July 16, 2015<\/p>\n
~ List of Possible Affected Entities Attached<\/a> ~ The 2014 Funding Year ended June 30, 2015 for recurring services and so now is the time to submit the Form 472 — BEAR — to the SLD for services in which you paid a non-discounted bill from July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015.\u00a0 How do you know if you need to submit a BEAR?<\/em><\/strong> The easy answer is that if you received discounted bills from your vendor, you do not need to submit a BEAR (your E-rate discounts were applied to your bill).\u00a0 If you did not<\/em><\/strong> receive discounted bills, then you likely will have to file a Form 472 BEAR to collect your reimbursement.\u00a0 I’ve attached a list of FRNs whose vendors have NOT invoiced USAC, which likely means these schools or libraries must submit BEARs for those FRNs.\u00a0 Not included in this list are entities that have already filed BEARs for any or all of FY 2014 (and where USAC has already authorized disbursement).<\/p>\n The deadline for filing a BEAR for recurring services is October 28, 2015.\u00a0 The new invoicing deadline rules are VERY strict.\u00a0 If you cannot meet the invoicing deadline, you must submit an invoice deadline extension request (IDER) BEFORE October 28 (or whatever your invoice deadline is).\u00a0 USAC will then approve a single 120-day extension, but they are not permitted — under any circumstance — to grant a second extension.\u00a0 Also, they are not permitted to grant any extension requests that are submitted after October 28 (or whatever your original invoice deadline was). \u00a0\u00a0Thus, it’s important that you begin your BEAR forms NOW.\u00a0 Please don’t wait until the last minute because you’re likely to forget to file.\u00a0 Now is the very best time to submit the form. \u00a0I’ll send a list in early September of the applicants that still having funding remaining to be collected, so file now and avoid the list!\u00a0 Each year, many applicants are committed funding, but then never go back to seek reimbursement. Don’t let them keep your well-deserved money<\/em>.<\/p>\n A few important Q & A’s:<\/p>\n 1) Can I complete the BEAR online?<\/strong> 2) Can I put all of my reimbursement requests on a single BEAR?<\/strong> 3) Am I required to have the provider sign the BEAR?<\/strong> Also, make sure the service provider signs the last<\/em> page of the paper BEAR — the Service Provider Certification Page — and not the Applicant Certification Page which looks very similar. Also make certain that the provider includes the date beside their signature; dates are considered a minimum processing standard.<\/p>\n 4) I was committed more funding than I actually spent. Can I request reimbursement for the full amount that was originally committed?<\/strong> 5) I spent more than what was committed on my funding commitment letter (my cap). What should I list on my BEAR — the cap or the actual amount spent?<\/strong> 6) When will I receive my BEAR reimbursement check?<\/strong> 8) What if I actually received a slightly different service than what was originally listed on my Item 21 attachments? 9)\u00a0 What should I do if I didn’t use the service?<\/strong> 10)\u00a0 What does it mean under the Form 486 Filed Column indicates, “No – Take Action ASAP”?<\/strong> If you have any questions about the FY 2014 Invoice Deadlines or completing the BEAR, please contact me at jtschell@comcast.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n — Julie<\/p>\n Julie Tritt Schell 717-730-7133 – o Penn*link<\/p>\n\n
\n~ Online BEAR Instructions Attached<\/a> ~
\n~ $29 million at stake for 851 different applicants ~<\/p>\n
\nA. Yes!\u00a0 The BEAR Form — 472 — can be submitted electronically to the SLD — if<\/strong> your service provider is accepting Online BEARs and if you have an E-rate PIN.\u00a0 The Online BEAR can be filed at https:\/\/www2.sl.universalservice.org\/bear\/login.aspx<\/a>.\u00a0 A step-by-step guide to filing the Online BEAR is attached to this message.\u00a0 If you cannot file online or choose not to, you can complete the Form 472 online using the PDF format, print it, and then mail it to the SLD (after getting the service provider to\u00a0counter-sign, of course). The paper BEAR is located at: http:\/\/www.universalservice.org\/_res\/documents\/sl\/pdf\/forms\/472.pdf<\/a> under Form 472.<\/p>\n
