RFI 02-25-26_GeneralAL_Student Support.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

RFI SPC#02-25-26

GenAI Student Support Platform

Issued: 09/02/2025 at 8:00 AM (EST) Due: 09/29/2025 at 2:00 pm (EST)

St. Petersburg College

PO Box 13489 St. Petersburg FL 33733

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION # 02-24-25

GENAI STUDENT SUPPORT PLATFORM

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) AS DEFINED IN SECTION 287.012 (22),

FLORIDA STATUTES. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute or promise to issue a formal solicitation (Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation to Negotiate (ITN)) in the future. The College will use the information received from potential suppliers to determine if sufficient service exists to warrant issuing a formal solicitation to formally select a supplier for a contract or to informally issue an agreement.

1) PREPARATION COSTS: Any expense involved in preparing or submitting a response to this request shall be borne solely by the Responder.

2) SUBMISSION: Final submissions for this request should be sent via email to Kellie Ziemak, Executive Director, Student Experience and Strategic Innovation, Ziemak.kellie@spcollege.edu no later than 2PM on 09/29/2025. Responses should be in English and include appropriate contact information.

Please include RESPONSE TO RFI 02-25-26 in the subject line.

3) RESPONSES SUBMITTED ARE PUBLIC RECORD:

a) Information received in response to this Request for Information are exempt from disclosure under the provisions of Florida’s Public Records Laws until such time as an award decision has been made or until thirty (30) days after the response opening, whichever is earlier.

b) In accordance with Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes (Public Records Law) and except as may be provided by other applicable State and Federal Law, all Companies should be aware the Solicitation, and the responses thereto are in the public domain. Proposers must identify specifically any information contained in their submittal which they consider confidential and/or proprietary and which they believe to be exempt from disclosure, citing, specifically the applicable exempting law.

c) A generic notation that information is “confidential” is not sufficient. Failure to provide the Procurement Department Office with a detailed explanation and justification including statutory cites and specific reference to your submittal detailing what provisions, if any, you believe are exempt from disclosure, may result in your entire submittal being subject to disclosure in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes.

d) All submittal received from Companies in response to this Solicitation will become the property of the College and will not be returned to the Company.

4) EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:

The College is commitment to the concept of equal opportunity; that is, there will be no discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status, pregnancy, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or against any qualified person with a disability. Recognizing that sexual harassment constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex, neither the College nor the Responder shall tolerate such conduct. Should mailto:Ziemak.kellie@spcollege.edu you experience such behavior, please contact SPC EAEO coordinator @ 727-341-3261; by mail at PO Box 13489 St. Petersburg FL 33733; or email to EAEO_director@spcollege.edu.

5) GENERAL INFORMATION:

a. All responses must be submitted electronically to the contact person mentioned below.

b. Responses should be in English and include appropriate contact information.

c. Proprietary information shared in response to this RFI will be treated as confidential.

d. This RFI does not constitute a commitment or intent to purchase.

e. SPC reserves the right to reject any or all responses received as a result of this RFI.

SUMMARIZED SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Date/Time Description 09/02/2025

8:00 AM RFI ISSUED

09/10/25 12:00 pm

Questions Deadline

Questions must be submitted in writing via email to Karen Reynolds, reynolds.karen@spcollege.edu The Q&A period will last from 09/02/2025 thru Noon on 09/10/2025, after which the College will create a list of questions and answers developed during the Q&A period and disseminate the list to all registered and qualified companies by 5PM on 09/15/2025

To ensure proper delivery please include

“QUESTIONS TO RFI 02-24-25” in the subject line.

09/29/2025

2:00 PM

RFI Deadline

Final submissions for this request should be sent in PDF format via email to Kellie Ziemak, Executive Dir., Student Experience ziemak.kellie@spcollege.edu no later than 2PM.

Responses should be no longer than 30 pages, excluding appendices or attachments.

