ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 7, Number 147 November 20, 1998 In this issue: [1] SLC TO START SENDING COMMITMENT LETTERS [2] E-RATE FUNDING COMMITMENTS 20 QUESTIONS (AND ANSWERS) FOR UNDERSTANDING THE "WAVES" OF FUNDING COMMITMENT DECISIONS LETTERS: NOVEMBER 17, 1998 [1] SLC TO START SENDING COMMITMENT LETTERS There is a tentatively scheduled event on Monday, November 23 at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. It is expected that the Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) will announce their schedule for mailing commitment letters to all E- rate applicants. We will keep you posted and report on Monday's event and other SLC activities as soon as we get more information. You may wish to check the EdLiNC Action Kit at http://www.itc.org/edlinc/action/index.html for suggested action items in anticipation of the rollout. [2] E-RATE FUNDING COMMITMENTS 20 QUESTIONS (AND ANSWERS) FOR UNDERSTANDING THE "WAVES" OF FUNDING COMMITMENT DECISIONS LETTERS: NOVEMBER 17, 1998 Note: The following is a November 17 release from the Schools and Libraries Corp. 1. WHY ARE E-RATE FUNDING COMMITMENT DECISIONS LETTERS BEING SENT IN WAVES INSTEAD OF ALL AT ONCE? We want to get information into applicants' hands as soon as possible, so we will be issuing funding commitment decision letters when they are ready to go, rather than waiting for all 30,000-plus applications to be fully processed before a single letter goes out. 2. ARE THESE WAVES OF COMMITMENT LETTERS SENT ONLY TO APPLICANTS WHO COMPLETE THEIR REQUESTS WITHIN THE 75-DAY WINDOW? Yes, we are currently processing and making funding commitments only on completed applications received within the 75-day application window. 3. WHEN WILL THE FIRST WAVE OF LETTERS GO OUT, AND OVER WHAT PERIOD OF TIME? The first wave of letters will go out in mid-November through December, with the last wave sometime in January. When the precise date of the first wave is known, we will post it on our Web Site and send out a newsflash to our listserv. Following the release of the first wave, we will outline a schedule for the balance of the waves. 4. HOW MANY WAVES WILL THERE BE, AND HOW MANY LETTERS WILL BE IN EACH WAVE? There will be at least four waves. The size of the waves will vary, and as each wave goes out, SLC will announce its size. 5. HOW DO I KNOW WHICH WAVE MY LETTER IS IN? While there is no definitive way to know in advance which wave a particular funding commitment letter might be in, understanding how the waves are formed can provide a general sense of the timing of your funding commitment. Questions 13-20, below, offer concrete examples to further clarify understanding of the waves. 6. WERE NOT ALL THE APPLICATIONS RECEIVED IN THE WINDOW SUPPOSED TO BE CONSIDERED AS IF THEY HAD ARRIVED ON THE SAME DAY? Applications received in the window are, in effect, still "considered as if they had arrived on the same day." The new rules of priority issued by the Federal Communications Commission in June 1998 state that requests for discounts received within the 75-day application window for telecommunications services and Internet access are to be funded as a first priority. Then, with funds remaining, discount requests for eligible internal connection projects are considered, beginning with those applicants at the highest (90%) discount level. We know that funds are more than sufficient to cover "priority one" discount requests received within the window. Funding for internal connections for the neediest applicants, therefore, can begin in the first waves. 7. I FILED MY APPLICATION AFTER THE 75-DAY WINDOW HAD CLOSED. WILL I BE INCLUDED IN THE WAVES? At this point, we are processing and making funding commitments based only on complete applications (Forms 470 and 471) received within the window. It appears that available funding may be exhausted before we reach the lowest discount internal connections requests in applications received within the window, in which case there will be no funds available for applications received after the close of the window. But we will not know for certain whether funds will be available for "outside the window" applications until after we have made funding commitments for those received inside the window. 8. HOW IS EACH WAVE FORMED? The waves of funding commitment letters will be formed based on three criteria: a. The FCC rules of priority. b. The date when the application was successfully entered into the SLC database. c. The completion of all SLC decisions for that application. We have set aside funds to cover top priority requests according to the FCC rules: all approved telecommunications and Internet access requests. Given that there is more than enough funding for all priority one requests, funds have also been set aside for all approved internal connections requests at the 90% discount level. For those top priority requests, the other two criteria-date of data entry and completion of all SLC decisions-will affect only the timing of when a funding commitment letter is sent, not the availability of funding. For internal connections requests below the 90% discount level, "completion of all SLC decisions" includes the determination of whether funds are available for these requests. 