\nA. No, a separate BEAR must be completed for each provider. For example, if you have 2 FRNs that list\u00a0Comcast, and one FRN that is for AT&T, you can submit both Comcast FRN reimbursement requests on a single BEAR, but the AT&T reimbursement request must be filed on a separate BEAR.<\/p>\n
\nA. Yes and No.\u00a0 You need the service provider’s signature on the PAPER BEAR Form before you submit it to the SLD.\u00a0 For the Online BEAR, the completed form will automatically be transmitted to the service provider for their electronic signature and then automatically filed with USAC.\u00a0 No separate signature is needed. To find the fax number of your service provider to have them sign the PAPER BEAR, use the SLD’s SPIN search database (http:\/\/www.sl.universalservice.org\/Forms\/SPIN_Contact_Search.asp<\/a>) and call the number listed.<\/p>\n
\nA. No. Applicants\u00a0may only seek reimbursement for the exact amount paid for the service instead of just listing the full funding cap (for example, if you were committed $10,000, but then only spent $6,000, you can only request E-rate reimbursements based on the $6000). \u00a0Please know that the SLD has increasingly been requesting copies of invoices when they review the BEARs as proof that you are requesting the accurate amount. Don’t send the invoices with the BEAR, but know they might be requested.<\/p>\n
\nThe SLD would like you to complete the BEAR with the\u00a0actual figures of what you spent for the service, and not just list your funding cap amount. For example, if you spent $10,000, and had a 50% discount, you would list $10,000 in Column 14 and $5,000 in Column 15, even if you were only committed $4,000. The reason is that the SLD would like to show how much applicants are actually spending on services and also so they know that you are not just listing the funding commitment amount (the cap), but have actually added up how much was actually spent in each of the 12 months using the actual vendor bills. Unfortunately, they will only reimburse you up to the amount that you were committed.<\/p>\n
\nA. After the SLD has reviewed and approved your BEAR, they will mail to you a BEAR Approval Letter, listing the amount of your check. Your check is mailed to your service provider\u00a0within 20 calendar days\u00a0of the date of the approval letter. Service providers are required to mail you a check for the same amount within 20 calendar days of receiving the check from the SLD. And if the\u00a0past is any indication, the BEAR Approval Letters are mostly being issued within\u00a010-20 days of their receipt at the SLD.
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\n7) What if I receive my BEAR Approval Letter and it lists that $0 was approved?<\/strong>
\nA. This typically means that there was an error made on the BEAR Form and the applicant must correct the error and resubmit to the SLD.\u00a0 Many years ago,\u00a0the SLD reached out to the applicant to correct the Form over the phone, but\u00a0no longer.\u00a0 Now the SLD will “pass zero” the BEAR (meaning they won’t fund it), but it doesn’t mean the E-rate funding is gone. It simply means that the applicant must resubmit the BEAR with corrected information and typically there is an explanation on the BEAR explaining what was incorrect to help identify the error.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A. The SLD has increased scrutiny of the BEARs to make sure that reimbursement requests are for exactly what services were approved for on the FCDLs and Item 21 attachments. If you changed services during the 2013 funding year from what you originally listed on your Item 21 attachments, you should first seek a “correcting service substitution request” from the SLD. The instructions for submitting a service substitution can be found at: http:\/\/www.sl.universalservice.org\/reference\/ServiceSub.asp<\/a><\/p>\n
\nA.\u00a0 File a Form 500 and cancel the FRN.\u00a0 The easiest version to use is available at: http:\/\/www.e-ratecentral.com\/formsRack\/app\/Form500.asp<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nA.\u00a0 This means that a Form 486 was not filed for the FRN.\u00a0 Either the applicant forgot to file and should do so ASAP (realizing that some of the E-rate funding may be lost) or the applicant does not need the funding request and should file a Form 500 to cancel the FRN.<\/p>\n
\nPA E-rate Coordinator<\/p>\n
\n717-730-9060 – f
\njtschell@comcast.net<\/a>
\nwww.e-ratepa.org<\/p>\n