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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

UCO 1015

Plagiarism Detection Solution Issue Date: June 23, 2026 Proposal Submission Due: July 29th , 2026 2:00 PM

Designated Contact:

Joanne Gill

Director Strategic Sourcing Joanne.Gill@cuny.edu

Table of Contents

Part 1: Key Events and Dates; Designated Contacts; Proposal Due Location; Contract Term

Part 2: Proposer Qualifications and Requirements; and Diversity Participation Goals

Part 3: Project Objectives and Scope; Detailed Specifications and Deliverables and Certain Contract Specific Provisions

Part 4: Technical and Management Proposal Requirements (Proposal Volume II)

Part 5: Proposal Price Breakdown Pages (Proposal Volume III)

Part 6: Proposal Scoring Criteria and Weights

Part 7: Terms and Conditions of Contract

Part 8: Service Level Agreement (if applicable)

Part 9: Supplier Diversity Provisions

Part 10: Important Notices to Proposers

FORMS THAT MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH THE PROPOSAL

□ Form 1: Proper Information and Authorized Signature; Acceptance of Contract Terms; Proper Certifications;

Confidential Information; Signed RFP Addenda; and References

□ Form 2: Offeror’s Affirmation of Understanding of And Agreement pursuant to State Finance Law § 139-j(3) and § 139-j(6)(b)

□ Form 3: Offeror’s Disclosure of Prior Non-Responsibility Determinations and Certification of Compliance with

State Finance Law § 139-j and § 139-k

□ Form 4: Diversity Practices Questionnaire

□ Form 5: Supplier Diversity (M/WBE/SDVOB) Utilization Plan and/or Supplier Diversity (MWBE/SDVOB)

Request for Waiver Form. Also see Supplier Diversity Provisions in Part 9.

□ Form 6: RFP Checklist

□ Form 20: Gender-Based Violence and the Workplace Certification

FORMS THAT CUNY MAY REQUIRE FROM THE PRESUMPTIVE AWARDEE

If required by CUNY, the Presumptive Awardee selected as a result of this solicitation (the “Presumptive Awardee”) shall complete, sign, and submit the following forms and certifications as described in Section 2.3.5 through 2.3.12 of Part 10 of this RFP.

□ Form 7: Executive Law Article 15-A – Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises and Equal

Employment Opportunity Policy Statement

□ Form 8: Evidence in form and substance satisfactory to the University that the Contractor maintains workers’ compensation coverage and disability insurance coverage as required by the New York State

Workers’ Compensation Law, or is exempt from this requirement.

□ Form 9: New York State Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire (NYS VendRep)

□ Form 10: New York City Vendor and Principal Questionnaire (NYC PASSPort)

FORMS THAT THE CONTRACTOR MUST SUBMIT UPON REQUEST BY CUNY BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE

PROPOSED CONTRACT TERM

□ Form 11: CUNY Substitute W-9 Form

□ Form 12: Workforce Utilization Report

□ Form 13: Supplier Diversity (MWBE/SDVOB) Quarterly Contractor Compliance & Payment Report

□ Form 14: State Consultant Services – Contractor’s Planned Employment (Consultant Disclosure Form A)

□ Form 15: State Consultant Services Contractor’s Annual Employment Report (Consultant Disclosure Form B)

□ Form 16: Tax Law §5-a, Form ST-220-CA – Contractor Certification (Contractor to send to the University)

□ Form 17: Tax Law §5-a, Form ST-220-TD – Contractor Certification (Contractor to send to the State)

□ Form 18: Certified Weekly Payroll Report

□ Form 19: Contractor’s Safety Protocols

□ “Accessibility Conformance Report (“ACR”) or a completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (“VPAT”)

(MUST be submitted by Proposer, reviewed, verified, and accepted by CUNY prior to award of Contract, and Proposer MUST provide test temporary credentials for the appropriate University staff person to perform a test of the Services to ensure the Services meet the requisite accessibility standards).”

Part 1: Key Events and Dates; Designated Contacts; Proposal Due Location; Contract Term

Key Events and Dates Action Date

CUNY issues RFP for a Plagiarism Detection Solution June 23th, 2026

Pre-Proposal Conference/Site-Visit* X Mandatory ☐ Optional

(indicate date, location, and whether pre-registration is required.

Submission of Written Questions Due Date 1 July 7, 2026 at 1:00 pm Eastern Standard Time

Submission of Written Questions Due Date 2 July 16, 2026 at 1:00pm Eastern Standard Time

Proposal Submission Due Date and Time July, 29th 2026 at 2:00 pm Eastern Standard Time

*If the Pre-Proposal Conference is mandatory, a Proposer’s failure to attend will render their Proposal non-responsive.

