26100 Financial Aid Management Software.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

FLC RFP 26100

Fort Lewis College Financial Aid

Management Software

Due Date:

October 9, 2025 2:00pm Mountain Standard Time

Contents

I. PURPOSE OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

A. Statement of Need

B. Institutional Background

C. Goals/Scope of Work………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3

II. FLC CONTACT INFORMATION

III. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

A. Due Date

B. Schedule

C. Proposal Submission

1. Executive Summary

2. Company Overview

3. Scope, Approach, and Methodology

4. Proposed Schedule

5. Pricing

6. Fort Lewis College Contract and Special Provisions

7. References

I. PURPOSE OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

A. Statement of Need

Fort Lewis College is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to implement a comprehensive Financial Aid Packaging System. This system must support the accurate, timely, and compliant awarding of financial aid; integrate effectively with Workday and other institutional systems; and enhance the overall experience for both students and staff.

B. Institutional Background

Fort Lewis College is located in Durango, Colorado. The College is committed to accessible and high-quality baccalaureate education, and our hallmarks are remarkably close relationships between students and faculty, the freedom of intellectual exploration, and the challenge of experiential learning all while keeping students at the center. Our roughly 3,300 students come from 47 states, 20 countries, and 173 American Indian tribes and Alaskan Native villages. With its rich cultural heritage, Fort Lewis College is a great place to learn and work. Fort Lewis College is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of North Central Associations of College and Schools.

C. Goals / Scope of Work

1. System Functionality

Required:

• Support financial aid packaging across federal, state, institutional, and external funding sources.

• Allow configuration of flexible packaging rules (e.g., need-based, merit-based, stackable aid, waivers, cost-of-attendance limits, and residency considerations).

• Generate electronic and printable award letters, shopping sheets, and notifications.

• Provide self-service functionality for students to view awards, complete required actions, and view institutional messages.

• Support professional judgment processes, including recalculations and overrides.

• Perform real-time compliance checks to prevent over-awards and ensure regulatory alignment.

• Support management of financial aid appeals, dependency overrides, and SAP (Satisfactory

Academic Progress) evaluations.

• Import and process FAFSA/ISIR files in compliance with federal standards.

• Enable automated Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculations.

• Comply with WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 accessibility standards to support users with disabilities.

Preferred:

• Provide automated SAP tracking and notifications for students.

• Enable configurable workflows for special circumstances or appeal reviews.

2. Integration Requirements The system must support:

Required:

• Seamless integration with Workday, Slate, and Perceptive Content.

• Import/export of data in multiple formats (e.g., XML, CSV).

• Real-time or near real-time synchronization with Department of Education platforms including COD, NSLDS, CPS, and Partner Portals.

• Compatibility with campus-wide Single Sign-On (SSO) protocols.

• Open APIs to enable custom integrations with existing campus systems.

3. Reporting & Analytics Required:

• Provide standard and customizable reports for federal and state compliance, audits, and internal review.

• Support data exports for use in institutional research and retention reporting.

• Allow configuration of data extracts to meet federal reporting cycles (e.g., FISAP, IPEDS, Common Data Set).

Preferred:

• Include dashboard capabilities for monitoring packaging performance and student engagement.

• Enable automated scheduling and delivery of standard reports to designated staff.

4. Compliance & Security Required:

• Ensure full compliance with Title IV, FERPA, and all applicable state and federal financial aid regulations.

• Maintain audit trails of all financial aid packaging and awarding actions.

• Adhere to institutional and industry-standard data security protocols, including encryption, role-based access, and certification under SOC 2, ISO 27001, or equivalent.

• Provide configurable data retention, archiving, and deletion policies to support long-term institutional and legal requirements.

• Ensure data portability and full export capability in the event of vendor transition or contract termination.

5. Implementation & Support Required:

• Provide a comprehensive implementation plan, including timelines, milestones, data migration steps, and testing protocols.

• Assign a dedicated implementation project manager to serve as the primary liaison throughout deployment.

• Deliver initial training for financial aid and information technology staff.

• Supply thorough documentation and user manuals for both staff and students.

• Provide a post-implementation support plan, including clearly defined service-level agreements (SLAs) for issue resolution and escalation paths.

• Deliver regular system updates, including regulatory compliance patches and security enhancements.

Preferred:

• Offer ongoing (refresher or advanced) training for staff after go-live.

• Provide a transparent product roadmap with updates on upcoming features, enhancements, and regulatory changes.

6. Performance Expectations Required:

• Demonstrate reliable performance during peak processing times (e.g., beginning of academic terms).

• Show proven scalability and system reliability to accommodate institutional growth and future needs.

• Notify the institution promptly upon discovery of system defects, along with timelines for patch releases or fixes.

Preferred:

• Guarantee system uptime of 99.9%, excluding scheduled maintenance windows.

7. Deliverables The selected vendor will be responsible for delivering the following:

• A fully implemented and operational financial aid packaging system by the date established in the signed contract.

• Complete configuration of federal, state, and institutional awarding rules, formulas, and workflows.

