Funds For Learning, eSchool News Partner to Survey E-rate Applicants
Edmond, Okla. (March 13, 2008) – Funds For Learning, the nation’s leading E-rate funding compliance services firm, in partnership with eSchool News, today announce the launch of The National E-rate Survey. The goal of the survey is to measure applicants’ attitudes and opinions about the E-rate program, and identify the program’s key strengths and challenges.
Survey results will be published in the June issue of eSchool News, and will be sent to members of Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Universal Service Administrative Company’s Schools and Libraries Division. The feedback garnered will help shape the program going forward, and lead to changes and improvements that will benefit the entire E-rate community.
The survey consists of 24 questions, and takes about 15 minutes to complete. To ensure valid results, Funds For Learning asks that participants take the survey only if they’re familiar with the E-rate application process. Results will be kept anonymous and will be reported in aggregate form only, although at the end of the survey participants will be asked if they want to take part in a virtual focus group intended to elicit more specific feedback.
The focus group will use the online discussion room, EDRoom, modeled after a traditional focus group to generate group interaction. Rather than holding a brief exchange in person, EDRoom facilitates meaningful dialogue extended over several days. A moderator will present questions, and participants can choose when and where they’ll respond over the course of a week.
In return for participation, Funds For Learning will offer survey participants three months of complimentary access to its E-rate Manager for Applicants. The online suite of tools enables applicants to stay on top of fluctuating deadlines and paperwork, track remaining E-rate funding, monitor sites where funding is used, and respond to E-rate program auditors. Only one complimentary three-month access will be given to each qualifying institution, and participants must answer all questions to be eligible.
To access the survey, visit www.fundsforlearning.com, or click here.
More Information
The Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Company administers the E-rate program; details available at www.usac.org.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the E-rate program and Funds For Learning, the company has published “E-rate Review: 10 Years and Counting” (PDF, 944KB), a white paper on the success of the E-rate program and its impact on stakeholders.
Other background material: History of the E-rate Program, The E-rate Application Process, and Latest E-rate News.
About E-rate
The E-rate program, officially known as Universal Service Funding for Schools and Libraries, was created as the result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Federal Communications Commission created the E-rate program to help schools and libraries, especially those in economically disadvantaged and rural areas, obtain telecommunications services such as phone service and access to the Internet. Before the E-rate program, only three percent of the nation's classrooms were connected to the Internet. Today, more than 95 percent of classrooms have Internet access, thanks to the funding schools and districts receive from the E-rate program every year.
About Funds For Learning
Funds For Learning, LLC, is an E-rate compliance firm specializing in guiding E-rate applicants and service providers through the complex and ever-changing E-rate regulatory process. With more than 10 years of experience in providing professional advice and assistance relating to the E-rate program, Funds For Learning exists to provide high-quality solutions for the needs of E-rate stakeholders. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Edmond, Okla. Visit www.fundsforlearning.com or phone 405-341-4140 for more information.
Contacts
Funds For Learning, LLC
Scott Weston
405-471-0953
sweston at fundsforlearning dot com
www.fundsforlearning.com
C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Emily Embury
608-839-9800
emily at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com
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