PWS USMMA Student Info System v20.pdf

PWS for USMMA SIS Replacement Project Page 1 of 39

Department of Transportation/Maritime Administration/U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

(USMMA)

Office of the Academic Dean and Provost

USMMA Student Information System (SIS) Replacement Project

Performance Work Statement (PWS) for the

Student Information System

Subscription as a Service (SaaS)

And

Implementation Services

September 2020

PWS for USMMA SIS Replacement Project Page 2 of 39

Contents

1.0 General

2.0 Specific Requirements for Task 1: SIS COTS Software Subscription

3.0 Specific Requirements for Task 2: Implementation Services

4.0 Contractor Quality Assurance

.0 List of Required Implementation Milestones

6.0 Meetings

7.0 Required Travel and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

Exhibit 1: Sample reports from RLEAP bolt-on

Exhibit 2: USMMA Curriculum and Cohorts

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Performance Work Statement (PWS) for the

Student Information System Subscription as a Service

And Implementation Service

1.0 General

1.1 Introduction

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (“USMMA” or “the Academy”) is seeking to subscribe to and install a student administrative computing system that will provide an integrated platform for all student administrative business processes supporting student admissions, student records, enrollment processing, payment processing, financial aid processing, and course and program administration. This system will replace the existing Unit 4 - Comprehensive Academic Management System (CAMS) system. Implementation services are also required.

1.2 Objective

The new student information system must securely manage confidential and sensitive data and allow ad hoc data reporting and extraction. The system should integrate data with/between other systems, including the current USMMA learning management system (Blackboard), and other systems, as necessary. The system must comply with U.S. Merchant Marine Academy rules and regulations and all appropriate federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Additionally, the Academy is seeking to purchase implementation services for the selected software. USMMA hopes to complete the implementation project in about 12 months from the start date. Offerors should propose an implementation schedule in this range, unless Offeror would recommend a different schedule.

1.3 Scope of Work

The objectives of the new administrative system are to:

• Enhance the student experience;

• Provide extensive self-service for students, instructors, and staff;

• Provide extensive support for the student administrative experience;

• Provide 'Best Practices' capabilities for basic higher education processes;

• Require minimal customization to support our needs;

• Provide extensive and easy to use management reporting capabilities;

and

• Interface to our other internal and external systems that we need to run our institution.

The functionality considered to be in scope for the new SIS includes, but is not limited to:

• Admissions & Recruitment

• Advising

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• Course Scheduling and Curriculum

• Degree Audit

• Reporting

• Grading

• Registration

• Self-Service (Portal and Mobile)

• Student Accounts/Financial Aid

• Student Records

• Optional functionality is described in the appendices of this PWS

• The Offeror response should provide a solution of readily available software based on full functionality as listed in the detailed requirements. For optional items, please price separately.

USMMA is interested in SaaS or cloud-based commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Student Information System (SIS) solutions. USMMA defines a COTS SIS solution as:

• A product developed by a commercial vendor that is tailored for the specific needs of supporting student administrative systems at an accredited college or university.

• A product that is designed to support a wide variety higher education institutions.

• A product that provides configuration tools to refine how each customer uses the product.

• A product that does not require customers to develop software (using its own staff or outside contractors) to address SIS needs.

• A product that provides on-going product updates and break / fix support as part of an annual subscription contract.

Currently, USMMA has developed significant functionality in its home-grown solution. Some of this functionality is very rich and complex and is beyond the capabilities of student information systems currently available in the marketplace.

As part of the implementation, it is anticipated that USMMA will need to re-platform some of this supplemental functionality to integrate with the proposed solution as part of a bolt-on. USMMA would take responsibility for this re-platform activity but may require integration assistance to ensure minimal impact to the vended solution, thus limiting the support requirements going forward. Please refer to Functional and Technical Requirements for the anticipated bolt-ons in the new solution.

The vendor may be required to assist with additional functionality or training.

Implementation Strategy The Academy has not yet determined an ideal implementation strategy. We request the Offeror to provide a sound implementation approach and corresponding project plan/timeline based on their experiences with similar institutions.

Implementation Timeline The Academy’s goal is to complete the implementation by September 30, 2021.

Offerors may also propose an alternate timeline and submit a corresponding project plan to match.

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1.4 Background

About the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy is a federal service academy that educates leaders of exemplary character who are inspired to serve the national security, marine transportation, and economic needs of the United States as licensed Merchant Marine Officers and commissioned officers in the U.S. Armed Forces. With 95 percent of the world's products transported over water, these leaders are vital to the effective operation of our merchant fleet for both commercial and military transport in peace and war. Academy graduates abide by the motto: “Acta Non Verba," or "Deeds Not Words," and are leaders that exemplify the concept of service-above-self.