9. DOES THAT MEAN I WILL HEAR ABOUT MY TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNET ACCESS REQUESTS FIRST-AND MY INTERNAL CONNECTIONS REQUESTS LATER? No, unless you filed separate Form 471 applications for each of these services. We will provide a complete response for each Form 471 application in a single letter. If you included all three categories of service (telecommunications, Internet access, and internal connections) in one Form 471 application you will receive a funding commitment letter when we have reached a determination on all of the requests, line item by line item, included in your Form 471 application. Applicants who filed separate Forms 471 for the different categories of service may receive commitment letters for their separate applications in different waves (see questions 14-17, below). 10. IF FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS REQUESTS BELOW THE 90% DISCOUNT LEVEL, HOW WILL SLC MAKE THESE FUNDING DECISIONS? Consistent with FCC rules, we will consider internal connections requests below the 90% discount level by ten-point discount "bands"-for example, 80-89%, 70-79%, and so on. If there are sufficient funds to grant all approved requests within a band, we will set aside funds for the approved requests in that band. A funding commitment letter will be issued for each application when we can fully respond to all the requests in that application. 11. HOW DOES THE MONEY FLOW FROM WAVE TO WAVE? Given that available funds cover all requests for priority one services, the first waves will also include funding for internal connections at the 90% discount level. So, for example, if your Form 471 includes telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections at the 60% discount level, we will set aside funds to cover your telecommunications and Internet access right away, but you may not receive your funding commitment letter until one of the later waves, when we can give a definitive answer on your internal connections. 12. IS THERE ANY DANGER THAT THE FUNDS WILL RUN OUT BEFORE YOU GET TO MY APPLICATION? The SLC funding commitment system is designed to assure that sufficient funds are available for all of your approved telecommunications and Internet access requests regardless of which wave your commitment letter falls into. In essence, the system first sets aside funds to cover priority one funding requests before considering any funding commitments for internal connections requests. 13. WHAT IF I APPLIED ONLY FOR BASIC PHONE SERVICE? If your application consists only of requests for telecommunications services (such as basic phone service), then you meet one of the criteria for an early-wave letter: the FCC funding priorities. Remember, however, that there are two other criteria: date of entry into our database, and completion of all SLC decisions. If your application-whenever it arrived during the window-cleared both data entry and Program Integrity Assurance review relatively early, you will probably hear from us in one of the first waves. But if your application required more extensive review at either stage, your letter might come later. (See questions 19 and 20, below, for examples.) 14. I SUBMITTED THREE FORMS 471 FOR MY SCHOOL: ONE FOR MY TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES, ONE FOR INTERNET ACCESS, AND ONE FOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS. I QUALIFY FOR A 90% DISCOUNT IN ALL THREE CATEGORIES. HOW WILL THE CRITERIA FOR THE TIMING OF THE WAVES AFFECT ME? We will inform you of the results of our review of each of your Forms 471 when we complete our decisions on each one. Your applications fit one of the criteria for early-wave letters: the FCC funding priorities. Depending on when each of your applications was successfully entered into the database and when it cleared Program Integrity Assurance review, you may receive funding commitment letters for all three in the same wave, or they may come in different waves. 