MINES25044 Prospective Student Communication RFP Final.pdf

Request for Proposals MINES25044 Prospective Student Communication

Release Date:

April 30, 2025

Closing Date:

May 30, 2025

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL - THIS IS NOT AN ORDER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION TITLE PAGE

I. Background and Overview 2 II. Schedule of Activities 3 III. Administrative Information 4 III.J Evaluation Criteria 9

III.L.10. Cooperative Purchasing 11 IV. Scope of Work 12 V. Information Required from Offerors 14 VI. Pricing 18 VII. Signature Page 20

Exhibit A Sample Personal Service Agreement Exhibit A Exhibit B Data Protection Addendum (DPA) Exhibit B Exhibit C Sample Service Level Agreement Exhibit C

SECTION I

BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW

BACKGROUND:

THE COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES COMMUNITY: Colorado School of Mines (hereinafter referred to as “Mines” or “University”) is a public research university devoted to engineering and applied science. It has the highest admissions standards of any university in Colorado, and among the highest of any public university in the United States. Mines has distinguished itself by developing a curriculum and research program geared toward responsible stewardship of the earth and its resources. In addition to strong education and research programs in traditional fields of science and engineering, Mines is one of the very few institutions in the world having broad expertise in resource exploration, extraction, production, and utilization. As such, Mines occupies a unique position among the world’s institutions of higher education.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OVERVIEW:

Mines is seeking a qualified firm (“Contractor”) to provide enrollment strategy and communication marketing services for all Mines prospective undergraduate student search, inquiry and yield campaigns (“Services”).

Strategy and creative development and implementation of Services must begin no later than July 2025 for the Fall 2025 semester. Mines will require Services on an on-going basis for subsequent semesters. Mines’ goal is to significantly increase application numbers, strengthen national brand awareness and affinity with prospective student undergraduate audiences.

These Services must include all appropriate forms of communication marketing media such as emails, text, print on demand, and social marketing (optional), etc. (“Creative Marketing Elements”). Creative Marketing Elements must be based on the approved brand standard that accurately reflects Mines, highlights its unique features and promotes its engineering and applied science offerings which can be viewed at https://www.mines.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/ and https://gradprograms.mines.edu/. The successful Offeror should have extensive experience in digital advertising management for undergraduate and graduate programs.

The Admissions department (“ADM”) at Mines is responsible for attaining all incoming student class goals, across traditional undergraduate, transfer, graduate, and online populations. These goals are based on total class size targets, as well as segmentation. Mines receive 13,000+ undergraduate applications per year and admit roughly 50% of very well qualified student applicants. In the fall of 2024, Mines First-Year average admit had a 3.90 unweighted GPA and a 1400 SAT. ADM is comprised of 24 full-time staff members which include the Executive Director of Admissions, four Directors of Admissions, five Assistant Directors of Admissions, the International Admissions Coordinator, the Transfer Enrollment Coordinator, the Admissions Office Coordinator, Outreach focused recruiters, and additional staff. ADM works closely with our Registrar Office, Financial Aid, Global Education Department, Communication and Marketing Department, and Financial Aid.

The following scope of work is separated into two sections (A and B) for clarity. All sections together constitute the entire scope of work. Scope A “Multichannel Prospective Student Communication” will target undergraduate enrollment at this time. Admissions may extend these services to include graduate enrollment at a future date.

Scope B “Social Media and Web writing/support” must target both undergraduate and graduate audiences.

In order to be concerned the Offeror must provide submission for both of scopes of works (A and B). Only one

(1) Offeror will be awarded the RFP for both scopes of works.

https://www.mines.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/ https://gradprograms.mines.edu/

SECTION II

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

A. SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES DATE TIME (MT)

RFP Release Date Wednesday, April 30, 2025 Offeror Written Inquiry Deadline Friday, May 09, 2025 3:00 PM Responses to Written Inquiries As soon as possible Proposal Submission Deadline Friday, May 30, 2025 5:00 PM Presentations / Demonstrations If needed TBD if needed Best and Final Offers (BAFOs) If needed n/a

B. PRESENTATIONS/DEMONSTRATIONS

Following the completion of the scoring by the review committee, the highest scoring Offerors will be invited to present their solution to the review committee. The number of Offerors invited to present will be based on final scores and the recommendation of Procurement.

Date: TBD Time: TBD Location: Zoom Video Conference or onsite.

