There is no busier time for many of us than that of the holiday season, starting with Halloween and running through New Year’s Day. During this time, schools host not only final testing, but also breaks all while managing their reporting requirements. Add in, personal travel for family or vacations, and E-rate planning can easily fall to the background.
How can my institution be ready for the Administrative Window after the holidays?
Since no one wants to interrupt their time off work, let’s have everything in order so that early 2025, all we have to do is file the Form 471 with the official opening of the Filing Window. To help you prepare, here is a handy list of “to-dos” to ensure you are on track:
Form 470
- Do you know everything you would like to procure for the upcoming funding year (FY 25 – July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026)? If not, now’s the time to make that list.
RFP
- This nifty document is basically a writ-large specification of what you posted about in the 470 and gives you space to modify your requirements should you need to without altering the scope of your project (any ‘Cardinal’ changes do require an edit of the 470 itself). It is *highly* recommended that all and sundry file one, but as always be sure to check in with your own local rules concerning procurement to make sure you cover yourself.
- 28-day posting window – E-rate rules require that all service provider bidders get a free and fair access to your 470 by requiring you to publicly post it and the RFP for no less than 28 days; some local requirement rules might request more time, so check yours! Any questions asked by the providers during this period must be answered by you, addressed publicly so all can see the answer when considering their own bids to make.
Bidding Matrix
Once you are finished with the required posting of your Form 470 and RFP and have gathered all bids, you then need to sort through them and grade them according to a bidding matrix. Tips to keep in mind for the matrix are:
- No zero scores. USAC will simply flag it and demand to know the rationale.
- Cost must have the heaviest weight – What this means is that if you have two bids, the cheaper one should get more consideration. If they do lose out over other factors, make clear why or expect USAC to ask why. Documentation and clear delineation of judgement will help sort out headaches on this front.
- Clear, simple, and easy to understand bidding matrices and requirements. Make it so a 5th grader could read your matrix and understand why someone won; if they cannot then you need to specify further. You cannot be too specific about your requirements, and document everything too.
- Intent to award – Once you have selected a winning bid, you need to inform the winning service provider the good news!
Administrative Window (October – December)
- Make sure any and all details pertinent to your institution are updated in EPC and ready to go, as the data will be used to determine discount rates and recipients of your E-rate procurement. Make sure you get it all in, as you will not be allowed to adjust the details until after the Filing Window!
If you manage to get to this point before Turkey Day, congratulations! You are well set for filing the Form 471 when the Filing Window opens, and you can enjoy coasting through holidays without worrying about E-rate. Let’s get it done!
