Schools and Libraries

Step 8: Undergo Selective Review

Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have secured access to all of the resources necessary to make effective use of the products and services for which they receive discounts.

What is a Selective Review?
The Selective Review follows up on certifications that applicants make on their Forms 471 about the competitive bidding process and the necessary resources to make effective use of requested services. During this review, we will look at your competitive bidding documentation to ensure that it was fair and open. We will also be looking for information to see that you not only have the money to pay for your non-discounted share of your funding requests, but also all of the other resources, that were part of the Item 25 certification on the Form 471 application.  The certification covers areas such as training, computers, software, electrical capacity, and maintenance to be able to successfully implement technology in your school or library.

The Selective Review takes place at the billed entity level. An entity is considered a billed entity if it is responsible for making payments directly to a service provider. An entity that receives a bill, but does not make payments to the service provider for that bill, is not a billed entity. Generally, this means that the review will take place at the school district, consortium, or library district/consortium level.   USAC requests and reviews information for ALL Form(s) 471 that were filed by the billed entity for the current funding year.

What is the SRIR?
The Selective Review Information Request (SRIR) is the document that USAC will fax/email to inform you that you have been selected for Selective Review and to identify what information you will need to provide to USAC for the Selective Review. The SRIR will only provide brief instructions on how to complete the document.
USAC strongly recommends that you review the USAC website for complete instructions. In addition to the instructions, the SRIR contains documents you must complete and submit to USAC.

How do I respond to the SRIR?
Confirm Receipt - Please acknowledge that you have received the SRIR by contacting the USAC reviewer named in the SRIR.

Verify the Form (s) 471 and Billed Entity Number - It is important that you notify USAC immediately if you submitted any additional Form(s) 471 for your Billed Entity Number not listed on the SRIR cover page. Also, please include any applications that may have been filed under a different entity number if that entity belongs to the billed entity (e.g., elementary schools within a school district that file their own applications in addition to the applications filed on their behalf by the district). The Selective Review will include those applications as well.

Note: Failure to identify additional applications may delay or jeopardize funding commitments and/or post-commitment disbursements. It may also result in adjustments to any funding commitments that you may receive in the future, or other action. PIA review of applications for the billed entity will continue, but no new funding commitments or payments for existing funding commitments for current funding year applications for this billed entity will be processed until the Selective Review is completed.

Provide Complete Responses - USAC encourages you to provide full and complete responses. USAC urges you to carefully review your response before returning it to ensure that you have provided complete responses to all questions.  If your response is not full and complete, the completion of your review and the approval of your funding requests may be delayed.

Submit 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. Please indicate on the first page of each submitted document' the document title and the corresponding Funding Request Number(s) (FRNs).

Complete and Submit SRIR certification and worksheets
Enclosed in your SRIR are:

  • Selective Review Information Request Checklist (page 2)
  • Item 25 Worksheet Summary (page 3)
  • Technology Implementation Level Worksheet (page 7), and
  • Selective Review Information Request Completion Certification (page 9)

Please complete and submit these documents to your USAC reviewer.

Who can respond to the request for information?
The applicant or the applicant's authorized representative may respond to the SRIR. If the applicant's authorized representative 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 service providers may not act as the applicant's representative in this case and may not complete the SRIR for any applicant.

What is the timeframe allowed to complete and submit the SRIR to USAC?
All information requested must be received within 30 calendar days from the date of the SRIR. Please note that USAC is unable to grant multiple or lengthy extensions to respond to the SRIR.  However, during the course of the selective review, if information you submit is incomplete or raises other concerns related to the review, USAC will contact you for any additional information or supporting documentation that is required to complete the review.  If any information you submit leads to a reduction or denial of one of your funding requests, USAC will inform you of its intention to modify or deny the funding request to ensure that you agree with the modification or denial.  If you do not agree, you will have the opportunity to submit additional information or documentation to support your position prior to the actual denial or modification.

 


Last modified on 2/22/2008