Proposers are advised to read all sections of this RFP document carefully, including all terms and conditions of the Part 7 - Form of Contract. By tendering a response to this solicitation, each proposer agrees that it accepts all terms and conditions in this RFP solicitation package without exception. If a proposer requires clarification, or if a proposer seeks to propose a change or an exception to, any of the terms and conditions contained in this RFP solicitation package, including to any of the terms and conditions to the form of contract in Part 7, then proposer must make any and all such requests in writing as part of a submission of written questions prior to the Written Questions Due Dates listed above. Requests for revisions or exceptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and determinations will be published in an addendum to the RFP. Proposers are not to rely upon an exception agreed to for a prior contract award to govern the terms of this solicitation – all proposed exceptions must be introduced and incorporated via addendum issued specifically for this solicitation. A proposer who submits requests for changes to the contract terms to the solicitation after the Written Questions Due Dates may result in the proposer’s proposal submission being deemed non-responsive by the University and not considered for contract award. For the avoidance of doubt, the University will not consider any requests to revise the contract terms after the Propos al

Submission Due Date, and the University will not consider any requests to revise the contract terms after tentative Contract award.

CUNY reserves the right to amend any or all of the above dates and will issue such change in writing.

I. Designated Contact(s):

In compliance with the Procurement Lobbying Law, the individual(s) identified below are the Designated Contact(s) for this Request for Proposals solicitation and may be contacted

2094-6800-4870, v. 1 5 for all inquiries regarding this solicitation:

The City University of New York 205 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 Attention: Joanne Gill Email: Joanne.Gill@cuny.edu

New York State Procurement Lobbying Law permits rejection of a Proposal if a Proposer has made any unauthorized contact during the Restricted Period (as defined in the Procurement Lobbying Law). Multiple violations of procurement lobbying restrictions regarding permissible contacts may lead to a Proposer’s being debarred from participating in future New York State procurements.

II. Proposal Due Location:

CUNY is not responsible for the delivery or submission of Proposals. Only Proposals that are sent, and accepted by the Designated Contact, shall be accepted. CUNY is not responsible for Proposals received after the deadline, regardless of the reason for lateness. On a case-by-case basis, CUNY may deem it acceptable for Proposals to be submitted via e-mail.

For this solicitation, CUNY will be accepting proposals via email .

a) Proposals submitted via e-mail must include scans of original (wet) signatures and notarizations to be considered a valid Proposal.

b) Proposals (including any Excel spreadsheets) must be clearly labeled with three (3) separate pdf attachments clearly named for Volume I (Forms), Volume II (Technical Proposal), and

Volume III (Price Proposal).

c) Proposals submitted via e-mail must be clearly labeled with Proposer’s name and the RFP’s

Project name by including the following subject line:

[Firm’s Name] – UCO - 1015 Plagiarism Detection Platform Proposal Submission

III. Anticipated Number of Contracts

CUNY anticipates awarding one (1) contract based on an evaluation of best value, as further described in Part 6 of this RFP.

IV. Anticipated Contract Term:

The Contract Term will be for an initial tern of three (3) years, commencing on the date that the Contract is approved by the Attorney General and the New York State Comptroller, with an optional renewal of up to two (2) additional years at CUNY’s discretion. CUNY anticipates implementation to begin in January 2027, but no specific start date is guaranteed.

V. Questions and Clarifications Regarding RFP Requirements:

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All questions, requests for clarifications, or requests for a revision to any term or condition of this RFP must be submitted to the College’s designated contact (see Section I above) prior to the applicable due date(s) for submission of written questions. CUNY will not consider proposed revisions to the terms and conditions set forth in the RFP after such date(s) and will not negotiate the terms and conditions set forth in the RFP at any other time.

With respect to any requests for revisions to Part 7: Terms and Conditions, please be advised that such requests must be in the following format: a copy of the specific clause with the suggested revisions in redline form. The University will not consider requests for revisions to Part 7 that fail to follow this format.

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Part 2: Proposer Qualifications and Requirements; and Diversity Participation Goals

Paragraph I: Minimum Proposer Qualifications [mandatory qualifications]:

CUNY is seeking (an) appropriately qualified firm with experience in providing these Services. To be considered for Contract award, the Proposer and any Subcontractor(s) must meet the following minimum qualifications:

a. Have at least three (3) years of verifiable experience providing plagiarism detection and academic integrity solutions to higher education institutions comparable in size and complexity to CUNY.

b. Demonstrate successful implementation of its solution at three (3) colleges or universities, including systemwide or multi-campus environments.

c. Demonstrate experience operating in environments subject to FERPA, GDPR, and WCAG 2.2 compliance requirements.

a. The online content and functionality of the Proposer’s Services must demonstrably conform to the most current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines adopted by the World Wide Web

Consortium for accessibility (“WCAG Standards”), as verified in the ACR and/or VPAT to be submitted by the Proposer, and tested and verified by the University.

d. Proposer’s solution shall support Single Sign-On (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) integrations with enterprise systems.

e. Proposer’s solution shall comply with all mandatory requirements listed in Part 3.

f. Proposer must be authorized to do business in the State of New York and be compliant with all applicable

New York State procurement and contracting requirements.

g. Subcontractors, if proposed, must also meet relevant qualifications and are subject to CUNY’s review and approval.