• Successful integration with Fort Lewis College’s Student Information System (SIS), Workday, Slate, Perceptive Content, and relevant Department of Education platforms.

• Comprehensive training for institutional staff and supporting training materials.

• Documentation outlining system configurations, business processes, and user access protocols.

• A post-implementation support and maintenance plan, including vendor contact protocols, response expectations, and service escalation procedures.

• Full data export package in the event of contract termination or vendor transition.

II. FLC CONTACT INFORMATION

Question deadline is September 26, 2025 at 4:00pm. Any questions regarding the RFP should be addressed to: submitted via www.bidnetdirect.com/Colorado.

All questions and answers become public information and will be posted on www.bidnetdirect.com/Colorado for all vendor access.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

A. Due Date

All material must be electronically submitted via www.bidnetdirect.com/Colorado no later than Due Date: 2:00pm (MDT) October 9, 2025.

B. Schedule

The following is an estimate of the project timeline:

September 18, 2025 RFP Available to Vendors September 26, 2025 Question Period Closes 4:00 PM (MDT) October 2, 2025 Final Addenda Issued October 9, 2025 Due Date for Proposals 2:00 PM (MDT) October 10 – October 16, 2025 Evaluation Period October 20 – October 24, 2025 Presentations and Software Demonstartion October 29, 2025 Anticipated Notification of Intent to Award

C. Proposal Submission

All Proposals must be submitted in electronic format, via www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado.

Award of the contract resulting from this RFP will be based upon the responsive vendor whose offer will be the most advantageous to Fort Lewis College in terms of:

• Firm overview – Description of the firm’s background, higher education work experience, and relevant expertise.

http://www.bidnetdirect.com/Colorado http://www.bidnetdirect.com/Colorado http://www.bidnetdirect.com/Colorado http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado

• Approach – Outline of proposed methodology for system integration.

• Team – Identification of the lead software engineer(s) and their experience.

• Integration – Demonstration of ability to integrate with Workday and Slate systems.

• Support – Outline of proposed continuing support post system integration.

• Timeline – Outline of proposed integration schedule.

Fort Lewis College reserves the right to:

• Reject any or all offers and discontinue the RFP process without obligation or liability to any potential vendor

• Accept other than the lowest priced offer

• Award a contract on the basis of initial offers received, without discussions or requests for best and final offers

• Negotiate a best and final offer after the award

• Award more than one contract or vendor

Vendor’s proposals shall be submitted in several parts as set forth below. The Vendor will confine its submission to those matters sufficient to define its proposal and to provide an adequate basis for Fort Lewis College’s evaluation of the Vendor’s proposal.

Vendor’s proposals in response to this RFP may be incorporated into the final agreement between Fort Lewis College and the selected Vendor(s). The submitted proposals are suggested to include each of the following sections:

1. Executive Summary

2. Company Background

3. Scope, Approach, and Methodology

4. Proposed Schedule

5. Pricing

6. Acknowledgement of Fort Lewis College’s contract and special provisions

7. References

The detailed requirements for each of the above-mentioned sections are outlined below.

1. Executive Summary

This section will present a high-level synopsis of the Vendor’s responses to the RFP. The Executive Summary should be a brief overview of the engagement and should identify the main features and benefits of the proposed products and services.

2. Company Overview

Provide the following for your company:

• Official registered name (Corporate, D.B.A., Partnership, etc.), Dun & Bradstreet Number, Primary and Secondary SIC numbers

• Address

• Main telephone number

• Website URLs

• Key contact name, title, address (if different from above address), direct telephone and email

• Person authorized to contractually bind the organization for any proposal against this RFP

• Brief history, including year established and number of years your company has been offering services

3. Scope, Approach, and Methodology

This section should include:

• Description of proposed scope of work

• Proposed methodology including a methodology.

• Demonstrated commitment to recruiting from a broad and representative pool of qualified candidates, including advertising strategies, additional recruitment efforts, etc.

4. Proposed Schedule

In this section provide the schedule for the various parts of the engagement. Including an explanation of what happens if the selection is unsuccessful.

5. Pricing

In this section provide pricing structure including annual costs and one time implementation costs.

6. Fort Lewis College Contract and Special Provisions

A Fort Lewis College Contract, meeting the requirements of the Colorado Office of the State Controller policies and laws of Colorado, will be required. The contract must be reviewed and signed by the Colorado Attorney General and Representatives of Fort Lewis College. A model contract can be viewed at:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/SampleFLCContract http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/dfp/sco/contracts.htm http://www.fortlewis.edu/SampleFLCContract http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/dfp/sco/contracts.htm

In this section, specifically acknowledge the use of a Fort Lewis College Contract and Special Provisions as first in the order of contract precedence. Provide any additional contract language, addendums, or agreements you would require. The Fort Lewis College Contract and Special Provisions document are non-negotiable. Please note: Fort Lewis College fiscal rules prohibit Fort Lewis College from indemnifying any company, and all contracts must use Colorado as the choice of law.

Any RFP responses which do not comply with this section will be rejected.

7. References

Provide a minimum of three (3) Higher Education references. Identify the reference institution, contact, and applicable product(s) and services utilized by the institution.