[Erate] FW: USAC?s Schools and Libraries News Brief for this week

Fri Apr 7 15:07:06 PDT 2006

There is some very useful information below for anyone who might be
contracted for a selective review by the Schools and Libraries Division.

-----Original Message-----
From: SL News Brief [mailto:SLNewsBrief at lists.universalservice.org] 
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 2:28 PM
To: MIDDELBURG Pat
Subject: USAC?s Schools and Libraries News Brief for this week

header <http://www.universalservice.org> 

Schools and Libraries News Brief 

April 7, 2006 

Funding Year 2005 Waves

USAC will release Wave 43 funding commitment letters on April 12. This
wave will include commitments for approved Internal Connections and
Basic Maintenance funding requests at 88% and above. As of April 7,
FY2005 commitments total over $1.53 billion. See Automated Search of
Commitments
<http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/search-tools/search-commitment
s/?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  for more information.

Selective Reviews Start in April 

Each year, a small number of entities are selected for a specialized
review of their applications as part of USAC's broader Program Integrity
Assurance (PIA) review. This more detailed review is known as a
Selective Review.

What does a Selective Review require?

A Selective Review requires additional information and/or documents
related to specific certifications made on your Form 471, including:

*	A copy of your technology plan.
*	Documentation of your competitive bidding process and a review
to make sure that the process was fair and open.
*	Verification that you have the money to pay for your share of
the cost of services (the "non-discount share").
*	Verification that you have secured access to other resources
that are ineligible for discounts but that are necessary to make use of
the eligible services you have requested. These resources, which allow
you to successfully implement technology in your school or library, can
include training, computers, software, electrical capacity, and
maintenance.

A Selective Review takes place at the Billed Entity level. This is
generally the school district, consortium, or library system identified
in Block 1 of the Form 471. USAC requests and reviews information for
all Form(s) 471 that were filed by the Billed Entity for the funding
year being reviewed.

For Funding Year 2006 reviews, USAC has implemented a number of changes
to make the Selective Review process clearer and faster for applicants. 

What has changed about Selective Reviews?

Revised format. The Selective Review Information Request or SRIR
(pronounced "sir") is the document that USAC faxes or e-mails to the
applicant to kick-start the review process. The applicant fills in the
information requested on the SRIR and submits it to USAC together with
the appropriate documentation. This year the SRIR has a new, streamlined
format. USAC has reduced the document from 19 pages to nine to make the
SRIR more transparent. A sample SRIR
<http://www.universalservice.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/selective-reviews
/srir-sample.pdf?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  is posted on our
website.

Note that the first page of the SRIR features your Selective Reviewer's
contact information and the second page is a checklist for the
documentation that you need to submit to your Selective Reviewer.

Additional time to respond. We are also providing you additional time to
respond to the SRIR. You have 30 days from the time the SRIR is faxed or
e-mailed to you to respond to our request, which ensures that you have
enough time to provide complete, documented answers to our questions. If
we have not received a response from you and your 30-day deadline is
near, your Selective Reviewer will send you a reminder letter via your
preferred mode of contact and a copy of the reminder letter to your
state coordinator. Remember that failure to provide information in a
timely manner means that we will have to process your review without the
benefit of your response.

Complete responses. It is extremely important that you provide complete
responses to our questions. If you do not respond to a question or
provide an incomplete response, the Selective Reviewer will assume that
you do not have more information to provide for that question. The
Selective Reviewer will not follow up with you if your submission is
missing requested documentation. If you are not sure what to provide,
contact your Selective Reviewer and ask for clarification.

Does this mean your Selective Reviewer will not ask you any questions
once you have submitted your SRIR? Not necessarily. If your Selective
Reviewer needs you to clarify your answer, he or she will contact you.
However, we urge you to review carefully your response before returning
it to ensure that you have completely answered all questions and
provided all requested documentation.

