Budget Data and Discount Data<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to walk you through the process for updating your C2 Budget Info profile.<\/p>\n

— If you\u2019re not applying for C2 funding in FY 2021 or if your enrollment has\u00a0decreased\u00a0from last year, do nothing.<\/p>\n

E-rate Discount Calculations:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schools update their enrollment and NSLP data (or CEP %) in each school\u2019s EPC Profile during the Admin Window.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>However, due to fact that so few schools are operating NSLP programs this year due to the pandemic (only 36 school districts in PA), the FCC is permitting schools to use enrollment and NSLP data from last year (Oct 2019) or this year (Oct 2020) to calculate their E-rate discounts for FY 2021.\u00a0 Attached to this message is a list of entities that are operating NSLP programs this year and each school\u2019s draft enrollment and NSLP data that was submitted to PDE in Oct 2020 (if your school is not listed it means they are not operating a NSLP program this year and have not submitted such data to PDE).\u00a0 Typically, discount rates rarely go up or down from year to year; therefore, it is highly likely that most districts will choose to\u00a0not\u00a0update the enrollment and NSLP data in each school\u2019s EPC profiles this year.<\/p>\n

My advice:
\n<\/strong>— If your overall E-rate discount will not increase using Oct 2020 enrollment\/NSLP data, or if your district is not operating a NSLP program this year, do not update each school\u2019s profile during this year\u2019s Admin Window.\u00a0 However, if you didn\u2019t update the data last year, you must update the data this year (using either\u00a0last year\u2019s data<\/a>\u00a0or this year\u2019s data).<\/p>\n

— If your overall E-rate discount will increase by using the most current data (Oct 2020), or you discover that your district did not update its enrollment\/NSLP data last year, you should update the enrollment and NSLP data in EPC for each school before the close of the Admin Window which is expected to be around January 8.\u00a0 Attached is a\u00a0Guide to Updating C2 Budget Data and Discount Data<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to walk you through the process for updating each school\u2019s EPC profiles.<\/p>\n

New School Types:<\/strong><\/p>\n

USAC has introduced three new school \u201csubtypes\u201d in EPC.\u00a0 Be sure to update a school\u2019s EPC profile to reflect the proper designation if it fits into one of these classifications.\u00a0 Each of these entities is eligible to receive C2 funding.<\/p>\n