Amend 1.docx

SAP

State of South Carolina

Request for Proposal

Solicitation:

Date Issued:

Procurement Officer:

Phone:

E-Mail Address:

Mailing Address:

5400023590 10/13/2022 Johanne M. Sullivan, CPPO, CPPB

(803) 737-3416 jmsullivan@mmo.sc.gov SFAA, Div. of Procurement Services, ITMO 1201 Main Street, Suite 601 Columbia SC 29201

DESCRIPTION: State Financial Aid Processing and Student Information System

USING GOVERNMENTAL UNIT: Tuition Grants Commission

SUBMIT YOUR OFFER ON-LINE AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.procurement.sc.gov

SUBMIT OFFER BY (Opening Date/Time): 10/28/2022 11/14/2022 11:00 AM (See "Deadline For Submission Of Offer" provision)

QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 10/05/2022 5:00 PM (See "Questions From Offerors" provision)

NUMBER OF COPIES TO BE SUBMITTED: One (1) on-line submission and One (1) Redacted Copy submitted online, (See “Submitting Redacted Offers” provision Section IV & “Submitting Confidential Information” Section II.A.)

Initial here if NO redacted copy is necessary___________

CONFERENCE TYPE: Pre-Proposal

DATE & TIME: 10/05/2022 2:30 PM

(As appropriate, see "Conferences - Pre-Bid/Proposal" & "Site Visit" provisions) LOCATION: Microsoft Teams meeting

(email jmsullivan@mmo.sc.gov before 12:00 noon on 10/04/2022 for log-on instructions)

You must submit a signed copy of this form with Your Offer. By signing, You agree to be bound by the terms of the Solicitation. You agree to hold Your Offer open for a minimum of one-hundred twenty (120) calendar days after the Opening Date. (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

NAME OF OFFEROR

(full legal name of business submitting the offer) Any award issued will be issued to, and the contract will be formed with, the entity identified as the Offeror. The entity named as the offeror must be a single and distinct legal entity. Do not use the name of a branch office or a division of a larger entity if the branch or division is not a separate legal entity, i.e., a separate corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

(Person must be authorized to submit binding offer to contract on behalf of Offeror.)

DATE SIGNED

TITLE

(business title of person signing above)

STATE VENDOR NO.

(Register to Obtain S.C. Vendor No. at www.procurement.sc.gov)

PRINTED NAME

(printed name of person signing above)

STATE OF INCORPORATION

(If you are a corporation, identify the state of incorporation.)

OFFEROR'S TYPE OF ENTITY: (Check one) (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

___ Sole Proprietorship ___ Partnership ___ Other_____________________________

___ Corporate entity (not tax-exempt) ___ Corporation (tax-exempt) ___ Government entity (federal, state, or local)

COVER PAGE - ON-LINE ONLY (MAR. 2015)

SAP

SAP

PAGE TWO

(Return Page Two with Your Offer) HOME OFFICE ADDRESS (Address for offeror's home office / principal place of business)

NOTICE ADDRESS (Address to which all procurement and contract related notices should be sent.) (See "Notice" clause)

_________________________________________________ Area Code - Number - Extension Facsimile

E-mail Address

PAYMENT ADDRESS (Address to which payments will be sent.) (See "Payment" clause)

____Payment Address same as Home Office Address ____Payment Address same as Notice Address (check only one) ORDER ADDRESS (Address to which purchase orders will be sent) (See "Purchase Orders and "Contract Documents" clauses)

____Order Address same as Home Office Address ____Order Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

Offerors acknowledges receipt of amendments by indicating amendment number and its date of issue. (See "Amendments to Solicitation" Provision)

DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

(See "Discount for Prompt Payment" clause)

PREFERENCES - A NOTICE TO VENDORS (SEP. 2009): On June 16, 2009, the South Carolina General Assembly rewrote the law governing preferences available to in-state vendors, vendors using in-state subcontractors, and vendors selling in-state or US end products. This law appears in Section 11-35-1524 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. A summary of the new preferences is available at www.procurement.sc.gov/preferences . ALL THE PREFERENCES MUST BE CLAIMED AND ARE APPLIED BY LINE ITEM, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER AWARD IS MADE BY ITEM OR LOT. VENDORS ARE CAUTIONED TO CAREFULLY REVIEW THE STATUTE BEFORE CLAIMING ANY PREFERENCES. THE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY HAVE CHANGED. IF YOU REQUEST A PREFERENCE, YOU ARE CERTIFYING THAT YOUR OFFER QUALIFIES FOR THE PREFERENCE YOU'VE CLAIMED. IMPROPERLY REQUESTING A PREFERENCE CAN HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. [11-35-1524(E)(4)&(6)] **PREFERENCES DO NOT APPLY TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PER SOUTH CAROLINA PROCUREMENT CODE SECTION [§11-35-1524(E)(5)(b)]

