S000000381 Questions and Answers~1.xls
XLS spreadsheet 35 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- S000000381
- Issued by
- Arkansas
About this file
This is a Questions and Answers document related to a Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLFP) solicitation from the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services. The document addresses 24 vendor questions covering various aspects of the program, including service delivery expectations, employee eligibility, and implementation requirements. The state clarifies that approximately 6,900 state government employees (excluding public school employees) are potential program participants. The state expects contractors to propose appropriate proportions of virtual and in-person counseling services, with opportunities for participation in benefits fairs and new employee orientations.
Key financial and operational details are notably withheld in the Q&A, with the state indicating that budget information and current service provider details are not necessary for proposal submission. The document confirms that the resulting contract may be extended to other public sector jurisdictions. Federal loan eligibility determinations will be the contractor's responsibility, and contractors are expected to develop comprehensive marketing and rollout strategies as outlined in Section 2.2 B and C of the RFP. The state maintains flexibility regarding implementation dates, noting all dates in the RFP are tentative due to unforeseen circumstances.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFP Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program.pdf | ||
| S000000381 Technical Proposal Packet.docx | DOCX document | |
| S000000381 Official Solicitation Price Sheet Draft.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| SRV-1~1.pdf | ||
| RFP Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program REVISED.pdf | ||
| Contract and Grant Disclosure~75.pdf | ||
| S000000381 Official Solicitation Price Sheet REVISED.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| S000000381 Solicitation Cancellation Form.pdf |
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Text version
Bid Q&A 2
| S000000381 Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program Questions and Answers | |||
| QUESTION # | SOLICITATION SECTION | QUESTION | RESPONSE |
| 1 | Who is your current service provider (incumbent)? | This information is not necessary to submit a responsive proposal. | |
| 2 | What is your budget for this contract? | This information is not necessary to submit a responsive proposal. | |
| 3 | How many employees total are PSLF eligible and should receive support of our services? | The number of state government employees is approximately 6,900. This number does not include public school employees | |
| 4 | Section 2 â?? Requirements. 2.2(E) Can you expand upon your needs for virtual and in-person counseling? | State expectation is for Prospective Contractors to propose the most appropriate and effective proportion of in-person and virtual counseling. | |
| 5 | Section 2 â?? Requirements. 2.2(E)1. in-person counseling, how many times per year do you anticipate required travel? | State expectation is for Prospective Contractors to propose the most appropriate and effective proportion of in-person and virtual counseling. | |
| 6 | Will the State consider adding language to this RFP that would allow other public sector jurisdictions (i.e., other states, cities, counties, educational institutions, etc.) the ability to utilize the terms, conditions, and competitive nature of this contract once executed? | Yes, consideration will be given, this option exists in any resulting services contract. | |
| 7 | The URL provided in Section 21. Technology Access. of SRV-1-1.pdf results in a 404 error. Can you provide the intended PDF reference? | See the updated SRV-1 file, linked in the REVISED RFP and also posted to our website. | |
| 8 | Can the State provide desired expectation quantities in-person visits, dedicated visits and benefit fairs support? | State expectation is for Prospective Contractors to propose the most appropriate and effective proportion of in-person and virtual counseling. | |
| 9 | Eligibility for PSLFP requires employment certification. Who will be responsible for certifying employment for eligible employees? | Federal Loan eligibility determination will be made by Contractor. | |
| 10 | For the purpose of this question, we are using a working assumption that TSS will be able to provide certification for all eligible state government employees: can we anticipate receiving a monthly report with the employees (specifically with employee ID) TSS has processed? If not, how frequently should we anticipate receiving such certifications? | Federal Loan eligibility determination will be made by Contractor. | |
| 11 | We believe in-person education is critical to the success of this service. To mitigate cost, can we assume that there will be opportunities where employees from multiple offices can gather by regions for educational events? Would online training/learning options be an option? If so, what existing resources does TSS have for this? | State expectation is for Prospective Contractors to propose the most appropriate and effective proportion of in-person and virtual counseling. | |
| 12 | If there are no reliable opportunities to reach employees regionally, how many and where are state offices located that have 50+ employees? | State expectation is for Prospective Contractors to propose the most appropriate and effective proportion of in-person and virtual counseling. | |
| 13 | Can we assume that smaller offices with fewer than 50 employees would allow employees to attend meetings at centralized locations or using virtual options? | State expectation is for Prospective Contractors to propose the most appropriate and effective proportion of in-person and virtual counseling. | |
| QUESTION # | SOLICITATION SECTION | QUESTION | RESPONSE |
| 14 | Should we include a roll-out and marketing strategy to introduce this benefit to employees? If not, how does TSS anticipate introducing this benefit to state government employees? | Please see Section 2.2, B and C of the RFP document. | |
| 15 | How does TSS typically notify employees of the available benefits? Would this be promoted annually during open enrollment or perhaps on some other schedule? | Please see Section 2.2, B and C of the RFP document. | |
| 16 | Would we be able to participate in benefits fairs to sign employees up? If so, what is the typical schedule, frequency, and scope of participation? Will all of these happen in Central Arkansas offices or throughout the state? | Prospective Contractors are expected to respond to RFP with a comprehensive plan. | |
| 17 | Would we be able to include a video introduction to the benefit at new employee orientations? If this is done on an individual basis by Department, how can you help our team engage with appropriate employees in each of these agencies? | Prospective Contractors are expected to respond to RFP with a comprehensive plan. | |
| 18 | Are there any potential roadblocks TSS has identified internally or believes may be a particular challenge that the partner organization should be prepared to mitigate? | No. | |
| 19 | Public reporting indicates the number of state government employees is between 56,000 and 57,000 employees. Is that correct? | The number of state government employees is approximately 6,900. This number does not include public school employees | |
| 20 | Is the 15% of eligible employees who have initiated the process included in the 30% of TSS OSP estimates could potentially qualify for the program? How many State of Arkansas employees would be eligible to participate in this service? | Prospective Contractors are expected to determine the number of eligible state employees. | |
| 21 | Given that there are likely retired employees with student loans who might have the service and payment count to be eligible for forgiveness, does TSS consider them eligible to receive PSLFP support? If so, how many retirees employees would that entail? | Not at this time. | |
| 22 | Would TSS oversee the provision of PSLFP serivces to those individuals as well? And which department would oversee the service? | Not at this time. | |
| 23 | Under what circumstances might the start date be adjusted? | Dates in RFP are noted as tentative due to unforseen circumstances. | |
| 24 | Are there circumstances that might adjust the start to an earlier date? | Dates in RFP are noted as tentative due to unforseen circumstances. |
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