If you intend to apply for any Funding Year 2024 E-Rate on your own behalf (meaning filing for E-Rate for products and services other than those that Networkmaine provides its members), you will need to make sure that your EPC profile is up to date. The Administrative Window is the period during which applicants can make updates to their profile information including student counts, NSLP participation rates, and the entities and individuals associated with your entity in EPC to prepare for the upcoming FY2024 FCC Form 471 application filing window. *Administrative Window Opens: Tuesday, October 24, 2023Administrative Window Closes: shortly before the FY2024 application filing window opens in early 2024* *(note that EPC will be unavailable November 3 through November 6)* This is your only opportunity to update the EPC profile for your school or district. After this time, applicant profiles will be locked and you will not be able to make changes to your profile information. Tasks to perform during this period include: - Updating the student count and NSLP eligibility numbers in EPC that will be used to calculate your FY2024 E-Rate discount to reflect the most recent, most accurate data available - Optionally updating numbers used to calculate your five-year Category 2 budget (this only applies to you if your overall enrollment has increased and you wish to thereby increase your budget and is not a required task) The attached guide includes procedures for both of these steps. *Frequently Asked Questions* *What NSLP and Enrollment Numbers should I use to calculate my E-Rate discount?* Use the most recent accurate NSLP data. Use the steps in the attached guide to update the NSLP and enrollment figures in your EPC profile. Whether or not you intend to file for any E-Rate as an applicant yourself, your individual organization's E-Rate discount impacts the overall Networkmaine consortium E-Rate discount, so it is important for your EPC profile to be as accurate as possible. *Must I enter student counts for C2 Budget calculations?* FY2024 marks the fourth year of the five-year Category 2 budget cycle that encompasses FY2021 - FY2025. You are not required to update this data for use for the remainder of the C2 budget cycle. However, you may well find it worth your while to do so if you have increased enrollment which might bump up your budget. If you did not enter C2 enrollment data during a previous Administrative Window or you wish to update the enrollment figures currently in your profile and request a revised replacement budget based on those numbers, use the steps in the attached guide to enter this data appropriately. Whether you choose to update this data or not, you should review it for accuracy. *What if my organizational structure changed?* Contact me directly for assistance if you are aware of any structural changes to your organization (for example split or merged school districts, new schools, or schools that will be closing). *So what do I have to do and how do I do it?* Complete instructions for logging in to EPC and updating your profile are attached. Regardless of what you choose to do with C2 enrollment, make sure NSLP discount numbers are correct. The steps are actually a lot easier than the quantity of the instructions might imply, particularly if you choose not to update your C2 budget enrollment figure. The guide is broken down by type and size of organization and type of data which means lots and lots of slides with screenshots galore. Choose the sections that apply to your organization and contact me with any questions or concerns. *When should I update my EPC profile?* Although it probably seems like you have all the time in the world to make these updates, I would recommend getting them in as soon as the Administrative Window opens and you have your figures at hand lest you forget as time passes. Once the window closes, the EPC system will lock your profile and will not allow any changes. _________________________________________________ Anne Perloff Maine State E-Rate Coordinator for Schools Networkmaine, University of Maine System UMS:IT Web: erate.networkmaine.net Email: [log in to unmask] Phone: 207-581-3584 Mail: Networkmaine 5752 Neville Hall, Room 255 Orono, ME 04469-5752