Known for its rigorous academic program, USMMA requires more credit hours for a baccalaureate degree than any other federal service academy. This challenging coursework is augmented by the Academy’s Sea Year experience, which affords midshipmen the opportunity to acquire hands-on, real-world experiences aboard working commercial or military vessels sailing to ports around the world.

Midshipmen who master this demanding curriculum earn a unique combination of credentials:

• A highly regarded Bachelor of Science degree

• A U.S. Coast Guard license

• An officer’s commission in the U.S. Armed Forces

For this reason, Academy graduates are highly sought after as officers in the military and the merchant marine. This merchant fleet of efficient and productive commercial ships owned by U.S. companies and registered and operated under the American flag, forms an essential part of our domestic and international transportation system. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduates play a key role in this industry, which is vital to America’s economy and continued prosperity.

All graduates have a service obligation upon graduation that provides the most career options offered by any of the federal academies. Graduates can choose to:

• Work five years in the United States maritime industry with eight years of service as an officer in any reserve unit of the Armed Forces.

• Or five years on active duty in any of the nation’s Armed Forces.

In time of war or national emergency, the U.S. Merchant Marine becomes vital to national security as the "fourth arm of defense." Our merchant ships can be ordered to national service and take on the responsibility for delivering military troops, supplies and equipment overseas to our forces and allies operating as an auxiliary unit of the Navy. The stark lessons of the twenty first century conflicts again prove that a strong merchant marine is an essential part of American security and sea power.

The nation's economic and national security needs met by the U.S. Merchant Marine are compelling. Today, the United States imports approximately 85 percent of some 77 strategic commodities critical to America's industry and defense. Although we, as

PWS for USMMA SIS Replacement Project Page 6 of 39 a nation, account for only six percent of the world population, we purchase nearly a third of the world's output of raw materials. Ninety-nine percent of these materials are transported by merchant vessels.

But the most important element in a productive merchant fleet and a strong transportation industry is people - men and women who can lead with integrity, honor, intelligence, dedication, and competence. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy ensures that such people are available to the nation as shipboard officers and as leaders in the transportation field who will meet the challenges of the present and the future.

Current SIS System/Technology Overview USMMA currently manages student, course, financial aid, and enrollment and student records information in an on-premise application called CAMS, originally acquired through Three Rivers Systems. Admissions applications are administered through a built in-house application. The current learning management system (LMS) is Blackboard. Integrations are exceedingly difficult with the legacy CAMS system. Limited integrations along with the many point solutions cause a host of data synchronization issues and data reporting challenges.

The following table provides an overview of the current USMMA Technical Services Environment.

Service Software/Appliance Cloud or On-Premise

Identity Management Active Directory On=premise

E-mail:

Faculty/Staff/Student

Exchange On-premise

Learning Management System

Blackboard On-premise

Database(s) Microsoft SQL On-premise

Admissions/CRM Software

Homegrown On-premise

Emergency Notification SendWordNow/Alertus Cloud

HR/Staff Tracking Federal

Data Reporting Tools MS SQL Reporting Services On-premise whyDegree Audit Homegrown On-premise

Finance/Accounting Software

Federal

Calendaring Outlook 2016 & Homegrown On-premise

Ecommerce/Electronic Payment

PayEZ, Commerce Bank Gateway EDI Cloud

HR/Professional Development

Federal

Event Management manual

Financial Aid Software CAMS (not in use) On-premise

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Assessment Software Campus Labs Platform Cloud

Email Blasts Exchange On-premise

Emergency Notification SendWordNow/Alertus Cloud

Scheduling manual

Dashboard/Analytics Software

Campus Labs Insight Module/iDashboard

Cloud/On-premise

Program / Portfolio Management

Campus Labs-not currently in use Cloud

Portal – Midshipman & Faculty

Self-Service (CAMS) On-premise

E-Portfolio None but Campus Labs has product availability

Advancement/Fundraising CAMS Advancement Module/ Not used On-premise

1.5 Type of Contract Contemplated

One contract with two tasks is contemplated from this solicitation:

1. SIS COTS Software Subscription: This contract is expected to be firm-fixed-price. A one-year contract renewable annually for up to 4 (four) additional years at the initial base year pricing.

2. Implementation services: This contract may be either firm-fixed-price or time and materials with a not to exceed price.

The Academy prefers firm-fixed price, but the Offeror may propose time and materials with a suitable justification.

1.6 Period of Performance

The period of performance of the software contract is anticipated to be February 1, 2021 for 12 months as the base year, with up to 4 option years of subscription services.

The period of performance of the implementation services contract is anticipated to last 12-months starting on or about 10 business days after contract signing.

1.7 Place of Performance

The Place of Performance shall be conducted primarily at the contractor’s offsite facilities, although occasional work at the Kings Point, NY campus of USMMA may also be allowed pending ongoing assessments of campus physical opening hours.

