ESBD_394000_1738794923122_RFP 25-21 Faculty Staff Student Mentoring Solutions.pdf

RFP 25-21 Faculty, Staff, and Student Mentoring Solutions 1 of 10

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) #25-21

FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENT MENTORING SOULUTIONS

PROPOSED SOLICITATION SCHEDULE

This schedule may be modified or changed at the sole discretion of SJCCD.

DATE ACTION

February 6, 2025 RFP issued.

February 18, 2025

Virtual Pre-Proposal Meeting (non-mandatory)

9:30 a.m. Central Time

Request a link to the virtual meeting by sending an email to the Procurement Contact by 2:00 p.m. Friday, February 14, 2025.

February 25, 2025

Questions and/or Clarifications Deadline

Requests for questions and clarifications regarding RFP documents shall be submitted through the Questions tab in IonWave by 5:00 p.m. Central Time to be considered.

February 28, 2025 Issuance of final addendum, if necessary.

March 6, 2025

Proposal Submission Deadline

All proposal documents shall be submitted before 2:00 p.m. Central Time in IonWave.

The RFP opening will take place digitally through IonWave immediately following time due. A list of vendors who submitted will be made available upon written request to the Procurement Contact.

May/June Recommendation of award and approval to enter into contract.

Award will be announced after approval received.

E-Bidding Website: IonWave https://sanjac.ionwave.net

PROCUREMENT CONTACT

Melissa Fuqua, Buyer

281-998-6378 Melissa.fuqua@sjcd.edu https://sanjac.ionwave.net/

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SCOPE OF WORK AND SPECIFICATIONS

1. GENERAL

SJCCD is soliciting sealed proposals from qualified firms to provide faculty, staff, and student mentoring solutions services.

All work performed must be in compliance with existing federal, state and local codes, statutes and requirements.

SJCCD is a public community college district organized under Chapter 130 of the Texas Education Code and is tax exempt in the State of Texas.

2. SCOPE OF WORK

This scope of work covers the requirements to provide mentoring software and facilitation to the San Jacinto Community College District. Mentoring software and facilitation shall include, but is not limited to all work necessary to:

2.1. Create meaningful relationships and intentional actions between 50 faculty/staff mentors and 50 faculty/staff mentees, and 300 faculty/staff mentors and 300 student mentees, including faculty/staff-to-student and staff-to-peer relationships. This will be achieved by the provision of a research-based, strategic approach designed to elicit relevant discussions, provide proactive and defined patterns of communication, and achieve stated mentoring goals.

2.2. Provide ongoing and robust qualitative and quantitative data aligned to the stated goals including pre/post assessment, stakeholder feedback, and program outcomes.

2.3. Provide a configurable mentoring platform that serves students and employees throughout the lifespan of their time at San Jacinto College.

2.4. Lead marketing and recruitment efforts in conjunction with institutional staff.

2.5. Mentor training with measurable learning outcomes.

2.6. Ability to customize matching surveys to ensure mentees are connected and introduced to relevant, identity-aligned mentors.

2.7. Ability to customize and offer algorithmic matches in seconds.

2.8. The College has the ability to review match criteria for relevance and effectiveness.

2.9. Ability to send automated and customized engagement notifications (“nudges”).

2.10. Formal and informal curriculum to help guide participants with goal setting and discussions.

2.11. Robust and easy access online to program participants.

2.12. Interactive tooling to display that support the growth, management, and tracking of the formal mentoring program.

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2.13. Administrative visibility into top concerns and topics during key periods in the campus experience.

2.14. The ability to identify students/employees’ sense of belonging and academic/career self-efficacy at key points of the mentoring experience.

2.15. Assessment capabilities including the ability to compare and contrast melt, persistence, retention, and graduation rates for mentored and non-mentored students.

2.16. Flagging system and workflow to notify appropriate administrators of students and employees in need of immediate support.

2.17. Safety measures in place to report inappropriate or uncomfortable interactions.

2.18. Provide program administrators ‘test” accounts (mentor and mentee views) to assist with troubleshooting dashboard applications for their participants.

2.19. A seamless user experience for participants (mentees & mentors) through various communication channels including an engaging student portal, email and SMS.

