Why Teachers Love Engrade Web Hosting
Engrade provides a premium, enterprise web hosting service that allows teachers to create class web pages, blogs, and lesson plans. Easily embed videos, photos, flashcards, presentations and other multimedia on your web site and share with other teachers or students.
E-Rate Qualified!
Easy-to-Build
Create Pages without HTML knowledge
Embed Videos and Photos
Upload Documents and Files
Collaborative
Password-Protected
Multi-User Access
Share with Teachers and Students
The cost for Engrade’s premium web hosting service can be paid in part through
the federal E-rate program. E-rate provides discounts to K-12 schools of up to
90% on qualifying communication technologies, depending on the poverty level
of the school.
Engrade web hosting provides a combination of services, most of which are
eligible for E-rate funding. Seventy-five percent of the core service cost is
considered eligible. (Vendor-provided applets like the gradebook included with
Engrade’s service are not eligible for E-rate funding.)
Here is an example of E-rate support for a school district with a 90% E-rate
discount:
| Example service cost |
$1,000 |
| Eligible portion |
75% |
| E-rate “pre-discount” amount |
$750 |
| |
| Eligible discount percentage |
90% |
| Paid by E-rate |
$675 |
| |
| Remaining cost paid by school |
$325 |
Additional information about E-rate can be obtained from the website of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), the non-profit corporation established by the FCC for administering the E-rate fund. Some of the key requirements are summarized here.
E-RATE KEY REQUIREMENTS
- The school or district must conduct a competitive bidding process in which the most cost effective service provider is chosen among competing bids.
- The competitive bidding process is accomplished by submitting FCC Form 470 to USAC and, optionally, issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP).
- The E-rate applicant must also comply with any applicable state and local procurement laws.
- Once the most cost effective service provider is selected, FCC Form 471 is submitted to USAC to request funding support for the service.
- The E-rate funding year runs from July 1 to June 30.
- For funding support beginning in July 1, 2012, FCC Form 471 is to be submitted to USAC in a funding window that runs from January 9, 2012 to March 20, 2012.
- FCC Form 470 and an RFP, if used, must be publicly available to prospective vendors for at least 28 days prior to submitting FCC Form 471.
- Applicants need not necessarily choose the least expensive service, but when evaluating competing bids, cost of the service must be considered with more weight than any other factor (such as reliability of service, quality, etc.).
- Engrade and other service providers can provide marketing information about their services to prospective customers, but can only provide “neutral” (not biased) information about E-rate program requirements.
- Further information about E-rate can be obtained from the USAC website.