1.8 Security Requirements and Documentation

All DOT systems must be evaluated under the FedRAMP controls to create a

FedRAMP authorization. Based on a recent RFI, USMMA did not identify current

COTS SIS products that are either FedRAMP authorized or meet NIST 800-53 standards. Since no responding SIS vendors can immediately comply, the Academy will evaluate products based on their current security capabilities and audits using

PWS for USMMA SIS Replacement Project Page 8 of 39 the NIST 800-53 Security Framework. The Academy will use the Educause Higher

Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit – LITE (HECVAT) as the baseline for the evaluation , and will supplement with documentations and evidence provided by the vendor for the application, their management controls and those of the infrastructure provider used. Information about HECVAT LITE can be found here.

(https://library.educause.edu/resources/2020/4/higher-education-community-vendor-assessment-toolkit#tools)

To begin this evaluation, Offerors are required to respond to the following:

• Submit your response to FedRAMP certification:

1. Is your SIS product or service FedRAMP authorized? YES/NO

2. Is your SIS product or service FedRAMP ready? YES/NO

3. Do you have plans to work toward FedRAMP authorization? YES/NO

• Submit your response to compliance with NIST Special Publication 800-53:

4. Is your SIS product or service been evaluated with NIST 800-53 standards?

YES/NO

5. Are you willing to work with USMMA to undertake a NIST 800-53 certification? YES/NO

• Submit your response to the HECVAT LITE questionnaire (separately attached):

• What date was this questionnaire completed?

• Has this information been verified by an external 3rd party verification service?

▪ If so, what is the name of the service and when was the evaluation completed?

▪ If not, will your firm be willing to conduct the evaluation prior to contract with the Academy?

The implementation of a new federal government cloud system requires a formal security certification process, known as Assessment and Authorization. For a moderate system, this assessment needs to be performed by a third-party assessor, using the methods in NIST 800-53A “Assessing Security and Privacy Controls in Federal Information Systems and Organizations: Building Effective Assessment Plans.” The contractor and Federal Government Agency share responsibility to ensure compliance with security requirements.

https://library.educause.edu/resources/2020/4/higher-education-community-vendor-assessment-toolkit#tools https://library.educause.edu/resources/2020/4/higher-education-community-vendor-assessment-toolkit#tools

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2.0 Specific Requirements for Task 1: SIS COTS Software Subscription

2.1 Mandatory Requirement

Requirement Number

Function Process Solution Description

0.0 Mandatory N/A

The Offeror must have a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) student information system or related product in production in at least one United States higher education institution. The COTS solution must be targeted to the higher education industry. Please provide the following details:

• Institution Name

• Contact Name at the Institution

• Product name

• Year the COTS product went into production at this institution

2.2 Requested Functional Capabilities

Requirement Number

Function Process Solution Description

1 Cross-System Person Information Describe entry, access, maintenance, and update capabilities of person demographic and contact information across the system with role-based security control.

2 Cross-System Person Information Describe capabilities to upload, track and follow up on missing/additional documentation, e.g. transcripts, immunizations.

3 Cross-System Person Information Describe entry, access, maintenance, and update capabilities of person ADA accommodation information across the system with role-based security control.

4 Cross-System Person Information Describe entry, access, maintenance, and update capabilities of international student information across the system with role-based security control.

5 Cross-System Person Information Describe entry, access, maintenance, and update capabilities of student FERPA information across the system with role-based security control.

6 Cross-System Holds Describe "hold" functionality within the system.

7 Cross-System Calendar Describe the institutional calendar setup and capabilities within the system.

8 Cross-System Calendar Describe the academic calendar(s) setup and capabilities within the system, including ability to differ calendars by program.

9 Cross-System Appointments Describe capabilities that allow a student to make appointments with advisors, staff, and faculty.

10 Cross-System Interaction History Describe interaction history capture, storage, and viewing capabilities.

11 Cross-System Campaign Management

Describe system capabilities to set up, maintain, track, and update recruiting, marketing, and retention campaigns, as well as the available attributes and capabilities related to each campaign.

12 Cross-System Campaign Management

Describe capabilities to target constituents based on recruiting/marketing/retention campaign goals, constituent attributes, priorities, etc.

13 Cross-System Communications Management

Describe system capabilities to setup and manage communication plans to individuals or groups, including templates, sequenced communications, and triggered events/follow-up, etc..

14 Cross-System Communications Management

Describe different communication delivery methods available in the system.

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Number

Function Process Solution Description

15 Cross-System Communications Management

Describe automated capabilities in processing incoming communications.

16 Cross-System External Entity Maintenance

Describe system capabilities related to maintaining and managing information related to external educational institutions.

17 Cross-System Approval Workflows Describe system workflow capabilities from both a set-up and user perspective.

18 Cross-System Notifications Framework

Describe system ability to send notifications of changes to a student's status to multiple recipients

19 Cross-System Document Management

Describe document management capabilities in the system, which modules and business processes are supported with document management.