SECTION III

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

A. INVITATION TO OFFER AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFERORS

1. This RFP is issued for the Board of Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines for and on behalf of the Colorado School of Mines, a public institution of higher education, by the Mines Procurement and Contracting Department (“Procurement” or “Procurement Department”). This RFP is governed by the Colorado School of Mines Procurement Policies and Procedures (https://www.mines.edu/policy-library/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2020/05/Procurement-Policy-and-Procedures-May-2020.pdf), Colorado School of Mines Fiscal Policies (https://www.mines.edu/policy-library/financial/), the Constitution of the State of Colorado, the applicable Colorado Revised Statues, and all applicable Colorado regulations.

2. Mines is hereby contacting prospective Offerors (“Offeror” or “Offerors”) who have an interest or are known to do business relevant to this RFP. Offerors wishing to submit a proposal must do so as directed in this document.

3. Mines encourages participation from all types of businesses including, but not limited to small, minority-owned, women-owned, disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, HUBzone and large companies. If Offeror is able to provide the goods and/or services as requested, Mines encourages you to respond.

4. Communications during the solicitation process

a. Offerors or their agents are not to meet or communicate with Mines staff or any related parties associated with this opportunity during the pendency of the solicitation process (excluding any presentations, demonstrations, or formal procedures allowing questions). The solicitation process is deemed to have begun when Mines has publicly posted the advertisement of the RFP. The process is deemed to have concluded when a contract has been fully executed with the selected Offeror. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to know whether (s)he is engaging in an inappropriate communication with Mines staff.

i. Exception to the above is communication with the Procurement Department. Jennifer Good and Katarina Milewski shall be the exclusive point of contact throughout the RFP process.

b. Purchasing Agent Contact Information:

i. Jennifer Good and Katarina Milewski:

ii. Address: 1500 Illinois Street Suite 240, Golden, CO 80401

iii. Email Address: procurement@mines.edu

c. Inappropriate communication may result in disqualification from the current solicitation process.

B. RFP POSTING / RFP ADDENDA

1. This RFP is posted on Bidnet Direct (https://bidnetdirect.com/colorado).

2. In addition to posting the RFP on Bidnet Direct, Mines may utilize other methods to notify prospective Offerors of this solicitation.

3. In the event that it becomes necessary to revise or modify any part of this RFP, an addendum will be posted on Bidnet Direct.

https://www.mines.edu/policy-library/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2020/05/Procurement-Policy-and-Procedures-May-2020.pdf https://www.mines.edu/policy-library/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2020/05/Procurement-Policy-and-Procedures-May-2020.pdf https://www.mines.edu/policy-library/financial/ mailto:procurement@mines.edu https://bidnetdirect.com/colorado

4. It is the responsibility of Offerors to carefully and regularly monitor Bidnet Direct for any postings related to this RFP.

C. OFFERORS’ INQUIRIES

1. Prospective Offerors may make inquiries via Bidnet concerning this RFP.

a. No inquiries will be accepted after Friday, May 09, 2025, 3:00 PM Mountain Time.

2. Responses to any Offeror’s inquiries will be in writing, published as an Addendum. Offerors should not rely on any other statements that alter any specifications or other term or condition of the RFP outside of any officially posted Addendum.

D. RFP CANCELLATION

Mines reserve the right to cancel this RFP at any time, without penalty.

E. PROTESTED SOLICITATION OR AWARD

1. Should any Offeror find any part of the specifications, scope of work, or terms and conditions to be discrepant, incomplete, or otherwise questionable, it shall be the responsibility of the concerned Offeror to notify the Purchasing Agent listed in this RFP immediately upon receipt of this RFP.

2. Any actual or prospective Offeror who is aggrieved in connection with either the solicitation or subsequent award of a contract may protest as detailed in the Procurement Policy and Procedures. The protest shall be submitted in writing within seven (7) business days after such aggrieved person knows, or should have known, of the facts giving rise thereto (emphasis added).

3. With regard to the emphasized language above, it is important for Offerors to note that a challenge to the solicitation’s requirements or specifications should be made within seven (7) business days of when the protestable item is known.

4. Any protest shall be directed to procurement@mines.edu.

5. Announcement of the awarded Offeror will be made via a posting Bidnet Direct website. The requirement for timely submission of any subsequent protest is seven (7) business days. This timeframe begins on the first business day following the posting of the award notice on Bidnet Direct.

F. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

1. All proposals from Offerors MUST be submitted through Bidnet Direct

(https://bidnetdirect.com/colorado). Proposals must be received no later than Friday, May 30, 2025, 5:00 PM Mountain Time.

2. Proposals must be fully uploaded prior to the closing time. If submissions are in process during the closing time, Bidnet will not accept the submission.