2.20. Helpdesk/Support services for students and staff.

3. SPECIFICATIONS

3.1. The awarded vendor will provide a dedicated team of professionals to manage key elements of the proposal including mentor matching and analysis.

3.2. The awarded vendor will provide a dedicated team member who will meet with institutional stakeholders up to four times a month to provide support (i.e. meet with each mentoring program twice a month).

3.3. The awarded vendor shall certify that it is incompliance with Texas Administrative Code

2.2.72 (Information Security Standards for Institutions in Higher Education).

3.4. The awarded vendor will agree to modify their content to comply with Texas Education Code 51.3525 (formerly known as Senate Bill 17).

3.5. The awarded vendor must have previous experience working with colleges in Texas.

3.6. Installed (On-Premises) Software Requirements (Client and Server):

3.6.1. Client OS: Windows 11 (23H2) or above, MacOS 14 (Sonoma)

3.6.2. Server OS: Windows Server 2019 or above, Oracle Linux 9.

3.6.3. Hypervisor: Must be supported on VMWare 8.0.3 and above.

3.6.4. Custom OVA: Must be a supported OS, upgrade and patch capable for security purposes (by vendor if necessary)

3.6.5. Browsers: Microsoft’s Chromium based Edge; Google Chrome, Safari

3.6.6. Mass distribution capability: SCCM (MECM), InTune

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3.6.7. Required Operator Privileges: Standard User rights (Non-Administrative)

3.6.8. Anti-Virus Compatibility: Malwarebytes; Windows Defender for EndPoint

3.6.9. For instructional purposes: Faronics Deepfreeze Compatible

3.7. SaaS Requirements:

3.7.1. Client OS: Windows 11 (23H2) or above, MacOS 14 (Sonoma)

3.7.2. Browsers: Microsoft’s Chromium based Edge; Google Chrome, Safari

3.7.3. Anti-Virus Compatibility: Malwarebytes; Windows Defender for EndPoint

3.7.4. Required Operator Privileges: Standard User rights (Non-Administrative)

4. COLLEGE LOCATIONS

4.1. District Offices – 4620 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, TX 77504

4.2. Central Campus – 8060 Spencer Hwy, Pasadena, TX 77505

4.3. North Campus – 5800 Uvalde, Houston, TX 77049

4.4. South Campus – 13735 Beamer Road, Houston, TX 77089

4.5. Maritime – 3700 Old Hwy 146, La Porte, TX 77571

4.6. Generation Park Campus – 13455 Lockwood Rd., Houston, TX 77044

4.7. Edge Center – 13150 Space Center Blvd., Houston, TX 77059

5. DELIVERY AND IMPLEMENTATION

5.1. Software implementation shall begin upon contract award and shall be operational no later than September 1, 2025.

5.2. Delivery of any disposable supplies shall be made FOB destination, inside delivery, to the

College location specified in the order.

6. CONTRACT TERM

6.1. The contract term, if any, for contract(s) awarded from this solicitation will include the implementation time period with annual services beginning September 1, 2025. The initial term award will be two (2) years, with three (3) one-year renewal options, subject to the termination provisions as further described in the sample contract terms and conditions on the Attachments tab section of this solicitation.

7. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

7.1. Awarded Firm shall acknowledge that any personnel engaged by the College with access to the College’s information systems or database shall be required to complete an annual cybersecurity training offered by the College, in accordance with Texas Government Code 2054.5192.

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7.2. Awarded vendor shall certify its compliance with Texas Administrative Code 202.72, Subchapter C (Information Security Standards for Institutions of Higher Education) requirements, as designated by San Jacinto College Information Security.

8. TX-RAMP CERTIFICATION

8.1. Pursuant to Section 2054.0593(d)-(f) of the Texas Government Code, relating to cloud computing state risk and authorization management program, Contractor shall comply with the requirements of the state risk and authorization management program and agrees that throughout the term of the contract it shall maintain its certifications and comply with the program requirements in the performance of the contract.

9. SUPPLIER DIVERSITY REPORTING

9.1. SJCCD does not give preference to historically underutilized or small business in the awarding of contracts. However, if the awarded contractor utilizes a subcontractor(s) to fulfill the proposed requirements, the contractor will be required to track and report the amount paid to each subcontractor along with the subcontractor’s supplier diversity classification. This information will only be used for the purpose of statistical tracking.