PREFERENCES - ADDRESS AND PHONE OF IN-STATE OFFICE: Please provide the address and phone number for your in-state office in the space provided below. An in-state office is necessary to claim either the Resident Vendor Preference (11-35-1524(C)(1)(i)&(ii)) or the Resident Contractor Preference (11-35-1524(C)(1)(iii)). Accordingly, you must provide this information to qualify for the preference. An in-state office is not required, but can be beneficial, if you are claiming the Resident Subcontractor Preference (11-35-1524(D)).PREFERENCES DO NOT APPLY TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PER SOUTH CAROLINA PROCUREMENT CODE SECTION [§11-35-1524(E)(5)(b)]

____In-State Office Address same as Home Office Address ____In-State Office Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

PAGE TWO (SEP 2009)

End of PAGE TWO

AMENDMENTS TO SOLICITATION (JAN 2004)

(a) The Solicitation may be amended at any time prior to opening. All actual and prospective Offerors should monitor the following web site for the issuance of Amendments: www.procurement.sc.gov (b) Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation (1) by signing and returning the amendment, (2) by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for this purpose on Page Two, (3) by letter, or (4) by submitting a bid that indicates in some way that the bidder received the amendment. (c) If this solicitation is amended, then all terms and conditions which are not modified remain unchanged. [02-2A005-1]

QUESTIONS FROM OFFERORS - AMENDMENT (JUN 2017)

THE SOLICITATION IS AMENDED AS PROVIDED HEREIN. INFORMATION OR CHANGES RESULTING FROM QUESTIONS WILL BE SHOWN IN A QUESTION-AND-ANSWER FORMAT. ALL QUESTIONS RECEIVED HAVE BEEN REPRINTED BELOW. THE “STATE’S RESPONSE” SHOULD BE READ WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE QUESTIONS. THE QUESTIONS ARE INCLUDED SOLELY TO PROVIDE A CROSS-REFERENCE TO THE POTENTIAL OFFEROR THAT SUBMITTED THE QUESTION. QUESTIONS DO NOT FORM A PART OF THE CONTRACT; THE “STATE’S RESPONSE” DOES. ANY RESTATEMENT OF PART OR ALL OF AN EXISTING PROVISION OF THE SOLICITATION IN AN ANSWER DOES NOT MODIFY THE ORIGINAL PROVISION EXCEPT AS FOLLOWS: UNDERLINED TEXT IS ADDED TO THE ORIGINAL PROVISON. STRICKEN TEXT IS DELETED. [02-2A097-1]

Responses to Written Questions Received:

1. Question – RFP p. 18, Scope of Work, B. Number of Users – TGC anticipates a phased rollout of the new system and the actual number of users upon final deployment may differ significantly from the table below.

Please explain the reasons why the number of users upon final deployment may differ significantly from the number of actual users.

Response: Currently, each college determines the total number of staff that have access to receive Tuition Grants Program information, which varies from school to school. As this system will be the first web-based system in which financial aid administrators at our participating colleges will have access to student-level information directly, we cannot fully determine the total number of potential users until after the system is in place. We estimate the number of users based on the table provided in the Scope of Work; however, the actual users could be slightly less or slightly more.

2. Question - RFP p. 19, Scope of Work, B. Number of Users - Table 2. Number of TGAAP System Users

Please explain the difference in system functionality needed between the following user types: Primary Aid Administrator, Financial Aid Director, Additional Financial Aid Staff, and College Bursar/Student Accounts.

Response: We envision there being four different user types with different access levels – Agency Admin (with full, unrestricted access to the system and our data housed within); A Primary Aid Administrator user type with full access to all college-facing portions of the system (including student search, update functionality, funds request, etc.) – this should be the same role as the “Financial Aid Director” as in some cases, the primary aid administrator at a college for our Program is the Director – we just wish to have distinction for logging and reporting purposes; An additional financial aid staff user type, which would be query/view-only access to determine Student eligibility but without the ability to make adjustments/changes, and a College/Bursar/Student Accounts user-type, which will allow that person to access funds disbursement information/voucher details.

3. Question – RFP p. 21, Section 2 Technical Solution and Methodology, 2.2.6 Offerors must submit the completed spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel format.

Should the completed spreadsheet be copied into the Technical Proposal document so that only a Technical Proposal and a Price Proposal are submitted, or should the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet be submitted as a 3rd document?

Response: The Microsoft Excel spreadsheet should be submitted as a third document.

4. Question – RFP. p. 23, Section 3 Qualifications and Experience, 3.4.1.5 Approximate contract price to include the original estimate of cost, the actual cost, and explanation of any variance.