Additional resources. Please make use of the USAC website as a resource
when you are preparing your response. You can review the SRIR
instructions
<http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/step08/undergo-selective-
review/selective-review-info-request-instructions.aspx?WT.mc_id=sl-newsb
rief-20060407> , download the SRIR instructions
<http://www.universalservice.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/selective-reviews
/srir-instructions.pdf?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407> , and view other
helpful documents - including sample copies - from the Undergo Selective
Review webpage
<http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step08/undergo-selective-review/?WT.m
c_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407> . Again, contact your Selective Reviewer if
you still have questions.

What should I keep in mind when completing my response?

Verify the Form(s) 471 application number(s) and Billed Entity Number.
The cover page of the SRIR lists all Forms 471 filed under your Billed
Entity Number (BEN). Notify your Selective Reviewer immediately if your
Billed Entity submitted any additional Form(s) 471 not listed on the
SRIR cover page. You should also notify your reviewer if any
applications that were filed under a different BEN should be included in
your review. For example, the Blue School District filed a Form 471 on
behalf of the Little Red School House. The Little Red School House filed
its own application as well. The Little Red School House application
should be included in the Blue School District Selective Review
response. 

Submit all requested supporting documentation. USAC requests copies of
documents associated with your competitive bidding process, relevant
pages of your operating budget, and a copy of your technology plan. On
the first page of each submitted document, indicate the document title
and the corresponding FRN(s). 

If you do not have an approved budget, you may submit alternatives to
demonstrate that you have secured the appropriate funding. For example,
you can provide a letter signed and dated by a school or library
official stating that the entity will secure the necessary resources for
the non-discount share together with a draft budget or board resolution.
The SRIR guidance on the website
<http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/step08/undergo-selective-
review?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  provides a complete listing of
acceptable documents. 

Make sure you provide all of the competitive bidding documents,
including bid responses from all of the service providers that responded
to your Form 470/RFP. To the extent that you documented the RFP process
(e.g., memoranda discussing your selection process, evaluation criteria,
and/or bid sheets) submit those items to your Selective Reviewer as
well. 

Complete and submit SRIR certification and worksheets. Note the
following specific sections of the SRIR:

*	Selective Review Information Request Checklist (page 2)
*	Item 25 Worksheet Summary (page 3)
*	Technology Implementation Level Worksheet (pages 6-7)
*	Selective Review Information Request Completion Certification
(page 9)

Who can respond to the request for information?

The applicant or the applicant's authorized representative can respond
to the SRIR. If the applicant's authorized representative (e.g., a
consultant) responds, the applicant must submit a Letter of Agency or
Consultant Agreement authorizing the consultant to act on the
applicant's behalf. Remember, however, that a service provider may not
act as an applicant's representative and may not complete the SRIR for
any applicant. 

Deadline for Information Requests on Item 21 Attachments

Item 21 Attachments filed online or by e-mail are available to our PIA
reviewers. All of the Item 21 Attachments prepared on paper and mailed
in or faxed have also been scanned into our system. From this point
forward, PIA reviewers will be applying the Deadline for Information
Requests
<http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/step08/deadline-for-infor
mation-requests.aspx?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  to Item 21
Attachments that have not yet been received. This means that, if a PIA
reviewer requests an Item 21 Attachment and you do not submit it within
the required period of time, you risk denial of your application.

Remember that you can still submit an Item 21 Attachment online
<http://www.slforms.universalservice.org/mfpin/EPDPublic/_item21/frmBenA
ppNumRequest.aspx?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  if you have not
already done so. You must have filed your Form 471 online and retained
your security code.

You may download and print copies of Schools and Libraries News Briefs
<http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/news-brief/news-briefs.aspx?WT
.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  on USAC's website. You may subscribe
<http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/news-brief/subscribe.aspx?WT.m
c_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  to or unsubscribe
<http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/news-brief/unsubscribe.aspx?WT
.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  from this news brief. For program
information, please visit the Schools and Libraries area
<http://www.universalservice.org/sl/?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407>  of
the USAC website, submit a question
<http://www.slforms.universalservice.org/EMailResponse/EMail_Intro.aspx?
WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20060407> , or call us toll-free at
1-888-203-8100. Feel free to forward this news brief to any interested
parties.

Please do not reply to this email directly, as it was sent from an
unattended mailbox. 

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