The reportable classifications include:

• African American

• Asian Pacific American

• Caucasian

• Hispanic American

• Native American

• Small Business

• Veteran Owned

• Minority Owned

• Woman Owned

• LGBTQ

• Other / Non-disclosed

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EVALUATION CRITERIA

An Evaluation Committee will review all proposals according to the criteria stated herein. The committee’s evaluations will be based on all available information including qualification statements, subsequent interviews/presentations, reports, discussions, reference checks, and other appropriate reviews.

1. Qualifications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Qualifications Max Points

Section 1: Qualifications and Experience of Firm and Personnel 15

Section 2: Scope Understanding and Specifications Alignment 30

Section 3: Information Technology Software Capabilities 15

Section 4: References 5

Section 5: Exceptions to Terms and Conditions 5

Section 6: Price Proposal 30

Qualification Total Points 100

*The price proposal for each firm will be evaluated in comparison with the other firms’ price proposals;

however, the number of points possible may be evaluated in proportion to each respondent’s evaluation score received for Section 2 and 3.

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PROPOSAL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

All proposal response requirements must be submitted through IonWave. The system does not allow a proposal submission unless all requirements have been met, including Attributes and Response Attachments. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following:

Written Proposal:

Written Proposal shall be submitted as a Response Attachment in IonWave and shall include responses to Section 1 – 3. Written Proposals shall be a single PDF document with a maximum of twenty-five (25) pages (numbered 1-25).

Sections must be in order and clearly labeled as outlined below. Firm shall provide all information in a clear and concise manner to allow the evaluators clear understanding of the firm’s demonstrated competence and qualifications. Failure to provide the required information with the response may deem the Firm nonresponsive and disqualify the response from consideration from award.

Include a coversheet that includes your firm’s name, representative’s contact information, and RFP number and title. Coversheet does not count towards the 25-page limit.

Section 1: Qualifications and Experience of Firm and Personnel

1.1. Include a description of the firm including firm’s history and size. Provide information regarding how long the proposer has provided the services requested in this RFP.

1.2. Describe previous experience with SJCCD or other public entities and/or colleges. Include how many public entities and/or college accounts are in your current client base. Did your company perform satisfactorily to the terms and conditions of the last award given to your company? Were there any discrepancies, issues or complaints reported concerning your organization’s performance? Describe, if any, security breaches in your solution in the past five (5) years.

1.3. Provide a project-staffing plan and organizational chart for all proposed key staff members who will be assigned to this project. Identify their respective responsibilities for this project.

If personnel substitutions are contemplated on a contingency basis, they should also be identified.

Section 2: Scope Understanding and Specifications Alignment

2.1. Describe how your product/services meet the scope and specifications listed in this RFP.

Address any variances between your proposal and the scope/specifications.

2.2. Include the management and technical approach. Include details pertaining to your firm’s approach, implementation, product identification, and capabilities as are relevant to this proposal, delivery, installation, orientation, or maintenance, as proposer anticipates performing.

2.3. Explain the methodology used to design your product in a way that adds value to mentor/mentee interactions.

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2.4. Specify software implementation schedule, including estimation of time to complete implementation. If a delivery/installation date is listed in this RFP, provide the earliest date you can deliver/install.

2.5. List any extra services your company provides such as training and maintenance. If these services are not included in the price proposal, clearly indicate the respective fees for these additional services within the Price Proposal Attachment.

Section 3: Information Technology Software Capabilities

3.1. Software Capabilities

3.1.1. Describe reporting tools and any other technologies involved.

3.1.2. Describe level of customization possible and security management within the software.

3.1.3. Describe provisions that allow for hierarchical levels of access to data and data aggregation (e.g. individual faculty, department chair, dean, assessment office).

3.2. Data Compliance

3.2.1. Describe the system’s compliance with FERPA and other relevant privacy and security requirements.

3.2.2. Describe how you protect the College’s non-public data. Computer System

3.2.3. Specify browsers, systems, and devices (including Mac, mobile handheld devices) supported.

3.3. Computer System

3.3.1. Specify browsers, systems, and devices (including MAC, mobile handheld devices) supported.

3.3.2. Describe data backup, retention, and recovery approach and responsibilities.

Outline your process for system recovery.

