ESBD_File_341035_RFQ 754-TXST-2024-RFQ-341-TSIE Intensive English Instruction.pdf

SECTION 1 – PROJECT: Intensive English Instruction and Pathways Programming

1.1 The University desires to enter into a Contract with a qualified, capable and experienced firm to provide the described Work more specifically described in Section 2 (Scope of

Work).

1.2 The length of such Contract shall be a commercially appropriate length. If the University and the "most qualified" successful Respondent are unable to sign, negotiate and execute a

Contract, the University reserves the right to seek alternative Respondents to make an award.

1.3 GROUP PURCHASING AUTHORITY – Texas law authorizes Institutions of Higher education (defined by Section 61.003, Education Code) to use the group purchasing procurement method (ref. Sections 51.9335 Education Code). Institutions of Higher

Education may enter into a Contract with the successful Respondent(s) for the purchase of the services described herein based on demonstrated competence, knowledge and qualifications by the successful Respondent for the duration of any Agreement or

Contractual arrangement resulting from this Solicitation. These State Agencies and

Institutions of Higher Education will issue their own purchase orders, directly receive goods or services at their place of business and be directly billed by the successful

Respondent.

SECTION 2 – SCOPE OF WORK

2.1 Scope of work

Texas State University is seeking responses to this RFQ from qualified individuals or firms

(Respondents) so that Texas State may procure the services of a provider of in-person and online Intensive English (English as a Second Language) instruction to be offered by Texas

State university with predominant instruction conducted at both our San Marcos and Round

Rock campus locations. Respondents must have the capability to provide the necessary F-1 or J-1 documentation for visa issuance such as forms I-20 and DS-2019 as needed. Of special interest are respondents who have the capability to recruit international students for the Intensive English program.

For the purpose of this RFQ key definitions include:

DEFINITIONS

"Intensive English" or “IE” means non-credit instructional programming for non-native

English-speaking international students with teaching in grammar, reading, writing, and speaking.

"Pathways Program” are courses specially designed to prepare international students for university study.

"Full Time Study" ordinarily means 20 hours of Intensive English instruction each week.

“Part Time Study” refers to enrollment in an Intensive English program at fewer than 20 hours per week.

"Laws" means the laws in force in the State of Texas and the United States ("U.S.") of

America, and any other laws applicable to this Agreement.

"Marks" means logos, trademarks, designs, and crests that belong to or carry the name of

Texas State University.

"Prospective Student" means a person who resides in a country other than the U.S., who is not eligible to receive Title IV benefits, and who intends to become, or who has taken any steps towards becoming an Intensive English Student.

"Services" means the services described in this RFQ.

“Student” means a person who resides in a country other than the U.S., is in a non-immigrant status, and is currently enrolled in an Intensive English program at Texas State

University.

“Recruiting” refers to promotion and marketing of Intensive English programming to prospective Students in various countries outside the United States.

“I-20” refers to the Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students Status.

“DS-2019” refers to the Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status.

The selected individual or firm as provider of the Intensive English programming and student services to the University will be expected to:

• Provide regular instruction for Intensive English courses both online and in-person at the Texas State University San Marcos and Round Rock campus locations to:

o Meet the needs of full-time and part-time Students in the program o Encourage Students to complete appropriate levels of IE instruction in order to meet the Student’s personal or professional goals and/or to gain admittance to the University’s academic degree programs o Offer sufficient levels of instruction in IE in order to attract new Students and fulfill teaching and learning objectives for current Students

• Report milestones in recruitment of IE Students. Reporting should occur at least twice a year, preferably in early fall and late spring, and may be submitted in a format which is mutually agreed so agencies may have flexibility.

• Recruit Students from diverse geographic regions.

• Recruit students from diverse markets to include but not limited to students outside the

U.S. local community industry-based among others.

• Offer targeted and individualized flexible programs to include but not limited to short-term and industry-based programs.

• Maintain a high degree of confidentiality and integrity throughout the recruitment process.

• Issue I-20s and DS-2019s to assist recruited students with visa processing requirements as needed for students seeking F-1 or J-1 status in the U.S.

• Collaborate with the University to offer a Pathways Program for students who wish to transition from an Intensive English program to pursue an academic degree at the University by offering Pathways courses.

2.1.1 Compensation

The University expects to award one contract to an Intensive English provider for these services (work). Texas State will pay the successful bidder on a commission basis per semester per credit hour for each non-U.S. resident student recruited by the vendor for the program. Local students who enroll in the program will not be subject to compensation under this model. The percentage will be calculated based on vendor’s experience and ability to serve the University.