15. I AM A 62% DISCOUNT LIBRARY, AND I PUT MY TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE, INTERNET ACCESS, AND INTERNAL CONNECTIONS TOGETHER ON ONE APPLICATION. WHEN CAN I EXPECT TO HEAR? We will send you a funding commitment letter when we have made a determination on all of the requests in your application. After we set aside funds for your approved telecommunications services and Internet access requests, we will consider internal connections requests by discount "band" (see questions 9-11, above). Assuming your application has also cleared data entry and Program Integrity Assurance review, we will send out your funding commitment letter when we have a complete answer-either Funded, Denied (due to ineligibility), Partially Funded, or Unfunded (because funds are exhausted)-on your internal connections requests. 16. I SUBMITTED ONE DISTRICT-WIDE APPLICATION. OUR SHARED TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND INTERNET ACCESS REQUESTS ARE AT AN 80% DISCOUNT, BUT OUR SITE-SPECIFIC INTERNAL CONNECTIONS RANGE FROM 50% TO 90%. WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT? We will send your funding commitment letter when we have made a definitive decision on ALL of the requests in your application, line item by line item, including all of your internal connections requests (see question 9-11, above). We may be able to fund some of those internal connections requests fully, some partially, and some not at all, depending on discount level and availability of funds. 17. MY STATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK FILED ONE APPLICATION COVERING INTERNET ACCESS FOR EVERY SCHOOL IN THE STATE. IT WAS A VERY LARGE AND COMPLEX APPLICATION, AND SEEMED TO GENERATE A LOT OF FOLLOW-UP REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION FROM YOUR PROCESSING AND REVIEW STAFF. WHEN CAN WE EXPECT TO HEAR SLC'S FUNDING DECISION? As a request for Internet access, this application is top priority in terms of the FCC rules. The timing of the funding commitment decision letter, though, will also depend on how rapidly and easily the state network was able to respond satisfactorily to our follow-up requests, and how quickly the application moved through data entry and Program Integrity Assurance review. If all of those procedures went smoothly, we should be able to make our funding commitment decision and issue a letter in an early wave. Otherwise, the state network may hear from us in a subsequent wave. 18. I FILED MY FORM 471 WITH SLC AT THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE DATE-FEBRUARY 28, 1998. HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE TIMING OF MY LETTER? What is relevant is when your application was successfully data entered, not when it was received. If you filled it out correctly so there was a minimum of Problem Resolution activity (see question 19, below), then your application probably moved quickly through data entry into the next stages of review. If it also cleared Program Integrity Assurance review quickly because there were no questions about eligibility or discount level or because you answered such questions promptly, AND if your requests coincide fully with the FCC funding priorities, then your letter may be in the first waves. Otherwise, you will hear in one of the later waves. 19. MY APPLICATION SPENT A LONG TIME IN PROBLEM RESOLUTION. I WAS GETTING PHONE CALLS AND FAXES FROM SLC OFFICES IN IOWA AND KANSAS WELL INTO AUGUST. HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE TIMING OF MY LETTER? The date of successful entry into the data system is one of the three key criteria for forming the waves. The Problem Resolution process was focused completely on readying applications for data entry, so a lengthy Problem Resolution process would mean a later data entry date and therefore later delivery for review by the Program Integrity Assurance team. If your application did not require lengthy review by our Program Integrity Assurance team, however, and your requests correspond to the top funding priorities, you may still receive your letter in one of the earlier waves. 20. I HAVE SOME ISSUES STILL OUTSTANDING WITH YOUR PROGRAM INTEGRITY ASSURANCE TEAM BASED IN NEW JERSEY. THE EXTRA DOCUMENTATION THEY ARE LOOKING FOR MIGHT TAKE ME SEVERAL MORE DAYS TO COMPLETE. HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE TIMING OF MY LETTER? To receive a funding commitment, applications must have completed Program Integrity Review, so you will not get your letter until we have resolved any outstanding program integrity issues with you. We have, however, set aside funds to cover your telecommunications and Internet access requests, and have included your internal connections requests in our working estimate of demand in your discount band (see questions 8-12, above), so that the delay in review will not affect your actual funding, only the timing of your funding commitment decisions letter. IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL THE SLC CLIENT SERVICE BUREAU AT (888) 203-8100. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. 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