20 Cross-System Reporting Describe system reporting capabilities from both a set-up and user perspective.

21 Recruitment Prospects Describe system capabilities from a prospect self-service perspective.

22 Recruitment Prospects Describe system capabilities from a recruiter perspective.

23 Recruitment Prospects Describe prospect management capabilities.

24 Admissions Application Describe the ability to configure multiple on-line admission applications, e.g.

for different programs, highlighting key capabilities available within the application set up.

25 Admissions Application Describe the online application process capabilities.

26 Admissions Application Processing

Describe system capabilities for automated determination of application completeness and admission status, possibly differing by program.

27 Admissions Application Processing

Describe application processing capabilities, including workflow, evaluation, individual or committee rating, rolling admissions, etc.

28 Admissions

Application Decision Comms / Response / Matriculation

Describe the system capabilities supporting the admissions decision from the institution as well as the applicant perspective.

29 Admissions Reporting Describe Admissions reporting capabilities including, standard reports, funnel reporting, and dashboard examples.

30 Admissions Application Processing

Describe system capabilities to integrate with DODMERB - Dept. of Defense Medical Examination Review Board - integration. DODMERB reviews physical eligibility of all applicants. Applicant lists are sent to DODMERB, and the lists are returned with an eligibility status for each applicant and eligibility expiry date. This is an eligibility for Naval Certification.

31 Admissions Application

Describe system capabilities to support Congressional nominations.

USMMA provides a log-in portal for each Congressional rep and Senator to access. They can see the USMMA applicant pool for their state, and which applicants have already been nominated by other congress members, and which applicants are still without a nomination. The congress members can then select up to 10 applicants from their state (or district) and submit those for nomination.

Advising and Degree Audit

Advising Describe system capabilities for advisor management and assignment.

Advising and Degree Audit

Advising Describe system capabilities for advisor/advisee interaction management and tracking.

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Function Process Solution Description

Advising and Degree Audit

Advising Describe system capabilities to support the academic planning process for students in working out a total curriculum plan to meet their academic objectives.

Advising and Degree Audit

Advising Describe any "early alert" or other proactive advising capabilities within the system.

Advising and Degree Audit

Degree Audit Describe degree audit set-up process.

Advising and Degree Audit

Degree Audit Describe degree audit processing capabilities.

38 Financial Aid Budgeting Describe capabilities to build, monitor and track financial aid budgets by funding source, in groups, and congregated.

39 Financial Aid Application Describe importing and processing of ISIRs in the system.

40 Financial Aid Application Describe how the system links FA application information and the student record to minimize duplication of data and enable anyone accessing the student record to have a full 360 views of the student.

41 Financial Aid Verification Describe system capabilities to conduct verification processing, including identifying, uploading and tracking required documentation, storing comments, and decisions with explanations.

42 Financial Aid Needs Analysis Describe capabilities to develop the cost of attendance (COA) by program, cohort and total cost based on student (with as much detail as possible).

43 Financial Aid Needs Analysis Describe system capabilities to calculate, update, and monitor the estimated family contribution (EFC) and the Needs Analysis based on the EFC, COA, other aid received, e.g. NSLDS, changes to the ISIR, and changes to fees.

44 Financial Aid Packaging Describe system capabilities to optimize packaging (by program) for each student based on formula set-up, incorporating funds received from third party resources, and without exceeding available funds.

45 Financial Aid Packaging Describe capabilities to recalculate individual awards or entire packages for students or groups of students.

46 Financial Aid Awarding Describe capability to award based on both scheduled academic year and borrower-based award years.

47 Financial Aid Awarding Describe the award process by which students are notified of their award, can make updates to loan information, and complete an online promissory note.

48 Financial Aid

Common Origination and Disbursement

(COD)

Describe system capabilities to support the Pell Common Origination and Disbursement Program (COD).

49 Financial Aid Disbursement

Describe the aid disbursement capabilities and process, including disbursement of funds, pending credits, etc. passed to the billing module and applied directly to a student's account, integration with Payroll/Human Resources (i.e. work-study payroll, stipends, etc.), and reconciliation with

COD.

50 Financial Aid Disbursement Describe capabilities to provide summary and detail disbursement reports.

51 Financial Aid Loan Processing Describe capabilities to support processing, monitoring and providing alerts regarding student loans and maintenance of loan requirements.

52 Financial Aid Loan Processing Describe integration with the National Student Loan Data System for staff and students to view total loan status.

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Function Process Solution Description

53 Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress

Describe system capabilities to support satisfactory academic process monitoring and processing, by program, including appeal processing.

54 Financial Aid Scholarships Describe system capabilities to support the application process, tracking, and the maintenance of institutional and external scholarships (scholarship, dollar amount, fund, satisfactory progress criteria, etc.).