Paragraph II: Non-Mandatory Proposer Qualifications: N/A

Paragraph III: Supplier Diversity Participation Goals

a) CUNY has established a 30% participation goal (based on the current availability of qualified

MWBEs) in the aggregate for New York State certified Minority-Owned Business Enterprise ("MBE") and Women-Owned Business Enterprises ("WBE", and, together with MBE, "MWBEs") and a 6% participation goal (based on the current availability of qualified SDVOBs) for New York State certified

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses ("SDVOB"), to be part of the proposed team to provide the Services as subcontractor(s) or suppliers (the "Subcontractor(s)"). The Contractor shall be required to use good faith efforts to meet these participation goals.

b) Proposers may identify potential MWBE Subcontractor(s) by, among other means, referencing the directory of New York State certified MWBEs found at the following internet address:

https://ny.newnycontracts.com/

c) Proposers may identify potential SDVOB Subcontractor(s) by, among other means, referencing the list of New York State certified SDVOBs found at the following internet address:

https://ogs.ny.gov/veterans.

https://ny.newnycontracts.com/ https://ogs.ny.gov/veterans

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As part of the proposer's response, a Supplier Diversity — MWBE/SDVOB Utilization Plan or a Request for Waiver form that is accompanied by supporting documentation must be submitted in order for the proposal to be considered responsive. The selected Contractor will be required to complete a Quarterly Contractor Compliance & Payment Report accompanied by proof of payment to MWBE/SDVOB Subcontractor(s), in such format as shall be required by CUNY on a quarterly basis during the term of the contract. Sample CUNY Supplier Diversity forms and reports may be found at https://www1.cuny.edu/sites/selltocuny/.

https://www1.cuny.edu/sites/selltocuny/

Part 3: Project Objectives and Scope; Detailed Specifications and Deliverables;

and Contract-Specific Provisions

3. Project Objectives and Scope:

The City University of New York (CUNY) is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to provide a robust, scalable, and institution-wide Plagiarism Detection and Academic Integrity Platform. This platform will serve as a critical component in supporting academic integrity, improving student writing outcomes, and enhancing instructional workflows through reliable detection of unoriginal content, AI-generated writing, and other academic misconduct.

The selected solution must provide integration with CUNY’s primary Learning Management System (Brightspace by D2L) and support usage as a standalone platform. It must also accommodate multi-campus configurations, offer accessibility for diverse learners, and ensure compliance with all relevant data privacy regulations including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Vendors should demonstrate a strong track record of serving higher education institutions at scale and the ability to deliver implementation, training, support, and change management services within a defined project timeline.

CUNY is the largest urban public university system in the United States, comprising 26 campuses and serving over 230,000 students. As the University transitions to a more integrated and data-driven academic environment, this platform will play a vital role in upholding academic standards across multiple institutions while enabling CUNY faculty, administrators, and students to engage in transparent, fair, and efficient assessment practices.

3.1 Detailed Specification and Deliverables:

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit submissions from qualified vendors capable of delivering a comprehensive, secure, and scalable plagiarism detection and academic integrity platform to serve the City University of New York (CUNY) system. The selected solution will enhance CUNY’s ability to maintain high academic standards across its campuses by detecting plagiarism, text manipulation, and AI-generated content, while also providing rich instructional feedback features.

The proposed solution must:

1. Uphold Academic Integrity Identify potential plagiarism, paraphrasing, text manipulation, translation plagiarism, and contract cheating— including content generated by AI tools—across a wide range of disciplines and submission types.

2. Support Faculty in Instruction and Assessment Provide instructors with detailed similarity and authorship reports, integrated feedback tools (e.g., inline commenting, rubrics), and administrative features to support grading, student engagement, and instructional transparency.

3. Enable Student Learning and Self-Correction Promote student understanding of academic integrity by offering configurable access to reports, citations, and instructional resources that support responsible scholarship and revision practices.

4. Ensure System Integration and Standalone Usability Integrate seamlessly with CUNY’s primary LMS (Brightspace by D2L) via LTI 1.3, and support full functionality outside the LMS environment via a secure, web-based interface.

5. Provide Scalable Multi-Institutional Architecture Operate across all CUNY colleges with isolated campus-level configurations, permissions, and data governance— while enabling centralized oversight by CUNY Central Office.

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6. Comply with Data Privacy, Security, and Accessibility Standards Ensure FERPA and GDPR compliance, adhere to WCAG 2.2 accessibility guidelines, and provide secure storage, encryption, and data ownership options aligned with CUNY policy.

7. Deliver Actionable Analytics and Administrative Reporting Offer dashboards and reporting tools to track usage trends, academic integrity incidents, and system-wide activity for instructors, departments, and institutional leaders.

8. Support Long-Term Adoption and Innovation Provide implementation services, training for all user roles, technical support, and a development roadmap responsive to emerging academic integrity challenges, including those introduced by generative AI.

