91003118R0022_0004.pdf

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 STANDARD FORM 30. (Rev. 10-83) Previous Edition unusable Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Page of Pages AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. Contract ID Code

2. AMENDMENT MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (if applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than item 6) CODE

(x) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (NO., Street, Country, State and ZIP Code)

CODE FACILITY CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning ______ copies of amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OR OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

Check One

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE

CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible)

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C. DATE SIGNED

Attachment Page

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The purpose of this amendment is to update the following:

1. Section J to add a revised Attachment 16 – Responses to Questions

2. Section L-2.2.5 to revise the submission due date.

Additions are in bold and underlined. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

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SECTION J – LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

Attachment Title

01 As-is Updated

02 Security Technical Requirements

03 Finance Technical Requirements (and Financial Requirements Attachments)

04 Additional Current State Technical Constraints (and Additional Current State Technical Constraints Attachments)

05 Customer Tasks

06 Partner Tasks

07 Top Customer Pain Points

08 FSA Brand Guidelines

09 Hosting Environments with Approved Agency ATOs

10 FSA Identity & Access Management Solution Overview

11 Information Resources Program Elements (IRPE) Supplement

12 Past Work Experience Cover Memo

13 Pricing Template

14 FSA 39-5 Monthly Vendor Reporting Deliverable Template (Aug 2018)

15 Life of Loan Servicing Intended State: Continuous, frequent, and tailored customer engagement

16 Responses to Questions (Updated – Amendment 04)

17 FSA 04-2 Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS OR RESPONDENTS

L-2.2.5 Submission Due Dates. The Past Performance volume must be received by November 2, 2018. All remaining volumes must be received on December 5, 2018 no later than 12:00 pm Eastern. The Government POC will provide a receipt showing the time and date of delivery.

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Federal Student Aid, Department of Education Attachment 16 - Responses to Questions

Solicitation 91003118R0022 - Transitional Core Processing and Related Support Activities

Response to questions submitted that were relevant to responding to the solicitation have been provided below.

Updated in Amendment 03: Questions 42 through 52 have been added.

Updated in Amendment 04: The response to question 48 has been revised.

Q ID Question Response Q1 Will FSA work with existing solution providers to establish a common format to receive the historical data that needs to be converted off of the systems? (i.e., data that is not currently part of the EA27 or EA80 process)?

FSA will establish a common protocol for customer account data to be converted for existing servicers and Awardee.

Q2 Long term, who (a specific BPO or the TCP&RA provider) will perform servicing activities that are at a portfolio level (i.e. financial reconciliation) or where a borrower is not able to be systematically identified and would require research (i.e. unidentified payments, exception processing, etc..)?

Transitional Core Processing and Related Support Activities will perform portfolio-level activities, such as, but not limited to, financial reconciliation, borrower research for unidentified payments, or exception processing. Offerors are highly encouraged to include in their proposals opportunities to automate manual tasks and processes.

Q3 FSA 37-2 Continuation of Mission Critical Contractor Services (d) on page 16 of the solicitation requires offerors to provide a written preliminary plan describing how it will continue to perform the contractor services listed in Section C. Will this preliminary plan need to be attached to a specific proposal volume? Please specify the volume to which it will be attached. Please indicate whether or not this preliminary plan will count toward volume page limits.

The written preliminary plan shall be attached to the Volume 2: Technical Approach. It does not count towards the Volume 2 page limit.

Q4 Section K provides Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors. To which volume will the Representations and Certifications be attached?

Please indicate if the Representations and Certifications are included in the page count of the assigned volume or are outside the page count of the assigned volume.

This can be included in Volume 5: Small Business Subcontracting Plan and Other Solicitation Requirements. See Amendment 02.

Q5 EDAR 3452.209-71 Conflict of Interest requires disclosure of actual or potential conflict. If supplied, will this disclosure need to be attached to a proposal volume? Please specify the volume to which this disclosure should be attached. If supplied, will this disclosure need to be included within the page count of the assigned volume or will this disclosure be outside the page count of the assigned volume?

This can be included in Volume 5: Small Business Subcontracting Plan and Other Solicitation Requirements. See Amendment 02.

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Q6 FSA 39-2 Electronic and Information Technology (d) requires the offeror to supply a completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. Will the completed template need to be attached to a specific proposal volume? Please specify the volume. Please indicate whether or not this attached material will count toward volume page limits.

This can be included in Volume 5: Small Business Subcontracting Plan and Other Solicitation Requirements. See Amendment 02.

Q7 Will a signed copy of Standard Form 33 (SF-33) and all Standard Form 30 (SF-30) documents need to be supplied with the offer? If yes, please specify where in the submission these should reside. Please indicate whether or not these will count toward volume page limits.

