ESBD_526065_1782330435239_Addendum 2 Q&A.pdf
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- Solicitation number
- 784-26-2682
- Issued by
- Harris County, Texas
About this file
This is Addendum 2 to RFP 784-26-2682 for Student Success and Mentoring Software issued by the University of Houston-Downtown on June 24, 2026. The addendum addresses questions submitted by prospective vendors regarding the solicitation requirements and project scope. The RFP seeks a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service platform to support two existing peer mentoring programs: the First-Generation student program with 20 mentor participants and first-time college students in seminars with 25-30 mentor participants. The platform must enable automated mentor-mentee matching, integrated communication tools, data analytics, and outcome tracking to address current manual operational processes. The University anticipates a soft launch during Fall 2026 with full implementation by Spring 2027. The contract will commence upon execution, targeting July 2026, with an initial three-year term and two optional one-year renewal periods for a maximum five-year duration.
The addendum clarifies that the current project scope is restricted to the two formal existing programs; however, the University would consider expanding to support Transfer and Military-affiliated student populations in future phases based on available funding. The RFP was prompted by the need to consolidate multiple peer mentoring program objectives while establishing effective data collection and analytics capabilities. Departments involved include the Gator Success Institute and Gator Resource Center, while the Center for Career and Professional Development and Office of Alumni Relations are not involved in this initial iteration. Vendors must demonstrate a minimum of five years of experience providing mentoring or student success software to higher education institutions and provide at least three customer references. The platform must integrate with Slate CRM and other institutional systems while maintaining FERPA compliance.
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Addendum 2 Page 1
Addendum No. 2 – Questions & Answers Date: 06/24/2026
Request For Proposal: RFP 784-26-2682- Student Success and Mentoring Software
This addendum is intended to provide answers to questions submitted by the specified deadline.
Please find the questions and corresponding answers below.
1. Q: There is a gap between 6.9 CONTRACT COORDINATOR and 6.12.1 “All services performed shall be subject to review ...” – is there anything missing for Respondent review?
A: The gap between Sections 6.9 and 6.12.1 is a numbering error only. No content is missing from the solicitation.
2. Q: What prompted the issuance of this RFP? What processes and tools does UHD currently utilize to support mentorship programs? What gaps or challenges exist that led UHD to seek a software solution to support them?
A: The RFP was prompted to support the multiple peer mentoring program objectives, while providing a data analytics process to match mentors and mentees and collect data appropriately and efficiently to support programs in its alignment with the institutional objectives of enhancing student success. Moreover, there is an inability to track mentoring outcomes effectively as the operation of the program is manual.
The current process is primarily manual. UHD is seeking a software solution as there is no portal or repository to identify and provide appropriate data collection, know who the mentors or mentees are in the system, in addition to providing consistent and comprehensive support and embedded resources to support mentoring programming. More importantly, students use a system not designed for mentoring programming to communicate, thus posing an additional challenge in communication and the use of predictive analytics to evaluate the successes and opportunities of the peer mentor programming institutionally.
3. Q: Which UHD departments and/or stakeholders are involved in this project? Has UHD included the Center for Career and Professional Development and Office of Alumni Relations to support alumni mentorship / career mentorship programs?
Addendum 2 Page 2
A: Departments involved in this project are the Gator Success Institute and the Gator Resource Center as there are existing peer mentoring programs for first year and first-generation students. The Center for Career and Professional Development and Office of Alumni Relations are not involved in the first iteration of this project.
4. Q: How many programs does UHD anticipate needing to support with this project? How many mentorship participants for each?
A: UHD anticipates the need to support two peer mentoring programs. There are 20 mentor participants for the First-Gen program and approximately 25-30 mentor participants for first time students in college seminar courses. One mentor per seminar course section.
5. Q: What is UHD’s target go-live for these programs? Should we anticipate launching these programs for the upcoming Fall semester?
A: Considering the development of the two programs with the awarded vendor and providing appropriate training, the target is to fully launch Spring 2027, with a soft test time frame in the Fall semester. We anticipate launching during the Fall semester, but it does not seem realistic for the launch to occur at the start of the Fall semester.
6. Q: Assuming the launch of these programs is successful, which student/learner segments might UHD want to target next?
A: With the anticipated success of these programs, UHD would want to target the Transfer population and potentially our Military affiliated population.
7. Q: Our partners usually deploy a university-wide mentorship platform that supports both “flash” mentorship connections at scale, and formal mentorship programs that can be managed by designated formal mentoring program administrators for specific student populations.
Would UHD consider this model, or is the scope of this project restricted to formal programs only?
A: Currently, the scope of this project is for two formal existing programs, however, UHD would consider exploring other programs in the future based on funding.
All else remains the same.
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