April 1998 Announcements

Please click on the topic below to view the most recent announcements:

Where can you turn for help if you've been notified of a problem with your Form 471 by the SLC Problem Resolution Team? How can you avoid common mistakes if you're completing Form 471 for the first time? Start with this index of helpful SLC documents, organized item-by-item to guide you through typical Form 471 problem areas.

This Fact Sheet on Program Integrity Assurance, located in the Reference Area, is intended to help applicants identify and gather information that might be requested by the Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) to support their Forms 471. It is not meant to present an exhaustive list. It will be important for applicants to respond promptly if contacted by the SLC for additional information about their applications. Applicants who do not respond within seven calendar days of receiving a request for additional information will be subject to rejection of the application.

With the close of the 75-day window for this first round of Universal Service Fund applications, schools and libraries who have filed their Form 471 applications are eager to know what happens next. Click here to view the E-Rate Update, which outlines each step of the Form 471 application review process to help schools and libraries better understand the SLC processing procedures for Form 471.

The Schools and Libraries Corporation has begun its review of Form 471 applications and has refined and expanded its Client Service Bureau "Problem Resolution Team" procedures for working with schools and libraries to address incomplete applications. The following is a brief update on these procedures and their timeframe. Please watch for further details on application processing over the next week.

Important Note
Our immediate goal is to get the enormous volume of Form 471 applications being received into processing as quickly as possible. Please do not slow this process down by calling our Client Service Bureau to verify that your application has been received or to determine its current status. If there is a problem with your application that prevents us from entering it into our system, you will be notified. (Please see also our "Form 471 Deadline Do's and Don'ts," April 13, 1998, for more information.)

Notification by Fax
As previously indicated, the CSB Problem Resolution Team will notify applicants via fax with an explanation of the SLC requirements and a request for the additional information needed to complete applications. In the event that a fax number is not listed on applications, a member of the CSB Problem Resolution Team will call applicants to obtain a fax number for documenting the SLC queries. Failing to connect with applicants, the CSB Problem Resolution Team will call again, and may ultimately mail notifications to the contact person. The Problem Resolution notification will include a fax-back form and a toll-free fax-back number for applicants to use in responding to queries.

Response Time Extended
Applicants will now have 7 calendar days, rather than 4 business days, to respond to the questions posed by the CSB Problem Resolution Team in order to maintain their place in the 75-day window. The clock starts ticking on the first day after the SLC has generated its request and applicants must respond by close of business (8 PM ET) on the 7th day to maintain their position in the 75-day window. The due date for your response will be clearly specified in the fax notice you receive. The SLC urges applicants to monitor their faxes, mailboxes, voice-mail, and E-mail so that any problems concerning their applications are addressed quickly.

If applicants take more than 7 calendar days to respond, or if their responses are incomplete, their applications will not be summarily rejected, but they will have lost their position in the 75-day window. Applicants will establish a place in line on whatever date they provide complete answers to the questions posed by the CSB Problem Resolution Team.

Automatic Rejections
The SLC will continue automatically rejecting applications that fail to meet the most basic Minimum Processing Standards. Some examples that will cause an application to be automatically rejected are: if the Form submitted was not the OMB approved or a visually equivalent version; or if the application was not at least two-thirds legible; or if the application was sent via fax or E-mail; or if Block 6 (the certification page) was not completed and signed. Applicants will be notified of automatic rejection via express mail delivery; their entire application will be returned with a notice of explanation.

DO keep a copy of your submitted Form 471 along with any proof you have of delivery by deadline (for example, a Federal Express receipt and verification of delivery, or a U.S. Postal Service certification receipt). Proving delivery by the deadline is your responsibility, not SLC's.

DO rest assured that your application was received by the SLC if your overnight delivery service shows it is signed for in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as opposed to Iowa City. We have established a back-up receipt facility in Cedar Rapids. Your communications should remain addressed to Iowa City.

DON'T call our toll-free customer service line to verify that your application has been received or to check its status. Our Client Service Bureau is devoted to the processing of applications and will NOT be able to discuss the status of individual applications. If there is a problem with your application that prevents us from entering it into our system, you will be notified. (See "Update on E-Rate Application Processing Procedures," April 13, 1998.)

DON'T forget to check the http://www.sl.universalservice.org Web Site regularly for updated information about the overall application review process.

Please be advised that the Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) has removed the Discount Calculator placed on its Web Site on Saturday, April 11, due to inquiries we have received regarding the purpose of the calculator. We are looking into these matters and will keep you posted on the outcome of our review. We do not anticipate re-posting the Discount Calculator in the foreseeable future. Please continue to rely on your own calculations of the discount level for the entities included in your Form 471 application. Make sure to retain your workpapers. Please submit the worksheet required in Item 14 of Form 471 when you send in your application.

FCC Form 498 is the Service Provider Information Form. It is used to collect important billing and other information from service providers and vendors who participate in the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund (USF) and who have obtained their Service Provider Information Number (SPIN).