For students recruited to the program by the University including students already in the United States, the vendor should provide a rate schedule for instructional costs and allow the University to set and collect tuition for those participants. The instructional cost schedule should align with incremental costs without administrative overhead.

2.2 Proposal Components

The following documents are required as part of your proposal response. Failure to provide these documents will be basis for response disqualification.

1. Signed Execution of Offer

2. Statement of Qualifications Package

a. Section 4, including Criterion One, Two, Three, Four, and Five

3. Non-Collusion Affidavit

4. Respondent’s exceptions to Texas State standard contract.

All electronic documents must be in either Microsoft Office software or Adobe portable

Document (PDF) format. All image files must be in one of the following formats: .jpg, .gif, .bmp, or .tif.

Only Proposals submitted through the electronic bidding system will be reviewed.

2.3 Inquiries and Interpretations

Responses to inquiries which directly affect an interpretation or change to this RFQ shall be posted on the Q & A portion of the solicitation.

SECTION 3 – SELECTION CRITERIA

3.1 GENERAL SELECTION CRITERIA: The Respondent selected for award of any

Agreement or Contractual arrangement resulting from this Solicitation will be the

Respondent whose Proposal is judged most advantageous and the Most Qualified to the

University.

Criteria upon which Proposals will be evaluated are the following:

25% References (2-3)

25% Number of successfully enrolled Students to higher education institutions in the U.S for

Intensive English study.

15% Number of countries successfully enrolled IE Students have been recruited from

10% Number of years the agency has been in the Intensive English Student recruiting business

25% Demonstrated quality of instruction of the Intensive English and Pathways Project courses

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: The Proposal must be completed and signed in the firm's name or corporate name of the Respondent, and must be properly and fully executed and signed by an authorized representative of the Respondent who has the authority to obligate the Firm in the event of an award.

3.2 SELECTION PROCESS – Texas State will base its choice on demonstrated competence, knowledge, and qualifications.

• The RESPONDENT selected will be the one whose experience and qualifications, as presented in response to this RFQ, establish them, in the opinion of Texas State, as well qualified and offering the greatest benefits, experience to Texas State.

• Texas State may cancel this RFQ or reject proposals at any time prior to an award and is not required to furnish a statement of the reasons why a particular proposal was not deemed to be the most advantageous. Should Texas State determine in its sole discretion that only one RESPONDENT is fully qualified, or that one vendor is clearly more highly qualified than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that

RESPONDENT.

• The award document will be an agreement incorporating by reference all the requirements, terms and conditions of the solicitation and the

RESPONDENT's proposal as negotiated.

• Submission of proposals indicates RESPONDENT's acceptance of the evaluation techniques and the recognition that subjective judgments must be made by Texas State during the evaluation process.

• The selection of the successful proposal may be made by Texas State on the basis of the proposals initially submitted, without discussion, clarification, or modification. In the alternative, selection of the successful proposal may be made by Texas State on the basis of negotiation with any of the

RESPONDENTS. Texas State shall not disclose any information derived from the proposals submitted by competing RESPONDENTs in conducting such discussions.

• All proposals must be complete and convey all of the information requested to be considered responsive. If a proposal fails to conform to the essential requirements of the RFQ, Texas State alone will determine whether the variance is significant enough to consider the proposal susceptible to being made acceptable, and therefore a candidate for further consideration, or not susceptible and therefore not considered for award.

• Texas State reserves the right to check references prior to award. Any negative responses received may be grounds for disqualification of the proposal.

• Texas State reserves the right to accept or reject any, part or all offers, to waive informalities and technicalities, to accept the offer considered most advantageous, award to multiple RESPONDENTs, or to make the award to the most responsive RESPONDENT.

SECTION 4 – QUALIFICATIONS

Address the following questions and upload with your proposal.

4.1 CRITERION ONE: REFERENCES

4.1. Respondent should provide two to three references with contact information.

References shall be considered relevant based on specific project participation and experience with the Respondent. The University may contact references during any part of this process. The University reserves the right to contact any other references at any time during the Solicitation process.

4.2 CRITERION TWO: NUMBER OF SUCCESSFULLY ENROLLED INTENSIVE ENGLISH

STUDENTS TO HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE U.S FOR IE STUDY.