3.2 Functional Requirements

The proposed platform must deliver the following core functional capabilities, organized into categories reflecting the end-to-end student support lifecycle. All features must be available in a secure, accessible, cloud-hosted environment and support both institution-wide use and campus-level customization. The platform must include the following capabilities:

A. Core Functional Requirements

1. Real-time plagiarism detection leveraging web, academic, and institutional databases

2. Accuracy Rates for Plagiarism Detection: The solution must maintain a minimum detection accuracy rate of

95%, including the identification of paraphrased, and translated content, cross-submission and cohort-based comparison to detect collusion

3. Text manipulation detection (e.g., white text, character substitution, spacing anomalies)

4. Contextual and translated similarity detection across multiple languages

5. Interactive similarity reports with match highlighting, exclusion options, and comment tagging

6. Customizable thresholds, scoring, and review statuses (e.g., Accept/Reject/Revise)

7. Feedback tools including rubric integration, inline comments, and downloadable reports

8. Authorship Verification and Stylometrics (Preferred but not required) b.1 Stylometric comparison across verified student writing samples b.2 Metadata analysis (file creation/edit times, author ID, tool usage) b.3 Identification of anomalies and discrepancies in writing style or document origin b.4 Reporting interface for manual investigation or escalation

B. Multi-Institution Settings

1. Segregated environments for each CUNY campus with unique settings, roles, and permissions

2. Configurable workflows and policies per institution without cross-campus data visibility

3. Global administrator interface for CUNY Central to monitor license usage and aggregate reporting

C. Reporting & Analytics

1. Instructor and administrator dashboards for tracking submissions, reports, and outcomes

2. Exportable data and reports (e.g., Excel, PDF, CSV)

3. Usage analytics and trend reports, including AI authorship rates and similarity score distribution

4. Cohort-level comparison and audit trails for academic integrity monitoring

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D. Implementation & Transition Plan

1. Implementation plan including testing, LMS integration, configuration, and go-live support

1. Post-go-live support, performance monitoring, and update management

E. Enhancements and Features As part of the continuous growth and improvement of systems and technologies, CUNY expects that during the term of the contract, Contractor will:

o notify CUNY of any system enhancements and features for CUNY stakeholders to decide if this can be deployed in the CUNY environment and when it should be deployed o allow CUNY to enable/disable or deploy any features (including any AI Feature) that may be available in the platform, so it is unusable by any user of the system o involve CUNY in validating new features, pilot deployments, or A/B testing—prior to production rollout.

Specifically, Proposer must work with CUNY to develop the following:

▪ Scope of the pilot (e.g., number of users and campuses).

▪ Feedback mechanisms for participants including surveys and focus groups.

▪ Success criteria for moving to full deployment. The success criteria is based on the requirements that

CUNY specifies as part of the scope of the pilot.

F. Training

1. Onboarding services and up to 75 hours of training for administrators, instructors, and support staff .

▪ Training types should include the following:

1. Administrator Training

2. End-User Training (Train-the-Trainer model)

3. Ad-hoc training (for future enhancements, features)

2. Provision of training manuals, video guides, and self-service resources.

3. Live and asynchronous delivery methods, including materials provided

4. Written step-by-step help guides and recorded video tutorials for all features and interfaces of the product suite for end-users who will be utilizing the system.

5. All training material must be available for CUNY to own, take, and modify as needed for internal purposes

6. The Contractor must provide comprehensive end-user and technical administrator training consistent with Section 508 and WCAG requirements, available in accessible formats (e.g., PDF/HTML with captions and alt-text) and supporting diverse learning modes (live, virtual, asynchronous).

G. Support and Maintenance

1. 24/7 end-user and administrator technical support via phone, email, and chat

2. Access to a support portal, product documentation, and release notes

3. Support for feature requests, roadmap engagement, and regular maintenance updates

4. Defined SLA response times, case prioritization, and escalation management (e.g. response within 2 hours for high-priority cases; low-medium difficulty cases are closed within 24 hours; tier 2 and 3 tickets automatically escalated to CUNY CIS for shared response)

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5. The platform must support modular enhancements, allowing CUNY to adopt new feature sets or service packages as they become available. The contract shall include provisions to amend scope and pricing to accommodate such additions during the contract term, without requiring a re-procurement, provided they align with the original intent and functional scope.

In addition, the Contractor must meet the SLA as defined in Part 8.

H. Technical Architecture and Integration

H. 1 Information Technology Performance Requirements The Contractor must comply with the Information Technology Performance Requirements of The City University of New York (CUNY), as set forth in the University’s standard “Information Technology Performance Requirements (Terms to be Included in Solicitations and Contracts).”

These include, but are not limited to, the following mandatory areas of compliance:

a) Accessibility: All web and digital content must conform to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, NY Executive Law § 170-f, and the most current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG

2.2 AA or successor). Vendors must provide a current Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) or Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) reflecting the current software release.

b) Authentication and Access Control: The solution must integrate with CUNY Login (Oracle Access Management), supporting Single Sign-On (SSO) using SAML 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), or OAuth 2.0, and must support CUNY’s session management, attribute mapping (emplID, email, roles), and Single Logout requirements.

c) IT Security: The solution must adhere to CUNY’s Service Provider Standard and cybersecurity policies, including annual submission of SOC 2 (Type II) or SSAE 18 reports (and PCI compliance reports if applicable). All data must be encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2 or higher) and at rest (AES-256), with layered protection and incident-response protocols consistent with the CUNY Information Security framework.

d) Integration with Enterprise Systems: The solution must support robust integration with CUNY’s ecosystem , specifically

1. Full LTI 1.3 integration with Brightspace by D2L, with support for assignments, quizzes, and discussions

2. RESTful API access for integration with external systems (e.g., SIS, data warehouses)

3. Operable as a standalone solution via secure web-based portal with equivalent functionality

4. Real-time synchronization of course rosters, submissions, and grades

5. Support for Single Sign-On (SSO) using protocols including SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, and LDAP

