USAC recently provided applicants with guidance about the school and library location information that will be made available to them in EPC. E-rate funding applications are tied to site-specific information, such as the name of a facility, a school’s enrollment, the number of students eligible for free and reduced price lunch, square footage (for libraries), and so on.
Starting in funding year 2016, USAC began requiring applicants to complete their applications using site information stored in the USAC systems. If that information is incorrect, or if it has changed, applicants must work with USAC to get it fixed.
What now?
Currently, there is nothing applicants can do with the location information stored in EPC. The site profile information is locked and no changes can be made to it. However, applicants are encouraged to go ahead and gather all site information (location names, enrollment, NSLP eligibility, etc.) and be prepared to compare it to USAC’s information when it is loaded into EPC.
What next?
In January 2017, USAC will begin populating applicant site information by moving data from FY2016, or by copying data that an applicant had already updated in EPC. USAC has indicated that it will contact applicants before overwriting changes that may have already been made in EPC. Applicants should be on the watch for correspondence from USAC and should be prepared to check the new data in EPC as soon as it is available.
The complete USAC NewsBrief can be viewed here