55 Financial Aid Return to Title IV (R2T4)

Describe processing capabilities to meet Return to Title IV requirements.

56 Financial Aid Reporting

Describe capabilities to provide fund award detail or summary information by fund, student, class level, division, full-time, part-time, etc. including academic year specific requirements for fund based on award or disbursement rules.

57 Financial Aid Reporting Describe reporting capabilities to meet federal requirements. (e.g. FISAP).

58 Curriculum Program Setup/Maintenance

Describe capabilities to set up, maintain and update program details, as well as link them to degree audit and enrollment planning.

59 Curriculum Course Setup/Maintenance

Describe capabilities to set up, maintain and update course details, including attributes, and restrictions. Describe how learning competencies are recorded in the course setup.

60 Curriculum Course Offerings

Describe capabilities to set up, maintain and update course offering details by academic period, including attributes and restrictions, and including how attributes are inherited from the course record (and may be updated at the offering level).

61 Curriculum Course Offerings Describe current interface capabilities with LMS systems.

62 Curriculum Faculty Management

Describe what faculty/instructor information is maintained and updated in the system, including interface with the Human Resource system.

63 Curriculum Faculty Management

Describe faculty workload maintenance capabilities in the system.

64 Curriculum Building/Room Data Describe building/room attributes tracked in the system.

65 Curriculum Building/Room Data Describe any room scheduling, utilization, or conflict avoidance capabilities.

Student Records

Registration Describe how registration appointments can be set up in the system, based on different criteria by program.

Student Records

Registration Describe course/course offering search capabilities in the system available to users.

Student Records

Registration Describe instructor search capabilities in the system available to users.

Student Records

Registration Describe the registration/enrollment process for students (and staff), including add/drop and viewing resulting schedule of classes.

Student Records

Registration Describe the enrollment capabilities for programs which are "lock step", following a set curriculum by which students are automatically prescribed a set of courses each term.

Student Records

Registration Describe how the system enforces conflicts, restrictions, and alerts in the enrollment process.

Student Records

Registration Describe how a cancelled class is processed and appropriate actions and notifications are automated.

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Function Process Solution Description

Student Records

Waitlist Describe enrollment waitlist capabilities in the system.

Student Records

Class/Grade List Describe how class/grade rosters are viewed and processed, as well as interface for with LMS for roster/grade processing.

Student Records

Attendance Describe student course attendance tracking capabilities within the system.

Student Records

Grading Describe grading schema set up and maintenance capabilities in the system.

Student Records

Grading Describe grade processing capabilities within the system (as well as existing interface capabilities with LMS grading records), including change of grade and incomplete grade processing.

Student Records

Withdrawal Describe capabilities to set up automatic steps in the system for students wishing to completely withdraw from a term.

Student Records

Transfer Credit Describe capabilities to articulate transfer course work and capture in the student record.

Student Records

Post-Graduate Describe capabilities supporting post-graduate work such as thesis or dissertation monitoring and completion.

Student Records

Academic Record Describe the academic record created for each student including course work and statistics options.

Student Records

Academic Record Describe capabilities record competency evaluations and competency narratives that are separate from course grades in a student record

Student Records

Leave of Absence Describe capabilities to support establishing and monitoring a leave of absence for a student.

Student Records

Academic Standing Describe capabilities to define and compute different academic standing statuses (SAP, Honors, honor roll, etc.) by program.

Student Records

Graduation Describe capabilities to monitor graduation status, interface with the degree audit functionality, and any related graduation functionality within the system.

Student Records

Graduation Describe capabilities in the system to facilitate the graduation ceremony process.

Student Records

Transcript Describe transcript request and production functionality within the system

Student Records

Enrollment Verification

Describe enrollment verification request and production functionality within the system and interface capabilities with the National Student Clearinghouse.

Student Records

Track Student Data Describe system capabilities to track defined student data and attributes, e.g.

licensures, cohorts, certificates, etc.

Student Records ePortfolio Describe ePortfolio capabilities within the system.

Student Records

Veterans Processing

Describe capabilities to capture Veteran’s status of students and post VA benefits to the student’s account appropriately.

Student Records

Veterans Processing

Describe capabilities to support the maintaining, updating, and monitoring Education Plans for Veteran students.

Student Records

Reporting Describe support for federally mandated reports (e.g. IPEDS).

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Function Process Solution Description

Student Records

Reporting Describe capabilities for end users to create reports that can be utilized to track enrollment in programs, and selected courses, by cohort groups as independently defined.

Student Accounts

Tuition/Fee Calc and Assessment

Describe how tuition/fees are set up, maintained, and updated in the system (by program and student attributes).

Student Accounts

Tuition/Fee Calc and Assessment

Describe capabilities to assess and apply tuition/fees to the student's account.

Student Accounts

Billing/Payment Describe the student account in the system, how students and staff (and third party) may view the account, including the format options of the account view, and including financial aid credits.