3. Late proposals will NOT be accepted. It is the responsibility of Offerors to ensure the proposal is submitted on Bidnet Direct by the submission date and time.

mailto:procurement@mines.edu

4. Emailed submissions will NOT be accepted.

5. Do NOT email .ZIP files to Procurement@mines.edu – the email filter automatically blocks .ZIP files.

6. Confidential / Proprietary Information

a. Submission of confidential / proprietary Information

i. Mines neither requests nor encourages the submission of confidential/proprietary information in response to this RFP. The information submitted will be open for public inspection. If Offeror has confidential/proprietary information, written requests for confidentiality can be submitted with the proposal, provided that the submission strictly follows the procedures below. This remains the sole responsibility of the Offeror.

ii. Questions regarding the application of the procedure must be directed to the Purchasing Agent listed in this RFP.

iii. Neither a response in its entirety nor price information will be considered confidential information as detailed in Mines’ Procurement Policy and Procedures.

iv. Confidential information may include, but is not limited to, trade secrets, privileged information and confidential commercial and financial information furnished by Offeror and may be withheld from inspection pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”), C.R.S. 24-72-201.

v. Mines Procurement Department may attempt to cure any information that is found to be variant from the procedure below, however, an attempt to cure is not obligated.

The Offeror may be given an opportunity to cure any variances after proposal opening.

vi. Any confidential / proprietary information submitted correctly, per the procedure below, will be deemed confidential unless the Procurement Department makes a written determination denying the request for confidentiality. The written determination will be emailed to the Offeror. If Offeror disagrees with Procurement’s determination, the proposal may be withdrawn.

b. Procedure for submitting confidential / proprietary information

i. A written request for confidentiality shall be submitted by the Offeror, with the proposal submission.

ii. The written request must be accompanied by the information that is requested to be held confidential. Specific reasoning as to why each requested element is to remain confidential must be included.

iii. All requested confidential documents must be separated from the rest of the proposal.

iv. All documents that are requested as confidential or proprietary must have the term “Confidential” or “Proprietary” in their title/file name and be clearly marked as Confidential or Proprietary within the document.

v. Confidentiality requests not in compliance with this procedure may be declared non-responsive and not given further consideration or may be given an opportunity to cure.

G. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FORMAT

1. Proposals must include all requested information noted below.

2. Submit the following proposal information. Please include cover pages or headings for each section, appropriately labeled by title:

i. Written responses to questions in Section V Information Required from Offerors mailto:Procurement@mines.edu

ii. Section VI Pricing, completed

iii. Section VII Mandatory Signature Page, completed and signed

iv. Signed W-9 or W-8BEN

v. Personnel Resumes

vi. Signed Question Addendum (if applicable)

vii. Any other requested documentation requested in the scope of work

H. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS OF PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

1. Mines reserve the right to reject any or all proposals.

2. Offerors responding to this RFP need to register with and submit proposals through Bidnet Direct

(https://bidnetdirect.com/colorado).

3. RFP Response Material Ownership

i. All materials submitted by Offerors become property of Mines. The University has the right to retain the original proposal and other RFP response materials. As such, the University may retain or dispose of all copies as lawfully deemed appropriate.

ii. The University reserves the right to use any or all information/material presented in the RFP, subject to limitations outlined in the Submission of Confidential / Proprietary Information Section III.F.4.

iii. Proposals may be reviewed by any person after the notice of award has been posted to Bidnet Direct, subject to the terms of Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”) CRS §§24- 72-200.1 et seq.

4. The expenses incurred by the Offeror in preparation, submission, and presentation of the proposal are the responsibility of the Offeror and may not be charged to Mines.

5. A legally authorized agent of Offeror must sign the Mandatory Signature Page.

6. Conflicts of Interest

i. The signatory hereto avers that he/she is familiar with CRS §§18-8-301, et seq. (Bribery and Corrupt Influence) and CRS §§18-8-401, et seq., (Abuse of Public Office) as amended, and that no violation of such provisions is present.

ii. The signatory hereto avers that to his/her knowledge, no University employee has any personal or beneficial interest whatsoever in the service or property described herein. See CRS §24-18-201 and CRS §24-50-507.

7. A proposal submitted in response to this RFP shall constitute a binding offer, unless otherwise withdrawn as allowed herein or within the Procurement Policies and Procedures.

Acknowledgement of these conditions shall be indicated by signature of the Offeror, or an officer of the Offeror legally authorized to execute contractual obligations. A submission in response to this RFP acknowledges acceptance by the Offeror of all terms and conditions set forth herein.

The Offeror shall identify clearly and thoroughly any variations between its proposal and the University’s RFP. Failure to do so shall be deemed a waiver of any rights to subsequently modify the terms of performance, except as outlined or specified in the RFP.

