If you're applying for the 2009 e-Rate, the $2.25 billion-a-year federal program that provides discounts on telecommunications services to eligible schools and libraries, you won't find many new additions to this year's program, e-Rate officials say. Instead, you'll find live training sessions, online videos, and other web-based resources designed to help you become more comfortable with the e-Rate application process.

Mel Blackwell, vice president of the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), the agency that administers the e-Rate, said the SLD is "trying to show, as much as we possibly can, how to do everything, because when the application is successful, that's what the program is all about."

The "cleaner" and more thorough an application is once it reaches the SLD, the more likely the applicant is to receive funding, officials say--and the quicker this funding reaches the applicant. The more questions an application raises, the more back-and-forth interaction between the applicant and the SLD is required, and the longer it takes for funding approval.

This year's training sessions aim to show attendees as much as possible by offering concrete examples. For instance, rather than simply telling e-Rate coordinators how to fill out a form correctly, presenters are taking participants through each part of the form during training sessions.

The SLD also is creating a series of 7-minute videos to break down the essential information from training sessions into short summaries. These videos will be available on the SLD's web site.

"We realize that people don't have two to five hours to sit at a computer and listen to the training videos, so we're breaking [them] down into bite-sized pieces," Blackwell said.  The SLD plans to cover the application process as it pertains Forms 470 and 471 as well as to provide audit-related information in these videos.

In fact, attempting to "demystify" the audi process will be a major focus at this year's SLD training sessions.

e-Rate coordinators are anxious when they hear they will be audited," Blackwell said, "and justifiably so." But "we're trying to let people know what we'll ask for, and what records they need to keep and why . . . one of the biggest things people ask is the 'why.'"

This year, a whole afternoon of training is devoted to e-Rate audits, and SLD's internal auditors are on hand to answer questions and go through the audit process.

Another new aspect of this year's training is a separate track for e-Rate beginners.

Each year, the SLD asks training-session participants to complete an evaluation form.  Over the past few years, Blackwell said, many participants have indicated they would like the option of attending a "beginners" session.