This requirement seems to be in conflict with the requirement in the Pricing Proposal which states “Pricing information shall not be provided in the Technical Proposal under any circumstances.” Also, our pricing information is proprietary for each state agency installation and would require for us to get our client’s approval before releasing that information. May we answer this requirement by not stating the original estimate of cost, and by not stating the actual cost, but instead, stating whether or not a variance occurred and the reason for the variance?

Response: 3.4.1.5 does not conflict with the Pricing Proposal requirements as it is asking about previous work. Information provided will be evaluated accordingly.

5. Question - RFP. p. 23, SECTION 4 - ASSUMPTIONS & RISK, 4.1 The Offeror should include any and all assumptions, additional license or subscription documents, SLAs, terms and conditions, ancillary contracts, or open-source agreements relative to their proposal. The Offeror shall also submit the number and nature of exceptions (if any) such Offeror requests to the terms and conditions in Part 7 B.

Can the contractor/Offeror wait until after contract award during the contract negotiations phase to submit exceptions to the terms and conditions listed in Part 7 B?

Response: Offeror should submit their exceptions to the terms and conditions with their proposal. No negotiations will occur after contract award as the contract will already have been formed at that time. See Bid/Proposal as Offer to Contract (Jan 2004) clause on page 8 and Contract Documents and Order of Precedence (Modified) clause on page 29.

6. Question - RFP p. 24, SERVICE PROVIDER SECURITY ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE - REQUIRED (FEB 2015), [ASK QUESTIONS NOW: If you have a properly qualified third-party report or certification you believe we should accept in lieu of those identified in item (b), submit a question identifying same pursuant to the clause titled Questions from Offerors.]

Please explain what is meant by “[ASK QUESTIONS NOW:”.

Response: “[ASK QUESTIONS NOW:” means what is written. Emphasis has been added. “[ASK QUESTIONS NOW: If you have a properly qualified third-party report or certification you believe we should accept in lieu of those identified in item (b), submit a question identifying same pursuant to the clause titled Questions from Offerors.]

7. Question – RFP, p. 29 VII. TERMS AND CONDITIONS -- A. GENERAL

Does signing the solicitation mean that the contractor agrees to all terms or will the contractor have a chance to modify the terms if awarded the contract during a contract negotiations phase?

Response: No negotiations will occur after contract award as the contract will already have been formed at that time. See Bid/Proposal as Offer to Contract (Jan 2004) clause on page 8, Discussions and Negotiations – Option (Feb 2015) clause on page 27, and Contract Documents and Order of Precedence (Modified) clause on page 29.

8. Question - RFP p. 35, CONTRACTOR'S LIABILITY INSURANCE - INFORMATION SECURITY AND PRIVACY (FEB 2015), (e) Coverage shall have limits no less than five million ($5,000,000.00) dollars per occurrence and ten million ($10,000,000.00) dollars aggregate.

Would lower amounts of coverage be acceptable?

Response: In accordance with page 23, Section 4 – Assumptions & Risk, “Offeror shall also submit the number and nature of exceptions (if any)…. to the terms and conditions in Part 7. B. Special Terms and Conditions.”

9. Question – RFP pp. 41-42, INFORMATION USE AND DISCLOSURE – STANDARDS (FEB 2015) and OWNERSHIP OF DATA AND MATERIALS (JAN 2006)

The Information Use and Disclosure – Standards on page 41 state “Solely for purposes of Section 39-1-90 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended, Contractor is deemed to be the owner of government information, as defined herein, and Contractor agrees that the Using Governmental Unit is not a licensee.” However, the Ownership of Data and Material section states “All data, material and documentation prepared for the state pursuant to this Contract shall belong exclusively to the State. [07-7B125-1]”. These statements seem to be conflicting. Please explain who is to own the government information.

Response: When reading the entire item (b) of that Information Use and Disclose – Standards (Feb 2015) clause the statements are not conflicting. Emphasis has been added, “(b) South Carolina Financial Identity Fraud and Identity Theft Protection Act (FIFITPA), 2008 Act 190, as amended. Solely for purposes of Section 39-1-90 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended, Contractor is deemed to be the owner of government information, as defined herein, and Contractor agrees that the Using Governmental Unit is not a licensee.” Section 39-1-90 of the South Carolina Code of Laws can be found at this website: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t39c001.php .

10. Question - RFP p. 47, Price Proposal, Price-Business Proposal Price Sheet, Integration costs: (Cost associated with integrating the proposed solution into the existing environment.)

Please explain what is meant by “Cost associated with integrating the proposed solution into the existing environment.” Does TGC already have a hosting environment that the software can be integrated into?

Response: TGC does not have a current hosting environment; in this case “into the existing environment” is to mean “into the current processes of the Program as administered by the Agency” – this is functional not technical.