8. Contents of the proposal of the awarded Offeror (excluding any contract submitted by Offeror) will become contractual obligations if awarded. Failure of the successful Offeror to accept these obligations may result in a cancellation of the award. If cancellation of the award occurs, the University reserves the right to enter into negotiations with other Offeror(s) on the same terms and conditions as set forth in this RFP, opt to not award a contract, cancel the solicitation, or make such other disposition as the University deems most advantageous

I. EVALUATION AND AWARD PROCESS

1. All proposals submitted by due date and time, in response to this RFP, will be reviewed for responsiveness, completeness, and compliance by Procurement prior to referral to the committee. Responsiveness means a proposal that is complete and conforms in all material respects to the requirements contained in this RFP. Mines reserve the right to reject any or all proposals deemed non-responsive. Mines reserves the right to waive what are, in its judgement, minor informalities and/or minor irregularities in proposals received if doing so is deemed in the best interest of Mines. If a proposal is unclear, Offerors may be asked to provide written clarification if it is the best interest of the University to do so. Mines, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to reject proposals that it determines do not sufficiently meet requirements so as to be responsive or that cannot be easily corrected or clarified.

2. An evaluation committee will individually score all responsive proposals received in accordance with general criteria defined herein. Total scores will be tabulated by Procurement.

3. Presentations / Demonstrations

i. A presentation and / or demonstration may be requested of the Offerors deemed most qualified, after initial evaluation. However, it should be understood that a presentation may not be requested of any or all Offerors, and therefore complete information should be submitted with the proposal. Mines reserve the right to award without a presentation or demonstration from Offerors.

ii. If the evaluation committee requires a presentation / demonstration, the purpose shall be to:

1. Allow Offeror(s) an opportunity to present its proposal to the evaluation committee (and other campus stakeholders, if needed);

2. Allow the Offeror an opportunity to demonstrate its background and capabilities in providing the requested goods and / or services;

3. Allow Mines an opportunity to obtain further clarification of proposal aspects;

4. Allow Mines an opportunity to ask questions of the Offeror regarding its proposal;

5. Allow Mines to choose an awarded Offeror.

4. Mines, at its discretion, may utilize a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) stage for the short-listed

Offerors.

5. The final recommendation of the evaluation committee, after all stages of the RFP process, will be officially recorded in writing by Procurement. The Procurement Department, after reviewing the final recommendation, will notify all Offerors of the results and post the award on Bidnet Direct.

6. The award will be made to the Offeror whose proposal, conforming to the RFP, is determined the most advantageous to the University, demonstrates the capabilities to perform the services, and offers beneficial pricing and other factors as noted herein considered. Mines may not select the lowest cost proposal. An agreement must be completed and signed by all parties concerned. In the event the parties are unable to enter into an agreement, the University reserves the right to enter into contract negotiations with other Offeror(s) on the same terms and conditions as set forth in this RFP, opt to not award a contract, cancel the solicitation, or make such other disposition or award as the University deems most advantageous.

7. After the RFP process is complete, should Mines fail to find an Offeror that is advantageous to

Mines, for any reason and in Mines’ sole discretion, Mines reserves the right to refuse or decline to award the RFP.

J. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The evaluation committee will evaluate the merit of proposals based on the following criteria:

Description Total Max Points:

1. Cost Max Points: 50

a. Proposed cost for services Max Points: 50

2. Service Performance Max Points: 75

a. Slate use capabilities Max Points: 15

b. Proposed service plan/ability to complete scope of work Max Points: 40

c. Experience providing services Max Points: 15

d. Proposed personnel Max Points: 5

3. Other Max points: 25

a. The proposal format is professional, organized and includes sufficient information and documentation. Max Points 10

b. Offeror is a good overall fit, or most beneficial for Mines. Max Points 15

K. DISQUALIFICATION OF OFFERORS

Offerors may be disqualified for any of the following reasons:

1. If Offeror or any Offeror’s agents contacts any Mines employee, other than the Procurement Department, during this RFP process (excluding discussion during any pre-bid or presentation events), as outlined in Section III.A.4., Offeror may be disqualified.

2. Failure of Offeror to provide in the proposal, any information requested in this RFP may result in a determination of non-responsiveness thereby disqualifying the proposal.

L. CONDITIONS OF FINAL AGREEMENT FOR AWARDED OFFEROR

1. The final Agreement resulting from the award will be in the form required by Mines, in compliance with current Colorado statutes and regulations, Mines Fiscal Rules, and Mines Procurement Policy and Procedures. The Agreement will include all such terms and conditions required by these statutes and rules, and the Agreement will acknowledge that such terms and conditions supersede any attachment or exhibit of the Agreement.