To ensure proper delivery please include “QUESTIONS TO RFI 02-24-25” in the subject line.

mailto:EAEO_director@spcollege.edu mailto:reynolds.karen@spcollege.edu mailto:ziemak.kellie@spcollege.edu

BACKGROUND OF ST. PETERSBURG COLLEGE

St. Petersburg College (“SPC” or the “College”), located in Pinellas County, Florida, and established in 1927, is one of the oldest colleges in the 28-institution Florida College System (“FCS”). SPC is governed by a five-member Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor of Florida. As a large public institution serving a diverse student body (33,000 students) across multiple campuses and online, we continue to expand our commitment to student success and institutional efficiency, we are seeking ways to leverage artificial intelligence and automation to deliver scalable and responsive student services.

PURPOSE

SPC invites vendors to respond to this Request for Information (RFI) regarding Generative AI (GenAI) platforms powered by large language models (LLMs) that are designed to support students. Our goal is to explore AI-driven solutions that can supplement Tier 1 student support functions such as academic advising, financial aid, IT help desk, LMS-related queries, and other student services.

We are particularly interested in platforms that deliver high-quality, student-centered AI experiences and extend their services beyond general inquiries to include academic support such as tutoring, writing assistance, and career development. Solutions that integrate with key institutional systems—such as Instructure Canvas and SIS/ERP (Student Information System/Enterprise Resource Planning) platforms like PeopleSoft—are highly desirable. These integrations should enable personalized academic support, including retrieving grades, surfacing relevant course materials, reminding students of upcoming due dates, and supporting proactive engagement strategies that promote student success.

OBJECTIVES

SPC is seeking information on AI platforms that can:

• Serve as a Tier 1 support layer for common student inquiries across areas such as advising, financial aid, admissions, IT support, and general college services.

• Provide 24/7 availability with high-quality, accurate responses based on college-specific knowledge.

• Provide answers to financial aid questions that are consistent with state and federal regulations.

• Integrate with institutional systems such as SIS/ERP (e.g., PeopleSoft and other platforms), LMS (especially Instructure Canvas), CRM (e.g., HubSpot), or ticketing systems (e.g., Zendesk).

• Offer flexible user permissions (admin, manager, standard, read-only) to ensure proper access and control

• Offer analytics and insights to improve service delivery and identify student needs.

• Leverage AI-driven engagement and intervention strategies to improve retention, persistence, and overall student success.

• Offer use of “variables” for commonly used terms or links

• Support academic tutoring and writing assistance aligned with college-level expectations.

• Support career services including resume reviews, interview preparation, and career exploration tools.

• Enable LMS-integrated assistance such as upcoming due dates, grades, and personalized alerts.

• Deliver proactive support (e.g., nudges or alerts for at-risk students).

• Offer the ability to create and manage texting campaigns to engage students.

• Ability to be integrated on multiple college webpages.

• Address international student needs and general wellness queries.

• Demonstrate adaptive or self-improving capabilities over time.

• Support and enforce compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of student education records.

• Identify potential vendors/providers for future consideration.

RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

Please respond to the following categories:

1. Company Overview o Company name, years in business, primary markets served.

o Relevant experience with higher education institutions.

o Client list or case studies (especially with public colleges or state systems).

2. Platform Capabilities o Describe the AI/LLM model(s) used and how they are trained or customized.

o List support areas covered (advising, financial aid, IT, admissions, etc.).

o Describe how the system handles LMS integration, particularly with Canvas.

o Describe how the platform integrates with SIS/ERP systems, including PeopleSoft and any other platforms supported.

o Provide a comprehensive list of all third-party systems, platforms, and tools your solution is currently integrated with.

o Include any integrations currently in development or planned for release within the next

12–18 months.

o Detail multilingual capabilities and ADA/508 compliance.

o Describe whether your platform includes adaptive learning or self-improvement mechanisms.

o Explain how it learns from past interactions to improve responses and how institutional teams can manage these learning loops.

o Explain if the team can customize questions/answers if needed.

o Include the testing functionality within the admin portal to ensure all features and integrations are working as expected before initially going live and before any updates go live. Test analytics should not be included in live analytics.

o Describe the analytics features and statistics dashboard embedded in the platform including if the system records interactions.

o Detail the means of escalating, handling, and reporting on escalations, and connecting with a live agent o Detail how staff are notified of integration breakdowns or issues with connectivity.

o Provide an option for user feedback and analytics associated with the feedback o Explain how the system aligns with FERPA requirements, including protection against unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) from student education records.

o Describe how student data is encrypted both at rest and in transit using industry-standard protocols.

o Describe access controls available to restrict access to student records based on job function and/or institutional policy; describe delivered audit logs for tracking user access and modifications to student records.

o Describe user training resources, administrative documentation and support offered after implementation.