3.3.3. Specify who owns the data and how it will be used by you and others related to you.

3.3.4. Explain options/costs involved for transferring data in the event the business relationship is terminated by either party.

3.4. Interface with other computer systems

3.4.1. Describe ability to import/export data with a variety of third-party systems including the College’s Single Sign-on System (SOS).

3.4.2. Describe your proven ability to interface with other third-party systems, such as

MS Office, and describe how we can move data between multiple systems.

3.5. Hardware/Software requirements

3.5.1. Hosting- Describe hosting requirements.

3.6. Training and Support

3.6.1. Describe any training needed to utilize these tools. Explain your intention and financial responsibility for training startup as well as on-going training.

3.6.2. Please describe support contracts, guaranteed response time, and methods of support (phone, email, chat).

3.6.3. Describe the process for receiving routine support and for issue escalation.

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3.6.4. Describe end-user support requirements. Is the College limited to a certain number of named support contacts? Is the College required to use specific support mechanisms?

What response and resolution timelines are there for resolving issues?

Section 4: References Include references in the Attributes tab in IonWave for the following:

4.1. Provide references on recent projects for which your company provided services similar to those outlined in this RFP. References must include a list of at least five (5) clients for which the firm's company is currently providing these services or has provided the same type and level of service within the past three years. The name, telephone number, and valid email address of a reference person who may be contacted for further information must be shown. It is highly preferable that these references are other colleges or public sector accounts comparable in size or larger.

4.2. All references will be contacted by email. Evaluations will be based on responses received from references. It is advisable to notify your references ahead of time that a reference will be requested by email.

Section 5: Exceptions to Terms and Conditions

An exception includes any addition, deletion, or other modification. Submit exceptions to terms and conditions as an attachment in the Response Attachment tab in IonWave as follows:

5.1. If you select Yes to “EXCEPTIONS TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS” under the Attributes tab, you must submit a written summary of each exception to this RFP, including the scope, specifications, and/or sample contract, as applicable. The summary shall include supporting justification that clearly identifies the specific reference, page, section, and sub-section of the change, relevance of the change, the vendor’s rationale for the change, and benefit to the College for accepting the change for the submitted exceptions to be considered in the evaluation.

5.2. The College’s evaluation of submitted exceptions will address the quantity of exceptions, type of exceptions, and justification(s) for exceptions. Fewer exceptions and/or exceptions with a lower risk to the College, if accepted, will equate to a higher score.

5.3. Any exceptions not explicitly stated may not be considered during contract negotiations, if any. The submittal of exceptions to terms and conditions does not guarantee the College’s acceptance of exceptions. The College reserves the right to accept or reject any exceptions as necessary to negotiate a mutually beneficial contract.

SECTION 6: PRICE PROPOSAL

6.1. Proposed pricing shall include all necessary labor, supervision, travel, equipment, materials, supplies, employer payments, overhead and profit, and applicable fees. Pricing shall include all discounts, annual escalation rate (if applicable), additional fees, set-up charges, equipment installation, calibration, training, and any other charges that may apply.

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6.2. Include pricing on the Line Items tab in IonWave for the following years:

1) Implementation Cost – Lump Sum

2) Year 1 Annual Cost

3) Year 2 Annual Cost

4) Year 3 Annual Cost – Optional Renewal

5) Year 4 Annual Cost – Optional Renewal

6) Year 5 Annual Cost – Optional Renewal

6.3. Required Pricing Attachment:

1) Provide a list with prices of any disposables that may be required to use the product in a typical education setting. Firm shall provide pricing for two (2) years with three

(3) one-year renewal options.

2) Give cost for additional matches for staff program.

3) For cost of additional matches for student program, provide pricing and details for increments ranging from 25 – 100, up to 2500.

4) If needed, to provide details of any costs not listed in the Line Items section. Any costs not explicitly stated in a proposal response shall not be charged to the College.

LIST OF RESPONSE ATTACHMENTS:

Include the following documents in the Response Attachments tab in IonWave.

All forms are available to download under the Attachments tab in IonWave. Except when listed as Optional, all Response Attachment documents are required and failure to provide a required document may deem the proposer non-responsive and disqualify the response from consideration for award.

1. Written Proposal

2. Pricing Attachment

3. Conflict of Interest form

4. Proof of Insurance Requirements

5. Exceptions to the RFP Contract Template (optional)