2. The final Agreement will state that Colorado law shall govern.

3. Offeror must agree to indemnify Mines, pursuant to the language in the attached sample Personal Services Agreement (“Agreement”).

4. The Constitution of the State of Colorado and CRS §24-106-109, the laws of the State of Colorado shall be applied in the interpretation, execution, and enforcement of any Agreement resulting from this RFP. Any provision of said Agreement, whether or not incorporated herein by reference, that requires the state or Mines to indemnify another person, to engage in binding arbitration or any other binding extra-judicial dispute resolution process, to limit liability for injury, death, or damage to tangible property, or which is otherwise in conflict with the referenced statute shall be considered null and void. Nothing contained in any provision which purports to negate this subsection or any other special provision (as contained in §18 of Mines’ Agreement), in whole or in part, shall be valid or enforceable or available in any action at law or in equity whether by way of complaint, defense or otherwise. Any provision rendered null and void by the operation of statute shall not invalidate the remainder of said Agreement to the extent that said Agreement is capable of continued performance if otherwise in accordance with the intent of the parties.

5. When Federally Funded grants are the originating funding source, additional contracting language as outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), available at https://www.acquisition.gov/far/, may be required, and, if required, will be non-negotiable.

6. All products produced in response to the Agreement resulting from this RFP will be the sole property of Mines unless otherwise noted in the final Agreement.

7. Term of the Agreement

i. The initial term of the final Agreement is anticipated to be for a period commencing as soon as possible after an Agreement has been reached and ending no later than one (1) year after the commencement of the Agreement.

ii. If Mines requires these same goods and/or services after the initial term, the Agreement may be extended and if necessary, pricing negotiated. Total term of the final Agreement may not exceed five (5) years.

iii. A sample Agreement is attached as Exhibit A.

8. Offeror may request exceptions to the standard terms and conditions of the Mines Agreement;

however:

i. Exceptions to certain terms and conditions are not allowed

1. Terms that are non-negotiable include but are not limited to, Section 18 Special

Provisions (located in Mines’ attached sample Agreement), and any items required by the State of Colorado Statutes.

2. Mines is prohibited from indemnifying (in any and all forms) any parties, including Offerors and any Offeror subcontractors. This point is non-negotiable.

ii. Mines may or may not accept Offeror’s requested exceptions.

iii. In lieu of exceptions, any blanket language such as “terms and conditions shall be negotiated in good faith” or other similar language will not be accepted. Offeror must provide any exceptions to the sample Agreement with proposal submission. Should Offeror not provide any exceptions, it is deemed that Offeror accepts the Agreement as presented in this RFP. Mines will reject any later attempts to negotiate the terms from the main body of the Agreement.

9. Offeror may provide a sample Offeror contract / End User License Agreement / Data Sharing Agreement / Software License Agreement / Maintenance Agreement / Technical Support Agreement or the like, that contains supplemental terms and conditions that Offeror desires to be included as part of the agreement. Mines may determine, after award, it is in its best interest to https://www.acquisition.gov/far/ utilize an Offeror contract but is not obligated or bound to do so. If Mines decides to utilize Offeror’s contract, Mines Special Provisions (located in Exhibit A) will be added, as well as any other state required statutes. Mines is not bound to accept these terms as part of the ensuing agreement.

Mines may negotiate such supplemental terms and conditions that do not materially conflict with the Agreement terms and conditions detailed in this RFP and do not materially change the nature of this solicitation or adversely affect competition. If the parties do not agree on the inclusion of the supplemental terms and conditions, Mines may: 1) enter into an agreement with the Awarded Offeror without the agreement submitted by the Offeror; or 2) such submissions will be considered non-responsive and Mines may enter into an agreement with another responsive Offeror. Mines will not consider any terms and conditions that are not submitted with the proposal including web links within an Offeror provided Agreement. Providing an Offeror sample contract of any type listed above does not alleviate Offeror of the responsibility of submitting exceptions, if any, to the Mines Agreement as noted above.

10. Cooperative Purchasing

i. By submitting a proposal to this RFP, being awarded and executing a final agreement, Offeror acknowledges that other eligible State Agencies, political subdivisions, or public institutions of higher education (“Participating Entity” or “Participating Entities”) are permitted to utilize the award of this RFP and final agreement, including pricing, at its discretion and with agreement of the awarded Offeror. Awarded Offeror may, at its sole discretion, accept an order from a Participating Entity for the purchase of the goods and/or services at the prices listed under the final agreement. Quantities and configurations will be agreed upon by the awarded Offeror and Participating Entity.

ii. Each Participating Entity will determine if it has authority to utilize the award and final contract and would like to contract directly with the awarded Offeror(s). The Participating Entity is responsible for establishing its own contract terms, placing its own orders, issuing its own purchase order, being invoiced and making payments. All cooperative purchasing shall be transacted solely between the requesting Participating Entity and Offeror.

iii. To be clear, it is understood and agreed that Mines is not a legally binding party to any contractual agreement made between the Participating Entity and the awarded Offeror(s) as a result of this RFP. The exercise of any rights, responsibilities or remedies by any Participating Entities or Offeror(s) shall be the obligation of each Participating Entity.

