Q A.01.12.2012.doc

HCERA /SAFRA – Not-For-Profit (NFP) Servicer Program

Solicitation Number: NFP-RFP-2010

Questions and Answers, Posting #4 January 12, 2012

QUALIFICATION.

Question. Section C.1.2 of the solicitation provides that, “The Department seeks to contract with “eligible” and “qualified” entities to service Title IV student financial aid, in accordance with Section 2212 of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111-152, 124 Stat. 1029)…” Further, the Department has provided the following in previous Q&As (From 09/13/2010):

“Question: For proposals involving multiple entities, do all participants need to be “eligible” and “qualified” not‐for‐profit servicers?

Response: No, only the prime contractor will have to demonstrate they are “eligible” and “qualified.” The capabilities of the prime and any subcontractors will be considered together—as appropriate within the structure of a given proposal—in determining whether the combined entity is “qualified.” [Emphasis added.] To gain credit for an initial allocation of 100,000 accounts per participating entity, however, the proposal will need to include an explicit explanation of how each subcontractor is both "eligible" and "qualified."” While this indicates that the proposing team (inclusive of the Prime and Key Subcontractors) must be “qualified” to receive a contract award, it is not clear what qualification requirements exist in cases where a Prime has already received a contract award, and seeks to add additional Key Subcontractors. Can the Department provide clarification on what qualification requirements the team must comply with in order to add additional “eligible” entities?

Answer. Given the unique circumstances of this procurement and its three-year solicitation period, the Department recognizes that the requirements may continue to reasonably evolve during the course of the solicitation period. Thus, a Prime that currently holds a contract award and seeks to add a Key Subcontractor must demonstrate that the proposed Key Subcontractor either is “qualified” itself, or that the team is “qualified” with the addition of the Key Subcontractor in accordance with the NFP requirements version current at the time the Key Subcontractor is added. Information demonstrating the entity’s/team’s qualification as identified in Section D.2(a)(ii) should accompany the supporting eligibility documentation that is required in accordance with Section D.2(a)(i) for the proposed Key Subcontractor. This would also apply to primes at the time of award.

Q&A_IV_Final.NFP-RFP-2010