6. Role-based user provisioning and automatic account creation through institutional identity management

e) Project Management: The Contractor must adhere to CUNY’s project-management standards, including providing a comprehensive project plan, risk log (RAID), governance documentation, testing strategy, and change-order approval process. Status reports must include progress, risks, and resource utilization.

f) Service Standards: The Contractor must maintain at least 99.5 percent uptime per month, with no more than 16 hours of scheduled maintenance outside of business hours and must provide 24 × 7 monitoring and escalation procedures. Initial support-response times shall meet the following standards:

• Priority I (Service Unavailable): 1 hour

• Priority II (Major Module Down): 2 hours

• Priority III (Function Degraded): 1 business day

• Priority IV (General Inquiry): 2 business days.

CUNY reserves the right to assess performance credits as defined in the Information Technology Performance Requirements document for failure to meet up time or response standards.

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I. Accessibility, Privacy, and Security The solution must conform to accessibility and privacy requirements, including:

A. FERPA and GDPR compliance, with clear data ownership and deletion protocols

1. Role-based access controls and detailed audit trails

2. Demonstrate full functional parity between native apps and modern mobile browsers; resolve layout issues on up-to-date iOS/Android browsers

3. Commit to continuous mobile/responsive QA with quarterly accessibility regression testing

4. Full functional parity between native mobile apps and modern mobile browsers

5. Vendor must conduct quarterly accessibility regressions to ensure WCAG 2.2 conformance for all mobile surfaces

f. Pilot Testing and Evaluation The proposer shall outline a plan for a pilot phase, including:

a) Scope of the pilot (e.g., number of users and campuses).

b) Feedback mechanisms for participants.

c) Success criteria for moving to full deployment.

3.3 Implementation Timeline and Milestones

The selected Contractor will be expected to work closely with CUNY Central and designated campus stakeholders to ensure a coordinated, phased implementation of the Plagiarism Detection Platform across the University system. The platform must be fully operational at pilot campuses on or about January 2027, with subsequent rollouts occurring on a defined schedule approved by CUNY.

A detailed project plan must be submitted as part of the Technical Proposal and must include proposed activities, milestones, staffing, dependencies, and delivery dates.

Anticipated Project Timeline

Milestone Target Date Contract Award Fall 2026 Project Kickoff Meeting Within 10 business days of contract execution Technical Integration & Configuration Begins

Q1 2027

Training & Sandbox Environment Deployment

Q1 2027

Pilot Go-Live (selected campuses) Q2 2027 University-Wide Phased Rollout Q3/Q4 2027 Final Platform Acceptance Q3/Q4 2027

A. Required Implementation Deliverables

The Proposer’s project team must deliver and maintain the following throughout the implementation phase:

1. A designated Implementation Project Manager responsible for coordination with CUNY

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2. A detailed Project Implementation Plan including scope, timelines, staffing, and dependencies

3. Integration documentation for Brightspace (LMS), and identity management systems

4. A campus onboarding toolkit that includes user configuration guides, communications templates, and training materials

5. Vendor-led change-management program including:

a) communications playbook for effective student messaging

b) webinars on advising best practices

6. Weekly project status reports including issue logs, risk mitigation, and milestone tracking

7. Go-live readiness checklist and phased launch approval from each participating campus

8. A Post-Implementation Review report summarizing deployment outcomes, user feedback, and any remaining issues

B. Ongoing Support After Go-Live

Following platform acceptance, the Contractor must:

1. Transition implementation team responsibilities to an assigned Account Manager

2. Provide monthly performance reports aligned with SLA metrics

3. Deliver any remaining or deferred training to new users

3.4 Subcontracting.

Contractor shall not subcontract any part or the entire Contract without the prior written consent of CUNY, which may be withheld, conditioned or rescinded at CUNY’s sole and absolute discretion. CUNY may request information concerning the qualifications and experience of the proposed subcontractor, and Contractor shall provide such information promptly upon CUNY’s request. CUNY reserves the right to require that any previously approved subcontractor be removed from the Project, and Contractor shall remove any such subcontractor following notice from CUNY by the deadline specified by CUNY in such notice.

3.4.1 Location of Services.

Contractor shall perform the Services at the campuses and buildings of CUNY Colleges and Central Office as required. Contractor shall provide and use its own equipment for its onsite staff providing the Services.

3.4.2 Project Team

3.4.2.1 Contractor shall provide documentation with respect to all proposed initial and replacement Key Team Members of the Contractor Project Team showing that these individuals meet the qualifications required to perform the Services. For the purposes of this effort, Contractor Project Team is defined as all individuals that will be assigned to work on this project, and Key Team Members are defined as individuals who have decision making authority on behalf of the Contractor .

3.4.2.2 All designated individuals and their replacements, if any, of the Contractor Project Team and Key Team Members are subject to CUNY’s prior written approval.

3.4.2.3 Contractor shall make best efforts to maintain continuity of the Contractor Project Team and Key Team Members. Contractor shall notify CUNY in writing prior to any replacement of Key Team Members. CUNY reserves the right to approve or reject any employees proposed to replace Contractor Project Team employees.