Mines assumes no responsibility for payment, performance, or any liability or obligation associated with any cooperative procurement. Mines shall not be responsible for any disputes arising out of transactions made by any Participating Entities.

11. Mines is not liable for any cost(s) incurred by successful Offeror prior to issuance of an agreement, or purchase order.

12. In the event the parties are unable to enter into an agreement, Mines reserves the right to enter into contract negotiations with other Offeror(s) on the same terms and conditions as set forth in the RFP, opt to not award a contract, cancel the solicitation, or make such other disposition or award as Mines deems most advantageous.

SECTION IV

SCOPE OF WORK

The Colorado School of Mines (the “University” or “Mines”) is seeking proposals from a qualified firm (“Contractor”) to provide an enrollment strategy and communication marketing services for all Mines prospective undergraduate student search, inquiry and yield campaigns. Strategy and creative development and implementation of Services must begin no later than July 2025 for the Fall 2025 semester. Mines will require Services on an on-going basis for subsequent semesters. Mines’ goal is to significantly increase application numbers, strengthen national brand awareness and affinity with prospective student undergraduate audiences.

These Services must include all appropriate forms of communication marketing media such as emails, text, print on demand, social marketing (optional), etc. (“Creative Marketing Elements”). Creative Marketing Elements must be based on the approved brand standard that accurately reflects Mines, highlights its unique features and promotes its engineering and applied science offerings which can be viewed at https://www.mines.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/ and https://gradprograms.mines.edu/. The successful Offeror should have extensive experience in digital advertising management for undergraduate and graduate programs.

The Admissions department (“ADM”) at Mines is responsible for attaining all incoming student class goals, across traditional undergraduate, transfer, graduate, and online populations. These goals are based on total class size targets, as well as segmentation. Mines receives 13,000+ undergraduate applications per year and admits roughly 50% of very well qualified student applicants. In the fall of 2024, Mines First-Year average admit had a

3.90 unweighted GPA and a 1400 SAT. ADM is comprised of 24 full-time staff members which include the Executive Director of Admissions, four Directors of Admissions, five Assistant Directors of Admissions, the International Admissions Coordinator, the Transfer Enrollment Coordinator, the Admissions Office Coordinator, Women and Diversity focused recruiters, and additional staff. ADM works closely with our Registrar Office, Financial Aid, Global Education Department, Communication and Marketing Department, and Financial Aid.

1. SCOPE OF WORK

The firm must provide the following scopes of works for Multichannel Prospective Student Communications and Social Media and Web writing/support.

The scopes of works are separated into two sections (A and B) for clarity. All sections together constitute the entire scope of work. Scope A “Multichannel Prospective Student Communication” will target undergraduate enrollment at this time. Admissions may extend these services to include graduate enrollment at a future date. Scope B “Social Media and Web writing/support” must target both undergraduate and graduate audiences.

A. Multichannel Prospective Student Communication (Undergraduate)

Required Features:

• Proposed solution must be with Technolution’s constituent relationship management platform, Slate, which is Mines’ platform for admissions and enrollment management.

• Preferred technical requirement: Native use of Slate for Creative Marketing.

• Minimum technical requirement: Slate Data Integration and experience with Slate clients

Preferred Features:

Proposed solution may offer the following features:

• Search/Inquiry campaign – 9th through 11th grade – (students and parents)

• Search/Inquiry campaign – 12th grade – (students and parents)

• Application-driving campaign

• Status based communication flow configuration for Seniors

• Yield campaigns

• Anti-melt campaigns

• Unlimited enrollment strategy and consulting

• List purchase and management services

• Customized Web development/hosting/tracking

• Complex marketing automation and communication flows

• Dynamic content and customization

• Full multi-channel copywriting and design services

• Email delivery and deliverability monitoring/reporting

• SMS delivery and deliverability monitoring/reporting

• Print logistics management – volumes TBD

B. Social Media and Web Writing/Support (Undergraduate and Graduate)

Offeror must provide social media and web writing/support services for undergraduate and graduate audiences.