Student Accounts

Billing/Payment Describe native student/third party payment capabilities in the system and any existing interfaces with third party payment applications.

Student Accounts

Education Tax Credits

Describe system capabilities for generating student 1098-T documents, including student ability to view and produce.

Student Accounts

Maintain Receivables

Describe system capabilities to monitor and process student accounts receivable processing including reconciliation processes, past due, collections, write-off, etc. and related reporting capabilities.

Student Accounts

Refunds Describe refunding capabilities and processing within the system

2.3 Requested Technical Capabilities

Requirement Number

Function Process Solution Description

200 Technical 'Performance, Scalability, and Fail-Over

Describe the technology used in the underlying architecture of your system.

201 Technical 'Performance, Scalability, and Fail-Over

The Academy has a series of SQL-based bolt-ons to the current SIS that will likely remain necessary with a new SIS. Please describe how easily or the degree of difficulty to connect with SQL applications and databases.

202 Technical 'Performance, Scalability, and Fail-Over

Describe how volume (batch) processing will not interfere with online responsiveness or availability.

203 Technical 'Performance, Scalability, and Fail-Over

Describe any backup, recovery, service failover features and services that your firm may provide, including disbursement across multiple data centers.

Please indicate if these services are optional or included as part of the standard product offering.

204 Technical 'Performance, Scalability, and Fail-Over

Describe how you can ensure that all data from this institution will only reside on servers located in the United States.

205 Technical 'Performance, Scalability, and Fail-Over

The Academy has a 10 GB internet pipeline. Please estimate how much bandwidth would this system consume on an average day?

206 Technical System Access and Usability

Describe how the system can integrate with and utilize external authentication and authorization services Specifically, describe how your solution integrates with Active Directory or SAML. Are you aware if the system has ever integrated with login.gov in the past?

207 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide real-time interface with Active Directory.

208 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide real-time interface with Office 365 or G Suite.

209 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide bi-directional, real-time interface with EMS (room scheduling).

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Function Process Solution Description

210 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide bi-directional, real-time interface with learning management systems (e.g. Blackboard).

211 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide bi-directional, real-time interface with student assessment/testing software (e.g. ExamSoft).

212 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide bi-directional, real-time interface with alumni development systems (e.g. Raiser's Edge, Advance, etc.).

213 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide bi-directional, real-time interface with CRM systems (e.g.

Microsoft Dynamics, etc.).

214 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide bi-directional, real-time interface with National Student Loan Data System (FinAid).

215 Technical Interfaces Ability to provide bi-directional, real-time interface with student engagement systems (e.g. Campus Labs, etc.)

216 Technical Interfaces Describe what capabilities are provided to import or export transactional data using bulk or batch file processing.

217 Technical Interfaces Describe any data exchange protocols, APIs, or integration frameworks that have been built for your system.

218 Technical Interfaces Describe user interface approach, e.g. function-based or role-based, and interface options and capabilities.

219 Technical Data Warehousing

Describe any optional or additional data warehousing modules or features available by the Offeror

220 Technical Documentation Does the system come with a data dictionary? Does it also come with documentation of standard business processes supported by the product?

221 Technical Security Can the system be configured to ensure that ALL data will reside on servers based in the United States?

223 Technical Security Describe system security capabilities from both a set-up and user perspective.

Technical Security Describe the Audit capabilities. Retention, availability, items included. Can this be adjusted by administrators?

225 Technical Security Detail how Personally identifiable information will be protected at rest and in transit. Include encryption method and compliance with FIPS140-2

226 Technical Security

System must be able to retain Application for one year and then disposed of for non-accepted midshipmen

Midshipman information for a minimum of enrollment plus one year (5 years) after which it will be transferred to the Federal Center for permanent retention

227 Technical Security Access must require two-factor authentication – preferable accepting PIV, CAC and TWIC cards

2.4 Bolt-on Capabilities

In this section, we note existing capabilities that have been built to enhance the current SIS. The Academy is interested to know if the proposed solution could be used to replace these bolt-on capabilities or not.

2.4.1 Admissions:

Overview: USMMA has developed a CAMS bolt-on for admissions capabilities that support online applications, electronic recommendations, and congressional

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Key Functionality:

• Applications: A single, standard online application is used for all undergrad applicants. The application supports document uploads and checklist items for artifacts received digitally and manually.

• References: Applicants can identify recommenders and their contact information. The system sends notices to recommenders, allows them to submit a recommendation, and allows a Referrer to decline or redirect a recommendation to another person.

• Congressional Nominations: The system presents a portal for each US Congress person and US Senator (or their delegates) to review the USMMA applicants for their state, to see which applicants have or have not been recommended, and allow for the nomination of up to 10 applicants. Basic reporting capabilities have also been developed.

Integration points with SIS: Currently, the admissions system has a bidirectional interface with the current SIS that pushes bio-demo data, student interest information, and application status.