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3.4.2.4 Contractor shall designate a dedicated functional manager to serve as the main point of contact for implementation and ongoing support issues. This person will ensure that CUNY’s student success platform meets the needs of the community.

3.4.2.5 Contractor shall designate a senior manager of Contractor as the Contract project manager for this project (“Senior Manager”). The Senior Manager shall:

3.4.2.5.1 maintain control over the work duties, schedule, and performance of the Contractor Project Team and serve as principal liaison between CUNY and Contractor for purposes of administration of the Contract;

3.4.2.5.2 be employed by the Contractor; and

3.4.2.5.3 have full decision-making authority on behalf of Contractor and the authority to obligate Contractor.

3.4.2.6 For a mid-term change of Senior Manager, or during the absence of the Senior Manager, for any reason, Contractor shall promptly provide a detailed continuity plan for CUNY’s review and shall obtain prior written approval for same.

3.4.2.7 Contractor shall ensure that CUNY shall have access at all times to an individual with full authority to make decisions on behalf of Contractor. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude CUNY from discussing any matters relating to Contract with any other members of Contractor’s organization.

3.4.3 Communications

Contractor shall obtain CUNY’s prior written approval before Contractor, or any of its officers, employees, agents or subcontractor(s), makes any statement to the press or issues any communication or publication concerning, or related to, the Project.

3.4.4 Document Delivery

3.4.4.1 Contractor shall provide all draft versions of the Deliverables (as described below) to CUNY in sufficient time for CUNY review, including time to make modifications and to provide final approval.

3.4.4.2 Contractor shall transmit each Deliverable to CUNY with a dated and signed transmittal letter.

3.4.5 Return of CUNY Information at Termination

Within ten (10) calendar days of termination of Services for any reason, Contractor shall, with respect to all CUNY documents and data, in whatever media, whether originally provided or created during performance of the Services:

a. return them to CUNY; and

b. destroy data and provide independent certification of destruction of all copies.

3.4.6 Invoices, Payment for Services, and Fee Adjustment

3.4.6.1 CUNY agrees to pay, and the Contractor agrees to accept the amounts indicated on the Price Proposal Breakdown Pages (Attachment 5) for the Implementation Milestones and Training provided under this Contract. The Prices proposed by the Contractor for Implementation and Training shall be fully-loaded rates, inclusive of all costs and expenses necessary to complete these requirements, including but not limited to labor, supplies, travel, insurance, and taxes. Proposers are further advised that Training, while a mandatory part of the Proposal Price Breakdown, will only be required at the University’s discretion.

3.4.6.2 The Contractor shall provide annual pricing for the access and provisioning of the Solution, following go-live, based on the University wide enrollment figures provided therein, and which shall be subject to adjustment based on Sections

3.4.6.3 and 3.4.6.4 herein.

3.4.6.3 If, in any Service Year, the student enrollment FTE Count as reported and published on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) website for the academic year most recently concluded prior to the beginning of such Service Year is 5% greater or more than the figure listed on the Price Proposal Breakdown Page, CUNY will pay the Contractor, within sixty (60) days following CUNY’s notice to the Contractor of the Student FTE Count for such applicable academic year, an amount equal to the percentage of such increase, multiplied by the Annual Service Year fee paid or payable to the Contractor for the current Service Year.

3.4.6.4 Similarly, if in any Service Year, the student enrollment FTE count reported and published on the IPEDS website for the academic year most recently concluded prior to the beginning of such Service Year is 5% lower or lesser than the figure listed on the Price Proposal Breakdown Page, the Contractor will provide CUNY with

2094-6800-4870, v. 1 17 a service credit in an amount equal to the percentage of such decrease, multiplied by the the Annual Service Year fee paid or payable to CUNY for the current Service

Year. Any such credit will be in the form of an offset of the Service Fee paid or payable for the subsequent Term Year. There will be no service credit payable to with respect to the final Service Year (whether in an Initial Term or Renewal Term), unless the parties enter into a new agreement for the Solution, following such final

Term Year. In such event, the amount of the service credit payable to CUNY will be used as an offset for the first twelve (12) months of the term of the new agreement.

3.4.6.5 Contractor shall submit invoices to Central Office’s Accounts Payable Department at a time interval and in a format approved by CUNY.

3.4.6.6 Contractor shall provide sufficient and appropriate documentation with invoices. CUNY reserves the right to request additional information at any time.

3.4.6.7 Contractor acknowledges and agrees that CUNY will pay Contractor only upon acceptance of properly prepared invoices with sufficient supporting documentation.

3.4.6.8 CUNY will not pay Contractor for work performed beyond the scope of this Project or for any change order not duly authorized.

3.4.6.9 Report preparation, including editing, printing and delivery to the University and Colleges shall be the sole responsibility of the Contractor and shall not be reimbursable as a direct cost. If unusual circumstances are encountered that make it necessary for the Contractor to do additional work, Contractor shall report such conditions to CUNY. No additional work may be performed unless authorized by CUNY in writing in advance.

3.4.7 Miscellaneous

3.4.7.1 Note: CUNY will identify a Contract Manager to act as the liaison with the Contractor.

CUNY will provide Contractor with CUNY’s holiday schedules.