Yes. This can be included in Volume 5: Small Business Subcontracting Plan and Other Solicitation Requirements. See Amendment 02.

Q8 Please confirm a company may include a teammate past performance as long as the teammate will provide meaningful support upon contract award.

Yes.

Q9 Please confirm a company may include an affiliate/subsidiary past performance as long as the employees of the affiliate/subsidiary company will provide meaningful support upon contract award.

Yes.

Q10 The pricing template includes multiple line items that are pricing on a “per unit” basis (e.g. loan conversion, printing, etc.). However, each template also includes a calculation of “Total Price Proposed”. As the template includes a mix of annual fixed prices and unit prices this cannot just be a summation of the pricing presented on the table. How does FSA want vendors to calculate the “Total Price Proposed”?

Offeror shall compute and provide the Total Price Proposed as the sum of flat prices and calculated sub-total prices based on unit prices and relevant volume assumptions.

Q11 The “Pricing Tier Proposals” tab allows contractors to provide volume based pricing for individual line items in each scenario. Are offerors also required to provide this same volume based pricing on the pricing tabs (with and without implementation) or to just insert a reference to the Pricing Tier Proposal tab?

Offeror shall provide prices on the "Proposal with Implementation" and "Proposal Combining Implementation" tab as per the instructions and column C (pricing model), based on Offeror's volume assumptions. Volume assumptions and proposed pricing tiers shall be detailed in the respective tabs provided.

Q12 Will "Component G" be released as an individual component or is all previously stated "Component G" functionality included in Components C and D? If yes, when will it be released?

The Transitional Core Processing & Related Support Activities (formerly Component D) and Future State Core Platform (formerly Component C) will provide for their individual operational data needs. Component G remains a separate component and will provide over-arching data architecture and analytics solutions for FSA enterprise-wide.

Q13 Does the 42 million customers count include existing FFEL customers whose loans are owned and serviced by Commercial entities (not FSA)? If yes, does FSA expect these customers to be converted to the Transitional Core Platform?

No.

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Q14 How long should the offeror plan to provide a Transitional Business Operations solution?

Awardee shall provide the Transitional Business Process Operations solution until the future state business process operations are fully implemented, or as otherwise determined by FSA. Offeror shall detail assumptions in this regard upon which its technical approach and pricing is based, and how solutions and pricing would change if FSA's ultimate needs are later determined to be different.

Q15 How long should the offeror plan to provide a Transitional Digital Engagement Layer solution?

Awardee shall provide the Transitional Digital Engagement Layer solution until the future state digital platform solution is fully implemented or as otherwise determined by FSA. Offeror shall detail assumptions in this regard upon which its technical approach and pricing is based, and how solutions and pricing would change if FSA's ultimate needs are later determined to be different.

Q16 The requirement for Software licenses to be licensed to the Government, is this upon purchase of the license or is the requirement for licenses to be assignable at the end of the contract?

Software licenses shall be assigned in the name of the Government at purchase.

Q17 The FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Bill includes a provision to award contracts to multiple servicers.

Should the offeror assume that FSA will sign contracts directly with each servicer included in the Transitional Business Operations portion of a submission?

FSA intends to make one award for the Transitional Core Processing and Related Support Activities (formerly Component D), and will comply with the FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Bill with regard to Business Process Operations (formerly Components E and F).

Q18 Will "Component I" be released as an individual component or is all previously stated "Component I" functionality included in Components C and D? If yes, when will it be released?

All NextGen solutions, including Transitional Core Processing & Related Support Activities, shall include cybersecurity capabilities to ensure solutions FSA's cybersecurity requirements. Refer to section C.3.2.e and Attachment 2 (Security Technical Requirements).

Component I remains a separate component and will provide over-arching cybersecurity solutions (e.g., architecture, monitoring, technical reviews, advisory services) for FSA enterprise-wide.

Q19 Is it possible that FSA will use the Transitional platform for less than the stated contract period before transitioning to the Future State platform? If so what timing should be designed into our pricing methodology?

FSA has requested pricing for a 5-year base period of performance and 5 option years.

Q20 Is it possible that FSA will maintain the use of the Transitional platform for all loans throughout the term of the contract?

FSA has requested pricing for a 5-year base period of performance and 5 option years.

Q21 Will FSA make volume commitment to the winner of the award?

No.

Q22 How do you envision the timing of volume migration for vendor investment level for the platform?

Refer to Milestones 1, 2, and 3 outlined in section C.3.5.

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Q23 Is it possible that FSA will maintain the use of the Transitional platform for all servicing of loans throughout the term of the contract?

FSA has requested pricing for a 5-year base period of performance and 5 option years.