4.2.1 Respondent should provide the number of successfully enrolled students to higher education institution in the U.S. for Intensive English study and provide data to support this.

4.2.2 Respondent should describe the geographic distribution of recruits to IE programs by number of recruits and locations around the world.

4.3 CRITERION THREE: NUMBER OF COUNTRIES SUCCESSFULLY ENROLLED

INTENSIVE ENGLISH STUDENTS HAVE BEEN RECRUITED FROM

4.3.1 Respondent should provide the number of countries successfully enrolled IE

Students have been recruited from and provide data to support this.

4.3.2 Respondent should describe and differentiate if appropriate the marketing efforts, software, and approaches taken to successfully recruit IE Students.

4.4 CRITERION FOUR: NUMBER OF YEARS THE AGENCY HAS BEEN IN THE

INTENSIVE ENGLISH STUDENT RECRUITING BUSINESS

4.4.1 Respondent should provide the number of years the agency has been in the

Intensive English Student recruiting business and provide data to support this.

4.4.2 Respondent should provide a description of any relationships or formal partnerships developed for successful IE Student recruitment in international markets.

4.5 CRITERION FIVE: DEMONSTRATED QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION OF THE

INTENSIVE ENGLISH AND PATHWAYS PROJECT COURSES

4.5.1 Respondent should provide a thorough description of the Intensive English programming.

4.5.2 Respondent should provide a thorough description of the Pathways

Programming.

4.5.3 Respondent should describe the continuous improvement process for the

Intensive English and Pathways Programming.

4.5.4 Respondent should describe student services provided in support of the

Intensive English and Pathways Programming including assistance provided with

F-1 and J-1 application processing.

4.5.5 Respondent should describe the facilities and services they need from the

University (i.e., classroom space, software programs)

4.5.5 Respondent should provide metrics relevant to student success in their programs such as persistence, completion, and admissions rates to degree-granting programs.

SECTION 5 – SCHEDULE OF PROPOSAL PROCESS

The University wishes to adhere to the following schedule:

DATE: ACTION:

Nov 3, 2023: Deadline for submission of questions and/or clarifications regarding RFQ. All questions must be received by 3:00 p.m. Central Standard/Daylight Time in order to be considered.

Question will be answered on the Q & A Board.

Nov 28, 2023: Responses electronically submitted in the University's e-bidding system on or before

5:00 p.m. Central Standard/Daylight Time.

Nov 30, 2023: Clarification of responses, negotiations, and/or demonstrations/presentations (if necessary)

TBD: Notification of successful Respondent(s) contingent upon execution of contract.

TBD: Recommend of Award and approval to enter into Contract(s).

TBD, 2023: Contract(s) executed.

Jan 15, 2024: Work to begin

NOTE: This schedule may be modified or changed at the sole discretion of the University, if it is determined to be in the University’s best interests to do so.

SECTION 6 – HUB SUBCONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS

6.1 HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS: All agencies of the State of Texas are required to make a "good faith effort" to assist

Historically Underutilized Businesses (each a “HUB”) in receiving their fair share of

Contract or Subcontract awards. The goal of the HUB program is to promote full and equal business opportunity for all businesses in contracting with state agencies. If under the terms of any Agreement or Contractual arrangement resulting from this Solicitation, Respondent subcontracts any of the Services then, Respondent must make a good faith effort attempt to utilize HUBs certified by the Statewide Procurement Division of the Texas Comptroller of

Public Accounts (SPD).

Proposals that fail to comply with the subcontracting requirements contained in this

Solicitation will constitute a material failure to comply with advertised Specifications and will be rejected by the University as non-responsive. Additionally, compliance with good faith effort guidelines is a condition precedent to awarding any Agreement or

Contractual arrangement resulting from this Solicitation. Respondent acknowledges that, if selected by the University, its obligation to make a good faith effort to utilize HUBs when subcontracting any of the Services will continue throughout the term of all Agreements or

Contractual arrangements resulting from this Solicitation. Furthermore, any subcontracting of the Services by the successful Respondent(s) is subject to review by the University to ensure compliance with the HUB program requirements.

If the University determines that subcontracting opportunities are probable, then a HUB

Subcontracting Plan (HSP) may be required.

6.1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBABILITY: The University has determined that subcontracting opportunities are NOT probable in connection with this

Procurement Solicitation. Therefore, a HUB Subcontracting Plan (HSP) is NOT required as a part of the Respondent's Proposal.