3.4.7.2 Contractor acknowledges and agrees that CUNYwill not provide clerical support.

3.4.7.3 Contractor acknowledges and agrees that Contractor will not be provided computer time or the use of computer hardware and software.

3.4.7.4 Access to reasonable work area, and photocopying of records will be made available to the Contractor at t CUNY for the purposes of performing the Services. ].

3.5.1 Before performing any Work and during performance of this Contract and up to the date of final acceptance of the Work, Contractor shall procure and maintain with companies satisfactory to the University, the following types of insurance, in the amounts shown below.

3.5.1.1 Workers' Compensation Insurance: Statutory Workers' Compensation Insurance in accord with the Laws of the State on behalf of all employees who are to provide labor or service under this Contract.

3.5.1.2 Employer's Liability Insurance: Employer's Liability Insurance affording compensation for all employees providing labor or services for whom Workers' Compensation coverage is not a statutory requirement. Such insurance shall be in an amount not less than one million dollars ($ per accident.

3.5.1.3 Commercial General Liability Insurance: Commercial general liability insurance policy ( I ssued by a carrier admitted in the State) in Contractor's name and naming the University, the City, and the State as additional insureds. The policy shall protect the above-named entities, Contractor and its subcontractors from claims for property damage and/or bodily injury that arise from operations under this Contract. Such insurance shall be in an amount not less than one million to 2 million dollars aggregate ($ 1,000,000 - $2,000,000 ) per occurrence combined single limit.

3.5.1.4 Automobile Liability Insurance: Vehicle insurance covering all owned, non-owned and hired vehicles to be used in connection with this Contract. Such insurance shall be in an amount not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000 ) per occurrence combined single limit.

3.5.1.5 Professional Liability/Errors& Omissions and Internet Policies: Professional Liability/Error & Omissions and Internet Policies in the Contractor’s name and naming the University, the City, and the State as additional insureds. The policy(ies) shall include 44 of 119 coverage to the above-named entities for professional services, security and privacy, and include a waiver of subrogation in favor of the University. Such insurance shall be in an amount not less than two million dollars ($2,000,000 ) per occurrence.

3.5.1.6 ID Theft and Cyber Extortion Policy: ID Theft and Cyber Extortion Policy in the Contractor’s name and naming the University, the City and the State as additional insureds. The policy(ies) shall include coverage to the above-named entities for crisis management and public relations expense and include a waiver of subrogation in favor of the University. Such insurance shall be in an amount not less than five million dollars - $10,000,000($5,000,000 – 10,000,000) per occurrence.

3.5.1.7 Umbrella or Excess Liability Insurance: Umbrella or Excess Liability Insurance shall include coverage to the above-named entities in an amount not less than five million dollars ($5,000,000 ).

Part 4: Technical and Management Proposal Requirements (Proposal Volume II)

Proposer shall provide a brief history and description of: Proposer’s business organization (with copies of organizational documents); its expertise and experience as it relates to the requirements discussed in the scope of work and specifications described in Part 3; its understanding of and approach to the project; its process and timeline for rendering the services; and plans for maintenance and support, to the extent applicable. The information should not exceed fifty (50) pages (excluding a Proposer’s ACR and/or VPAT), double-sided and should include, but not be limited to:

The Technical Proposal must be organized using the following structure and section headings:

4.1 Proposer’s Background:

1. Proposer’s name and address and, if applicable, EIN. Also indicate the type of entity, for example, a corporation, partnership, or public organization.

2. name and title, address, email and telephone number of the person who receives correspondence and is authorized to make decisions or represent the Proposer. If these persons are different, include information for both.

3. total number of years Proposer has been providing the Services required by this RFP and description of operations, facilities and number of employees dedicated to the development of the Services required by this

RFP

4. brief history of Proposer’s operations to date, noting key milestones, challenges and successes, along with a statement and analysis of Proposer’s organization going forward, including its goals, strategic outlook, projected growth, etc.

5. documentation of Proposer’s organizational structure.

4.2 Minimum Qualifications & Staffing Plan

1. Discuss in detail how your firm meets each of minimum qualifications in Part 2-Paragraph I (a-g) are met.

Clients provided should be those that your firm currently serves or have served within the last 3 years on a scope similar to this RFP. For each client provide, at a minimum, the following:

a. Name and contact information of the client executive at the company. Please note CUNY will use this information to obtain a reference for the referenced products/services.

b. Dates during which your products/services were used/provided

c. Description of the products/services provided

d. Any substantial differences between the Solution proposed for CUNY and that of the previous clients, where applicable.

2. Number of current customers using the Services solicited as part of this RFP; identify how many of such customers are higher education institutions.

3. Proposed staffing plan for rendering the Services required by this RFP (including if plan to use any former CUNY employees triggering JCOPE filing requirement)

4. Biography and/or resumé for each Key Team Member, including personnel who would have direct contact with or provide services to the University. Indicate the roles they would play and describe their experience in performing the Services. For each, please include length of tenure with Proposer’s organization.