Q24 Because the solution is required to rapidly migrate loans from current servicers, what loan transfer standards or mechanisms does FSA mandate be used?

FSA will establish a common protocol for the customer account conversion data for existing servicers and Awardee.

Q25 Is there a comprehensive list of "Federal rules, laws, regulations, agency guidelines or court mandates applicable to the FSA operating environment" that the solution must meet or exceed? If so, please share.

No, FSA expects Offeror to be familiar and in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and other legal mandates applicable to the FSA operating environment.

Q26 On page 6 there is statement that "Prior to award, FSA will determine the level of FISMA and/or FedRAMP compliance required." What date does FSA expect this requirement to be finalized, and will that occur prior to 11/16/2018 (pricing proposals due date)?

Offerors shall use the FIPS-199 criteria to determine the appropriate FISMA and/or FedRAMP compliance level appropriate to their solution(s) and then price accordingly. The determined level shall be stated as an assumption for the technical approach and pricing.

Q27 Given that the Future State Core Platform is largely yet to be defined what level of detail does FSA expect related to demonstrating the capability to migrate customer accounts from the Transitional Core to the Future State Core?

Offeror shall propose a solution/approach aligned with NextGen's vision and goals in addition to pertinent requirements as outlined in the solicitation. Offeror shall detail assumptions in this regard upon which its technical approach and pricing is based, and how solutions and pricing would change if FSA's ultimate needs are later determined to be different.

Q28 How do you envision the timing of implementation for vendor investment level for the platform?

Refer to Milestones 1, 2, and 3 outlined in section C.3.5.

Q29 Are we to presume that all existing standard communications are to continue to be provided by the servicer? If not, when will detailed requirements be made available?

Offeror shall propose the set of standard communications (for the transitional period) aligned with NextGen's vision and goals in addition to pertinent requirements as outlined in the Solicitation. Another provider will provide the future state communications development and execution solutions, excluding imaging, printing, and mailing.

Q30 Do accessibility requirements apply to Spanish translations of the web and electronic correspondence?

Accessibility requirements apply regardless of language.

Q31 Spanish Translation- Does web chat session have to support Spanish?

Offerors shall propose a Transitional Digital Engagement Layer solution in alignment with NextGen's vision and goals and the requirements outlined in the Solicitation, and that recognizes FSA's diverse customer base.

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Q32 Can FSA provide the current list of browsers and operating systems that are expected to be supported/tested, the current device size standards for development of responsive web applications, applicable Brand Style Guide, Web Developer Guide, and Writing Style Guide, and the current list of web forms that need to be made available?

Offerors shall propose a solution in alignment with NextGen's vision and goals and the requirements outlined in the Solicitation. Solutions must care for a reasonably broad range of browsers, operating systems, and devices that may be used by FSA’s diverse customer base, staff, designated third-parties.

Q33 Will print data be provided as print-ready images (PostScript or PDF), or will data be provided as raw data (if so, how many templates will be required to be developed)?

Offeror shall propose the printing solution deemed in alignment with NextGen's vision and goals in addition to pertinent requirements as outlined in the Solicitation.

Q34 Will there be any non-standard print requirements (color print, return envelopes, flyers, color paper, checks, etc.)?

Offeror shall propose the printing solution deemed in alignment with NextGen's vision and goals in addition to pertinent requirements as outlined in the Solicitation.

Q35 What are the image scanning requirements (color, non-standard size, flat-bed)?

Offeror shall propose the imaging solution deemed in alignment with NextGen's vision and goals in addition to pertinent requirements as outlined in the Solicitation.

Q36 Under Transitional Business Process Operations there is a list of Student Aid Back Office Processing tasks that require pricing, one of those items is All Other Back Office Processing tasks. Can the template be adjusted to include more specific back office processing tasks (such as credit disputes, deferment, forbearance processing, etc.) and related pricing for those tasks, or do all of these other back office processing tasks need to be combined into one price per task?

The pricing template will not be adjusted in this regard. In addition to the specific back-office tasks outlines, Offeror shall propose one annual price for all other tasks and shall outline any deemed assumptions in the pricing template and supplemental price narrative.

Q37 There is a requirement under Cybersecurity to comply with IRS Publication 1075; however, Attachment 02 Security Technical Requirements checklist does not address this requirement. Where do we put our response related to this requirement?

Offeror shall include the response regarding IRS Publication 1075 in Volume 2: Technical Approach.

Q38 Please clarify the statement, "FSA anticipates the near-term need for multiple loan processing solutions while moving towards the future-state of a single platform operating environment." More specifically, is "multiple loan processing solutions" referring to the fact that FSA may extend the existing loan servicing contracts until such time that all historical and current customer loan and grant accounts can be converted to the solution as described in Component D?