11. Question – RFP Attachment A, 2.3.2 System shall offer the flexibility for school users to conduct needs analysis based on student profiles according to institutional requirements.

Please explain the functionality requested. If possible, provide an example scenario.

Response: College users should have the ability to adjust the total Cost of Attendance for student groups, as well as, to manually update a specific student’s COA based on their unique situation on a one-off basis. The system should then allow the user to recalculate that student or group of student’s need, potentially adjusting eligibility for the program. The COA is a required component in the need analysis calculation and any changes to that can impact eligibility. The South Carolina Tuition Grants Program is need-based, and determined by a student’s financial need as required by federal methodology using the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the FAFSA. COA – EFC = Need; there may also be cases where a student has need based on that formula, but is receiving tuition-specific funds, and ineligible to receive the South Carolina Tuition Grant based on the Program being limited to direct tuition and fees charges only. College users should be able to make those adjustments manually, as to ensure a student demonstrates financial need and is not over awarded.

Example: John Smith has an EFC of 10,000 and his college has a total COA of 12,000 based on him being an off-campus commuter student. Based on the initial needs-analysis, John is eligible for $2,000 in Tuition Grants funds. The financial aid office is notified by John’s academic advisor to the fact that he is a nursing student, and has an additional required “nursing student fee” of $1,000, which needs to be manually updated in his specific COA amount. This additional fee would adjust his need analysis calculation to be 13,000 – 10,000 leaving him now with eligibility for $3,000 in Tuition Grants funds. By allowing the college user to manually adjust his COA to differ than the overall “Off-Campus with Parent Commuter COA”, his eligibility can be recalculated based on Program allowed changes.

12. Question - RFP Attachment A, 3.1.1 System shall allow configurable fund source codes (i.e., State, Lottery, Endowment, etc.) for accurate tracking of expenditures

Please explain, do the separate fund sources need to be tracked to individual payments? For example, within an academic year, for the grant program would some payments need to be marked as funded by the Lottery, while other payments need to be marked as funded by an Endowment?

Response: Yes; there are four sources of funding that are used to disburse “South Carolina Tuition Grants” – State, Lottery, Children’s Endowment, and Interest. The system should allow for each disbursement to be made based on a specific fund source, as TGC receives different funding allocations for each source throughout the award year. Reports should be able to be generated based on each fund source. In the current MS Access-based system, the Agency’s Financial Officer selects the fund source from a drop-down menu when generating Voucher and disbursement records.

13. Question – RFP Attachment A, System shall allow state and school users to annotate the student record without jeopardizing the integrity of the record

Please explain the functionality requested. If possible, provide an example scenario.

Response: Users should be able to make comments or provide notes on a specific student record, without it adjusting any other data elements or grant eligibility calculation.

Essentially, the system should have a student-specific Notes/Comments section that ties to the student, but allows for “Aid Year”, “Comment”, “User-name”, “Date Comment Made”, “Date Modified” information to be stored.

14. Question - RFP Attachment A, 6.1.1 Solution must support full remote administration of all components

Please explain the functionality requested. If possible, provide an example scenario.

Response: System should be web-based, and accessible by any supported web browser (ex. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) from any user’s computer.

15. Question – Please provide the number of student and grant records to be converted and the number of academic years’ worth of data to be converted.

Response: Currently, there are 10 academic years’ worth of Electronic Student Records (342,853 student applicant records total for the 10-year period and 369,800 voucher records for the same period – each student can have as few as no voucher record and as many as 4 voucher records per aid year).

16. Question - Please provide the number of FASFAs loaded into the system each year.

Response: Roughly 350,000 – 550,000 FAFSA transaction records are received from the Federal Department of Education and loaded into our system – exact number varies based on the total number of South Carolina residents completing the FAFSA annually.

17. Question - Please provide the number and dollar amount of grants awarded each year.

18. Question – Section 2 – Technical Solution and Methodology – Requirement 2.4.1 is written as "Describe your implementation strategy, including, but not limited to, configuration, acceptance testing, and training for all system users. Use a chart showing the steps and projected length of time to complete each implementation step for all institutions. Provide detailed implementation timelines and resources.". Can you explain the use of the phrase "for all institutions" in this context? Should the sentence end with "...each implementation step."?

Response: The primary users that will need to be included in training will be all TGC agency employees (4 employees); if this training is provided virtually, various aid administrators from some of the colleges/universities (“Institutions” in this case) would be included.

19. Question – Attachment A – Application Processing tab – Requirement 2.3.2 states “System shall offer the flexibility for school users to conduct needs analysis based on student profiles according to institutional requirements.” Can you elaborate on this desired feature?

Response: See response to Question 11.

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