Web writing/support services may include the following:

• Social media campaigns across various platforms (Twitter, Meta, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.)

• Website-based writing

• Support for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Identification of target audiences

• Performance of competitor analyses

• Work with the Admissions team to review and optimize campaign performances

SECTION V

INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM OFFERORS

Please respond to each of the following items below. If the Offeror fails to provide any of the information requested in this RFP, the Offeror’s response may be deemed non-responsive and that may result in disqualification of the Offeror. Please restate the question or request and respond accordingly.

A. Administrative Information:

1. Please list firm name (include any DBAs or parent companies), address, FEIN#, e-mail address and phone number. If you have a Denver Metro office that is different from the firm’s primary location, please provide that information.

2. Has your firm ever operated under a different name? Please list any previous names within the last ten (10) years.

3. Give a brief description of the firm, including size and number of years in business.

4. Provide a signed copy of your firm’s W-9, W-8BEN, or W-8BEN-E.

5. List whether your firm is registered (on SAM.gov) as a small business or other special business designation (e.g., veteran-owned, woman-owned, minority-owned, HUB-zone, etc.). If any of the designations apply, please be sure your firm’s W-9, W-8BEN, or W-8BEN-E is noted as such.

6. Awarded Offeror is required to obtain and maintain insurance as outlined in Exhibit A, Section 11

“INSURANCE.” Please affirm that your firm can meet these insurance requirements. You may have to check with your insurance carrier to verify that you can meet the requirements. Mines must be listed as additional insurance and subrogation waiver is required.

7. As a note, Mines, as a State of Colorado University of higher education, is exempt from all federal excise taxes and from all state government use taxes. Ensure any pricing excludes taxes. Please confirm acknowledgement.

8. Has your company ever been subject to or filed any litigation, judgements, claims, arbitration proceedings or lawsuits? If yes, provide details and state the current status.

9. Provide contact information (phone number and e-mail address) for at least three (3) references, (preferably higher education) that you authorize Mines to contact. Include description of work completed or product provided, dates of the work, how the reference is relevant to this RFP and Mines.

10. Provide the name, phone number and email address of the person(s) that should be contacted regarding the proposal.

11. Provide the name, phone number and email address for the person(s) who shall be assigned as the direct contact(s) for Mines for the duration of services provided.

12. Provide any Agreement exceptions (sample Agreement is attached as Exhibit A). Please note, not all contract exceptions will be accepted as Mines is a State of Colorado entity. See Section III.L. of this RFP for additional important information. Please confirm acknowledgement.

13. Mines is a pay-to-park campus. All parking information can be found at https://www.mines.edu/parking/. If, as a part of the final Agreement, Offeror must be on campus, Offeror is responsible for all parking costs. Please confirm acknowledgement.

14. If it is your intention to submit confidential or proprietary information, carefully review Section

III.F.4.b. and properly follow the outlined procedures. Please confirm acknowledgement.

B. Scope of Work:

1. Include a Letter of Interest & Executive Summary. The letter should include a response to how you meet the qualifications (including Desired Features) listed in the scope of work. The executive summary (i.e., a proposal overview) should help the evaluation committee determine the proposal’s distinguishing characteristics. Please note any differences in capabilities.

2. Provide an overview of your firm’s experience providing these Services as outlined in the Scope of Work.

3. Describe your experience and familiarity with Slate and what types and level of consulting support you can offer.

4. Would Mines have a team (or agent(s)) dedicated specifically to working with Mines? If so, please provide role, experience and resumes for dedicated personnel who will/may be assigned to Mines for this project.

5. Will any part of the scope of work be completed using subcontractors?

6. Are multi-channel copywriting and design services included? Please describe.

7. Confirm that you have thoroughly reviewed the Data Protection Addendum (“DPA”) attached as

Exhibit B. The DPA will be part of the final contract.

8. Confirm that you have thoroughly reviewed the Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) attached as

Exhibit C. The SLA will be part of the final contract.

C. Experience

1. Please provide an overview of your firm’s experience providing these Services as outlined in the Scope of Work (Section IV 1.A and 1.B). If your firm cannot meet any of the requirement(s), please explain.

2. Please explain how your firm would be able to satisfy the scope of work (required and preferred features). Be sure to include the following:

i. Describe your experience with enrollment strategy and related communications, including what services/support is provided through the enrollment funnels.

ii. Describe how you support institutions with web development and analysis.

iii. Describe your experience and use of Slate for communications.

https://www.mines.edu/parking/

2. Describe the firm’s relevant experience providing the following services.

i. Slate and what types

ii. What types and level of consulting support can be offered

iii. Social media campaigns

iv. Support for Search Engine Optimization (“SEO”)

v. Compatibility with Technolutions

3. Do you provide social media services? Please provide details and examples (photo or written) of past social media campaigns.