FSA anticipates the conversion of existing customer accounts to the Transitional Core Processing solution as outlined in Milestones 1, 2, and 3 (refer to section C.3.5). Ultimately, FSA anticipates migrating accounts to the Future State Core Platform solution.

Q39 Please confirm whether FSA has/will consider issuing more than one award for Component D.

FSA intends to make one award for the Transitional Core Processing and Related Support Activities (formerly Component D).

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Q40 Instructions state, "Propose acceptance criteria for all deliverables identified in section C.3.4.1. Offerors may also propose additional deliverables. This shall be on a separate spreadsheet and will not be counted in the page limits for this volume." Please confirm that the page limits for this volume excludes the Offeror's proposed acceptance criteria as well as any additional proposed deliverables.

Confirmed.

Q41 Should we submit a Phase-In Plan as part of our proposal in response to Solicitation 91003118R0022 and if so, in which Volume of the proposal?

No.

Q42 Requirement 1061.000 specifies physical segregation of ED/FSA data from all non-ED/FSA data within existing infrastructure. Should offeror assume that FSA wants a new, fully isolated infrastructure environment for

TCPRSA?

Per Security Technical Requirement 1061.000, there needs to be logical/physical data segregation. The architecture and design considerations will be dependent upon the Offeror’s proprosed solution.

Specifically, for FedRAMP clouds, the FedRAMP requirements describe how the solution will transmit and manage some aspects of the data in their multi-user environments.

Q43 Can we assume FSA will provide the hard and soft tokens?

Per Security Technical Requirement 1050.0200, the Offeror has the option to provide corporate tokens in lieu of FSA provided two factor authentication solutions.

Should Offeror choose to provide tokens, then Offeror will need to identify their process for token registration, and 1051.0300 requirement would not apply.

Q44 Are "routine maintenance" such as operating system updates and firmware updates included in the scope of changes that require 5 days advanced notice?

Yes.

Q45 What are the servicing volume and 3 year forecasted volumes for TEACH (presumably volumes may relate to staffing which will drive cost)?

Approximately 34,000 TEACH awards have been made annually, based on an average from the 2015-16 school year to the present school year. This figure is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of work volume in the future.

Q46 What are the servicing volume and 3 year forecasted volumes for PSLF (presumably volumes may relate to staffing which will drive cost)?

Approximately 35,000 to 40,000 Employment Certification Forms (ECFs) and PSLF applications are processed annually. This figure is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of work volume in the future.

Q47 What are the servicing volume and 3 year forecasted volumes for TPD (presumably volumes may relate to staffing which will drive cost)?

Approximately 174,000 TPD applications are received annually. This figure is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of work volume in the future.

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Q48 We request FSA to clarify on the total subcontracting percentage. Is it 47% (Addition of Small Businesses 31%, Women Owned Small Businesses 5%, Small Disadvantaged Businesses: 5%, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses 3%, Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB Zones) 3%) or 31% (Inclusive of Small Businesses 31%, Women Owned Small Businesses 5%, Small Disadvantaged Businesses: 5%, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses 3%, Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB Zones) 3%)?

Small Business Subcontracting must meet a minimum of 31% in total.

Q49 Should all existing customers be considered “active customers” for pricing the Transitional Digital Engagement Layer?

For the Transitional Digital Engagement Layer, "active" customers will be those who are migrated to or create a digital profile, and use that profile, on the Offeror's solution. Thus, not all existing customers whose accounts would be converted from existing servicers will qualify as "active." Offeror shall specify the proposed period and basis upon which a customer's active status would be determined.

Q50 Do all existing FSA customers need to be migrated to the Transitional Core Processing solution?

All existing customers, regardless of status (including, but not limited to, loan status, customer segment, repayment plan, etc.), that are not already on the Awardee's solution must be migrated.

Q51 Must vendors address all items in Attachment 04:

Additional Current State Technical Constraints in proposals? If so, can FSA provide additional details?

Attachment 04 ("Additional Current State Technical Constraints") provides a non-exhaustive list of exemplary current state constraints. Post award, FSA and Awardee will define a comprehensive set of requirements. Offerors may propose solution-relevant alternative, more efficient, accurate, or customer-centered approaches and processes to accomplish FSA's outcomes.

Q52 Please clarify which business process operations are expected to be provided in Component D as compared to those that are expected to be provided in Components E/F. Please confirm if Component D should include the resources needed to perform all back-office functions in addition to a servicing platform.

The Transitional Core Processing solution shall provide for portfolio-level functions including financial reporting, reconciliation, audit, and error/dispute investigation and resolution. The Transitional Business Process Operations shall provide contact center support and all other back-office processing needs. (Refer to amendment 03 for further details)