3. Use Cases o Provide examples of how your platform supports Tier 1 service inquiries.

o Highlight implementations in advising, financial aid, IT helpdesk, tutoring, writing support, and career services.

o Describe LMS-integrated experiences and proactive alert capabilities.

Include emerging or innovative applications (e.g., alumni support, library reference bots, wellness Q&A).

4. Customization and Integration o Outline integration options with systems such as PeopleSoft, Canvas, HubSpot, Zendesk, and any other CRM, ERP, LMS, or service management platforms supported.

o Provide a full list of currently supported third-party integrations and note any planned future integrations. List existing APIs that vendors would need to integrate with, or is this something we would expect the vendor to provide?

Explain how the platform is trained or customized for institution-specific content and how it responds to provide personalized responses to data in specific platforms.

Describe administrative tools and content management capabilities.

5. AI Tutoring, Writing, and Career Support o Describe any academic support features such as tutoring bots or writing assistance.

o Outline features for career readiness, resume development, and interview preparation.

o Clarify how these services align with academic integrity.

6. Data Privacy and Security o Detail your approach to student data privacy, FERPA compliance, and system security o Indicate whether the platform uses or stores user inputs to train future models.

o Include a completed and current Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Tool

(HECVAT).

o Indicate how the platform authenticates users when returning sensitive data. (May be good to include what single sign-on (SSO) protocols are being used: SAML, OAuth, OpenID etc.). Provide information on where the data and processing occur.

o Describe how your platform ensures compliance with applicable data privacy regulations, including FERPA, GDPR (if applicable), and relevant state laws. Include details on how student consent is managed, how data is stored and protected, and how institutions can configure privacy and communications preferences.

7. Accessibility & Inclusion o Provide a current Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) that reflects your platform’s accessibility compliance.

o Describe conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA or higher.

o Indicate whether your product has been tested with screen readers and other assistive technologies.

o Explain how your team ensures ongoing accessibility compliance, including how updates and new features are evaluated.

o Describe any accessibility-related certifications, third-party audits, or partnerships your organization maintains.

8. Implementation and Support o Outline typical implementation timelines and support structure.

o Include onboarding, training, and content curation support.

o Outline the levels of support available (e.g., standard, premium) o Provide details on your standard Service Level Agreements (SLAs), including:

Uptime/availability guarantees Average response and resolution times for various support tiers Support coverage hours (e.g., 24/7, business hours, etc.)

Escalation procedures and points of contact o Details the types of training and self-service resources provided (e.g., onboarding sessions, knowledge base articles, video tutorials, user communities), and how frequently they are updated.

9. Cost Structure o Provide an overview of your pricing model, including any licensing tiers, per-seat charges, usage fees, or customization costs.

o Include any available discounts for multi-year or statewide agreements.

10. Differentiators o What makes your solution unique or particularly well-suited for a public state college like SPC?

o Compare your platform’s language fluency, reasoning ability, and conversational depth with leading LLMs (e.g., GPT-4, Claude).

o Describe your platform’s ability to support open-ended, multi-turn conversations.

o Explain how your solution balances fluency, reliability, and guardrails for institutional alignment.

11. Submission Details

Please submit your response via email in PDF format by 2:00PM September 29th to:

Kellie Ziemak Executive Director, Student Experience and Strategic Innovation St. Petersburg College Email: ziemak.kellie@spcollege.edu Subject Line: QUESTIONS TO RFI 02-24-25

Responses should be no longer than 30 pages, excluding appendices or attachments. SPC may follow up with select vendors for demos, deeper technical discussions, or pilot project proposals.