5. Completed Attachment A: Solution Requirements Matrix

4.3 Understanding and Approach to Rendering the Services; Schedule for Implementation

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4.3.1 Detection Capabilities

The proposed platform must offer robust and sophisticated detection mechanisms capable of identifying a wide range of academic integrity violations across diverse content types and languages. Please discuss in detail, how your proposed solution meets all the requirements as stated under Part 3.2 A

4.3.2 Implementation & Transition Plan

a. Provide a detailed implementation plan, detailing the activities and timeline necessary to successfully complete installation of the Solution. The implementation plan shall also include an outline of the training plan proposed for the Solution. Proposers should include a Gantt chart outlining how its timeline will align with the deliverables outlined in Section 3.3.

b. The implementation plan should identify resources required for this project (Vendor and CUNY) and procedures for testing and validating the system before full deployment.

c. Provide a detailed transition plan, detailing the activities and timeline necessary to successfully transition the services to another provider if necessary.

d. The transition plan should identify resources required for this project (Vendor and CUNY) and procedures for testing and validating that transition services were completed.

4.3.3 Training and Support

a. Discuss in detail your firm’s proposed training plan that meets all of requirements in Section 3.2 F, G, and Section

3.3 B

b. Discuss in detail your firm’s support plan and provide an escalation process.

c. Provide examples of how your firm provides a sandbox or test environment—used for training, validating new features, pilot deployments, or A/B testing—prior to production rollout.

4.4 Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) Functionality

1. Discuss in detail your proposed solution AI functionality and how it can be utilized by CUNY.

2. To the extent applicable discuss:

I. How the AI component complies with Federal and State laws, regulations and ethical guidelines?

II. What security measures are in place to ensure the safeguarding of Personal Identifiable Information and protection of sensitive data?

III. How is data quality assessed and maintained?

IV. How is the AI model’s accuracy monitored and validated?

V. How will the AI capabilities by verified to ensure appropriate decision making?

4.5 Data Protection

1. Discuss in detail how your firm will comply with the data security requirements described in Part 3 above.

4.6 Pilot Testing and Evaluation

1. Discuss how your firm will plan and support pilot testing and evaluation as discussed in Part 3 above.

4.7 Valued Added

1. Discuss any additional value, expertise, processes, technology, additional solution’s capability, and the like to further the goals of the Project that Proposer can provide to CUNY at no additional cost.

a. Vendors are encouraged to propose additional capabilities or services that enhance the platform’s instructional value, streamline workflows, or extend support for academic integrity beyond core requirements. These features will be considered in the evaluation process if offered at no additional cost to

CUNY.

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Examples of desirable value-added features include:

a. Instructional Enhancement Tools

(a) Peer review workflows for collaborative assignments

(b) Instructor-created content libraries for reusable comments or feedback

(c) Audio or video feedback options within the grading interface

(d) Annotation layers for formative assessment or revision cycles

b. Advanced Analytics and Prediction

(a) Predictive analytics models to identify risk of repeated violations

(b) Department-, course-, or cohort-level integrity insights

(c) Integration of similarity data with student success or academic support dashboards

c. Workflow Automation and Customization

(a) Custom report templates or dashboards for academic integrity panels

(b) Configurable workflows for escalated review or appeal processes

(c) Event-based triggers (e.g., auto-flagging thresholds, automated routing of reports)

d. Innovation and Research Partnership Opportunities

(a) Access to pilot features or experimental detection models (e.g., stylometrics, deep AI audit tools)

(b) Opportunities for collaborative research or validation studies with CUNY faculty

(c) Participation in product advisory boards or pedagogical design panels

(d) All proposed value-added features must be clearly described, including any technical requirements, administrative controls, or limitations.

4.8 License Agreement

1. A Proposer may include its standard End User License Agreement or similar document (“EULA”) for the Solution, as part of its Technical and Management Proposal. If awarded the Contract, the EULA will be deemed part of the Proposal and will become part of the Contract. The University reserves the right to reject the Proposal if the University deems the terms of the EULA to be unacceptable, in the University’s sole discretion. The University further reserves the right to negotiate such terms with the vendor, provided that the final terms must be equally favorable or more favorable to the University than the EULA terms contained in the Proposal.

2. A copy of any terms and conditions referenced in the EULA by hyperlink must be included in the Proposal. The University cannot incorporate terms by hyperlink alone.

3. The terms of this RFP, including but not limited to Parts 3 and 7, shall take precedence over any conflicting terms in the EULA, or any terms addressing the same subject matter as the RFP terms. Further, any of the following terms shall be deemed void and excluded from the Contractor’s EULA:

a. Neither the University nor any user of the Services may be required to defend, indemnify, or hold the Contractor harmless for any liabilities, claims, or expenses. The University’s indemnification obligations shall be solely as set forth in Part 7 (Terms and Conditions);

b. Neither the University nor any user of the Services shall be required to grant a license to Contractor to use, reproduce, or disclose any user information, confidential information, or any user or University intellectual property, as a condition of using the Services, except for the sole purpose of providing the Services;

c. Notwithstanding any disclaimer of warranties, Contractor warrants that the solution provided as part of the Services shall function in all material respects as required by this Contract and in accordance with the applicable product’s documentation, throughout the Term of the Contract;

d. Any mandatory arbitration clauses shall be deemed void;

e. Any limitations of liability shall be deemed void.