Future SIS capabilities: USMMA would consider replacing this bolt-on if the proposed solution can support the key functionality. Admissions requirements are included as part of the functional requirements in Section 2.1.

2.4.2 Coast Guard STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping)

Overview: USMMA has developed a CAMS bolt-on to support the tracking of STCW competencies, the academic requirements that all midshipmen must complete to obtain licensure through the US Coast Guard.

• Licensure competencies: The system tracks all the academic competencies required by the Coast Guard. Competencies are delivered over multiple courses and frequently across multiple academic programs.

• Retained syllabi: The system stores uploaded copies of syllabi used by instructors that indicate where competencies were taught in the curriculum. Syllabi may be uploaded from faculty in various departments across the academy.

• Retained evaluations / test: Like syllabi, the system stores uploaded copies of the assessment tools used by instructors to evaluate student learning. At present, faculty manually track which competencies are assessed on evaluations and map the assessment back to competency achievement.

• Absence tracking: The system tracks absence information about students. This is used to calculate the requisite course hours being taught (or missed) by that student

PWS for USMMA SIS Replacement Project Page 17 of 39

• Grades: Each student is registered in a specific STCW course in CAMS as part of the regular curriculum. Once students have successfully passed all the competencies and a committee has validated this, then a grade for the STCW is entered in the SIS (not part of the integration). Faculty must track whether students fail and must re-take any assessments within a course as part of grade documentation.

• Program Accreditation / Authorization Letters: The Academy receives a program approval letter from the Coast Guard and their program that reflects the Academy’s compliance for those courses.

Integration points with SIS: Currently, the STCW system pulls course, instructor, and student data from CAMS SIS. No information is pushed back into CAMS. The certification must be reflected on the student’s transcript.

Future SIS capabilities: USMMA would consider replacing this bolt-on if the proposed solution can support the key functionality. STCW requirements are not listed separately in the list of requirements, although there are requirements related to competency tracking, transcripts, document retention tied to courses, and attendance tracking. Please respond if the proposed SIS solution could benefit USMMA in this area.

Function Process Solution Description

Bolt-on Functionality

STCW

Please describe how the system can support key functionality for STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) as described in the

RFP.

2.5 Optional Extended Functionality

2.5.1 Regimental Leadership (RLEAP)

Overview: USMMA has developed a CAMS bolt-on to support the tracking of midshipmen Regimental Leadership. This extensive bolt-on tracks very detailed assessments of five daily life requirements that are part of the midshipmen experience at USMMA. Each area is scored, and the rules change frequently.

There are extensive customized reports.

• Fitness: documents the outcomes from students’ physical fitness assessments, plus any additional repeated test outcomes that occur in the event of a failure.

Fitness tests are required multiple times each year and the history of all tests are retained.

• Inspections: students receive Class A and Class B inspections, with over 100 items assessed, that roll up into a grade (e.g., room inspections, uniform).

• Evaluations: Ten times per semester an assigned senior student provides an evaluation of a junior student to evaluate strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation is recorded as a grade.

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• Daily Participation: student participation and engagement in activities such as teams or sports is tracked and graded.

• Demerits: any demerits received by a student must be tracked, along with the steps taken to adjudicate the demerit.

Overall, 50 data points are tracked to show student growth over time within this system.

Integration points with SIS: Currently, the RLEAP system pulls course, instructor, and student data from CAMS SIS. No information is pushed back into CAMS.

Future SIS capabilities: USMMA would consider replacing this bolt-on if the proposed solution can support the key functionality. RLEAP requirements are not listed separately in the list of requirements, although there are requirements related to competency tracking and evaluations, document retention tied to courses, and attendance tracking. USMMA does not expect the future SIS to replace RLEAP functionality. Sample RLEAP reports are attached to this PWS.

Please see Exhibit 1 for examples.

Function Process Solution Description

Bolt-on Functionality

Regimental Leadership

(RLEAP)

Please describe how the system can support key functionality for Regimental Leadership (RLEAP) as described in the PWS.

2.5.2 Detailed student attendance and status tracking

Overview: USMMA keeps extensive lists on which midshipmen (student) might be on campus or at sea on any given day, their expected return date if they are not on campus, and any delays to their return date. Additionally, they are trying to track which midshipmen may be excused from campus for an authorized school event (e.g. athletic trip), excused medical absence, or other excused absences and leaves. In addition, several student status levels are also tracked for each student.

Currently, this information is circulated throughout campus by email distribution lists and posted spreadsheets. Only a few of the student status indicators are noted in the SIS and those data are often out of date. USMMA is interested in solutions for electronic notifications and reporting of real time status changes.