4. Provide the following information for at least (2) higher education clients you provide there or similar services to currently or in the last two (2) years:

i. Company/Client name and location

ii. Start date (and end if applicable)

iii. Brief description of scope of work

iv. A company/client contact name, phone number and e-mail address.

D. Customer Service

1. Please include your Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) for responding to questions, concerns, or issues. A sample SLA showing the desired Mines’ desired level of service is attached as Exhibit C Service Level Agreement.

2. How do you track customer satisfaction?

3. What is your average response time for support?

4. What is the average time to resolution?

5. How can we escalate issues or urgent needs?

6. How can we escalate unresolved issues with software or services?

7. How can we request support for urgent needs?

E. Additional Guidance

1. Besides the services listed in the scope or work, does your firm provide any other hardware, software or services that would be beneficial to Mines?

2. Besides what is listed in the Scope of Work, are there additional features or services that your firm provides that could be beneficial to the Mines Community? Please provide full details.

3. Is there any additional information that Mines should be aware of or anything that you believe

Mines has overlooked regarding this project?

F. Training/ Onboarding / Implementation / Ongoing Support

1. Please describe your onboarding, and/or training. How long will it take to onboard?

2. Please describe your implementation process and timeline for implementation?

3. Describe, in detail, how the ongoing administrator support/training will be handled after the implementation phase and initial training is performed.

SECTION VI

PRICING

Offerors must provide a firm fixed price for completion of all deliverables and milestones, including but not limited to, hourly billing rates for participating staff and resources. The cost proposal must include all design, production, testing and software necessary for the development of the site. Offerors must include breakout costs based on the scope of the project, including itemized one-time set up costs, implementation costs, seat licenses and ongoing fees, and integration costs. Estimated proposal prices are not acceptable.

If the execution of work to be performed requires the hiring of subcontractors, you must clearly state this in your proposal.

In consideration of the Offerors promises and satisfactory performance, Mines will pay the firm the amount(s) identified in the solicitation documents, plus any other expenses identified as reimbursable in the solicitation documents. In no event, however, will payments under this Contract exceed the “total not-to-exceed” amount in the solicitation documents without the prior written approval of Mines. The Offerors right to the Fee is contingent on the complete and satisfactory performance of project work and/or the milestone.

1. Milestones

i. Milestone Payment shall be made to the Firm when requested at the completion of each milestone agreed upon by both parties.

ii. The Firm must submit certification of the completion of the performance milestone for which the payment is being requested. Such certification and performance milestones will be established at the time of the award and inserted into the contract.

3. Pricing & Billing

Provide detailed pricing including any options. Please list what is included in cost/ a cost breakout for years 1 - 5. May include:

i. Cost for marketing and communication services (if unlimited records are not offered, please provide a detailed matrix of cost thresholds)

ii. Describe what is included in the pricing.

iii. Training

iv. Consulting

v. Additional features or services.

vi. Annual fees

vii. Explain your billing procedure including timeframe of invoicing.

2. Invoices

i. Explain your billing procedure including timeframe of invoicing.

ii. All invoices must comply with requirements. All invoices under this Contract must be sent to the

“ship to” address in the applicable purchase order. Mines will notify the Offeror in writing within 15 business days after it receives a defective invoice of any defect and provide the information necessary to correct the defect.

iii. Invoices must include the following information:

• Contract number

• Supplier name and address

• Full description of good/service (itemized)

• Unit of cost (hourly, quantity, # of licenses, etc.)

• Date of service

• Original line amount

• Discount amount (if applicable)

• Final line amount

• Total amount of invoice

• Provide a sample invoice

3. Contingency

Mines may opt to add continency funds to the final contracted cost. Contingency funds shall be used to add any additional goods/services listed in the scope of work, but that are not currently known to be needed. For example, contingency funds may be used to cover expanding the Solution to new buildings that are built by or otherwise acquired by Mines during the duration of this contract, or to increase services in an area.

SECTION VII

SIGNATURE PAGE

By signing below, the Offeror affirms acceptance of all terms listed in this Request for Proposal, as issued by Mines.

Offeror’s Legal Name:

Firm Address:

Printed Name of Authorized Representative:

Signature of Authorized Representative:

Title:

Telephone:

Email:

Date of Signature:

EXHIBIT A - SAMPLE PERSONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT

EXHIBIT B - DATA PROTECTION ADDENDUM (DPA)

EXHIBIT C - SAMPLE SERVICES LEVEL AGREEMENT

Available on Bidnet

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