Proposed Key Functionality:

• Daily attendance tracking – not tied to a course. Similar to K-12 daily attendance tracking

• Daily student status (e.g., excused medical, excused athletics, delayed on ship, at sea, on campus, absent – unexcused)

• Retained history of daily attendance and daily status

• Secured access to edit and view based on security role

PWS for USMMA SIS Replacement Project Page 19 of 39

Future SIS capabilities: Please respond if the proposed SIS solution could benefit

USMMA in this area.

Function Process Solution Description

Potential Extended Functionality

Detailed student attendance and status tracking

Please describe how the system can support key functionality for detailed student attendance and status tracking as described in the PWS.

2.5.3 Detailed cohort tracking

Overview: USMMA utilizes a detailed student cohort structure to define groups of students who progress through the curriculum in a lockstep fashion. The cohort designators also describe which class year the student is affiliated with, which sailing period “split” the student is affiliated with, and when that cohort is expected to be at-sea or returned from sea.

There are many reasons why a student may fall out of or not keep pace with their assigned cohort. Eventually, the student will be assigned to a different cohort, but there could be a period of days or weeks when the student is in a type of limbo – yet their designation still indicates the original cohort. The Academy struggles to find an easy way to distinguish those students who have fallen out of their assigned cohort and are not yet assigned to a new cohort.

Please see Exhibit 2 for a detailed look at the curriculum and how midshipmen are split into curricular cohorts.

Proposed Key Functionality:

• The functional requirements already contain line items that refer to cohort tracking and lock-step progression through curriculum.

• An additional requirement question has been added to ask about tagging students who may be in between cohorts.

Function Process Solution Description

Potential Extended Functionality

Detailed cohort tracking

Please describe how the system can support key functionality for detailed cohort tracking as described in the PWS.

PWS for USMMA SIS Replacement Project Page 20 of 39

2.5.4 Physical fitness

Overview: For every trimester that they are on campus, students must complete a physical fitness assessment across twelve different physical fitness attributes.

Students who fail an assessment must also complete weekly remedial assessments until they pass the assessment. Assessment outcomes are part of what determines when students can go to sea. This results in USMMA maintaining an extensive set of physical fitness data, retained in a trimester-by-trimester format, kept by year, for 600 – 700 students per assessment cycle (with a smaller cohort going through the weekly remedial assessments).

USMMA currently tracks these data and assessment outcomes (e.g., age, height, weight, body fat, run times, pushups) on a series of unlinked, trimester/yearly spreadsheets, which makes reporting across the period of a given spreadsheet challenging and creates additional risk of data corruption from manual compilation of statistics across sheets. Assessors currently provide weekly updates via email to stakeholders monitoring the assessment status of students completing remedial assessments.

• Ability to run a roster report that determines who is eligible for physical fitness assessments for a given trimester, including key demographic data (e.g., name, gender, company, split, year) based on anticipated presence (e.g., on campus vs.

at sea).

• Ability to track and do longitudinal reporting on student fitness competencies / physical fitness assessment outcomes (e.g., via flex fields or evaluation score fields) tied to the student record (non-HIPAA only).

• Robust, role-based access controls to define who can see and make changes to fitness assessment information.

• Ability to push applicable physical fitness assessment outcome information to RLEAP bolt-on, or integrated RLEAP fields.

• Ability to pull physical stats information gathered during admissions into the student record.

• Ability to distribute automatic notifications on remedial assessment status updates.

Function Process Solution Description

Potential Extended Functionality

Physical fitness Please describe how the system can support key functionality for physical fitness as described in the PWS.

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2.5.5 Student Health Clearance

Overview: USMMA maintains a range of health-related clearance information on students, including information on medical holds, clearance to go to sea, health clearance for commissioning, compliance with health insurance requirements, and more. While not all the information maintained by USMMA for these purposes is PHI, to ensure full compliance with HIPAA, USMMA has maintained all information on a HIPAA-compliant, secured drive with restricted access.

Health Services is the primary populator of this drive, with some information shared with Shipboard Operations and other areas on a need to know basis (e.g., medical clearance and medical packets while at sea).

A third-party vendor currently collects and validates insurance information at the point of admissions. When students move out of admissions into current student status, the information is then moved to ownership by Health Services, so there is some interface between the two departments to hand off the information.

Processing students that are buying insurance through the institution is currently completely manual, once the third-party vendor determines that the student does not have existing coverage. Students must share health insurance paperwork multiple times because systems are not linked (e.g., at admission, once on campus, when it expires). USMMA would prefer that students be able to upload their insurance information with an expiration date to trigger a refresh automatically. Financial aid cost of attendance and aid packages are adjusted for those students who buy insurance through the Academy.

USMMA would like to tease out what information must continue to be maintained separately and what can be stored as non-PHI data within the SIS ecosystem, to simplify tracking, reporting, workflow options, etc. USMMA also cannot easily track and report on information they need today for things like contact tracing (e.g., COVID-19 exposure) because the institution does not have an effective way to electronically track and…