Statement of Work SJAA Sole Source 27-0065.docx

Exhibit A – Statement of Work The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) “Contractor” agrees to perform the work outlined in this statement of work in a professional manner and subject to the requirements and direction of the State provided the State remains active and in good standing with Contractor.

1. General Provisions

1.1. Contractor shall administer the following examinations:

1.1.1. Contractor’s Computer-based testing (“CBT”)

1.1.1.1. Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)

1.1.1.2. Fundamentals of Surveying (FS)

1.1.1.3. Principles & Practice of Surveying (PS)

1.1.1.4. Any Disciplines of the Principles and Practices of Engineering that are transitioned to CBT beginning January 2018

1.2. Contractor shall offer these examinations subject to all applicable policies and procedures set forth in their (i) Exam Reference Handbook; (ii)NCEES Examinee Guide; and (iii) Manual of Policy and Position Statements.

1.3. Contractor shall direct candidates to create a NCEES Record. Such record shall include candidate education records and documentation of required experience for candidate’s license type as set forth in State rules and statute. NCEES Records shall apply to exam applicants and endorsement applicants.

2. Contractor and State Resources

2.1. Contractor shall provide a primary contact for the State regarding examination issues, management oversight and to answer questions and provide assistance as needed. Contractor shall notify the State of any changes to State’s primary contact or other key personnel changes that are relevant to this contract in writing no later than thirty (30) days of the change.

2.2. Contractor shall provide all testing services for CBT examinations identified in §1.1. Contractor shall assume responsibility for all services set forth in this statement of work, whether or not it performs the service itself or utilizes subcontractors to perform the service. The State shall consider Contractor to be the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters. In the event that one of the subcontractors ends their agreement with Contractor, Contractor shall ensure that there is no disruption in services.

2.3. Contractor will partner with Pearson VUE to administer the CBT examinations.

2.4. Beginning with the April 2022 pencil-and-paper- administration, the 16-hour PE structural examination will be offered as a regional examination and administered only by the Contractor. This policy will continue until the examination transitions to computer-based testing. Examinees will be allowed to travel beyond jurisdictional boundaries to take the examination.

2.5. Contractor shall select and train licensed Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors, as applicable to the applicant’s license type, to complete candidate experience reviews.

2.6. The State shall designate a liaison and other employees with responsibility and authority for review and approval of services under this Contract in order to accomplish the tasks outlined in this Contract and provide the services in accordance within the required timeframes.

3. Transition to CBT Examinations

3.1. Contractor shall identify all activities and timeframes, communicate and coordinate with State for transitioning pencil-and-paper examinations to CBT examinations.

3.2. Contractor shall notify the State at least 12 months prior to conversion of all pencil-and-paper examinations to CBT.

4. Candidate Resources and Customer Service

4.1. Contractor shall ensure all customer and candidate services coordinators are trained to answer questions about the State’s exam administration process, requirements, experience and education review.

4.2. Contractor shall provide an online chat format as well as a toll-free number for State’s candidates. Contractor’s call center shall be staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), Monday-Friday, except on recognized holidays.

5. Examination Schedules and Sites

5.1. Contractor shall offer four testing windows on an annual basis for the CBT examinations. Each of these windows will last three months. CBT examinations will be administered at authorized Pearson VUE testing centers. Exceptions to the four testing windows are lower volume examinations, which will be offered annually as detailed below in 5.1.1., upon mutual agreement between Contractor and State.

5.1.1. Certain CBT examinations, upon mutual agreement by Parties and including Principles & Practice of Engineer Group II exams, shall be administered through CBT not less than one time annually beginning in calendar year 2018.

6. Candidate Registration and Exam Administration

6.1. Contractor shall administer CBT examinations for candidates who register, pay a fee, and attest that they have met the qualifications for examination, including experience and education requirements as set forth in Sections 12-120-211 through 12-120-213, 12-120-311 through 12-120-313, C.R.S., and Board Rule.

6.1.1. Candidates will register directly with Contractor using a secure web-based system.

6.2. Contractor shall administer the PE Structural 16-hour pencil-and-paper examinations regionally to candidates who register, pay a fee, and attest that they have met the qualifications for examination, including experience and education requirements as set forth in Sections 12-120-211 through 12-120-213, 12-120-311 through 12-120-313, C.R.S., and Board Rule.

6.2.1. The State shall receive and process applications for licensure subsequent to candidate passing the examination and the receipt of candidate’s NCEES Record.

6.2.2. Contractor shall provide candidates with exam authorization. Contractor shall notify candidates approximately two (2) weeks prior to the examination and make exam materials available to the candidate electronically via Contractor’s secure website. Materials include the exam authorization notice, exam type, site location and information regarding examination policies.

6.2.3. Contractor shall make available a secure web-based system for candidate registration and be responsible for accessibility and functioning of the system. If at any time the system is inaccessible, or access is limited, Contractor shall be responsible for making alternate solutions available to the State’s candidates within a timeframe that is acceptable to the State, and for correcting any problems that result from the limited access or lack of access to Contractor’s services.

6.2.4. Contractor shall provide all necessary and required equipment and materials to enhance validity of interpretations of test results, ensure a valid and comfortable testing experience, verify the identity of all candidates, and enforce check-in, check-out, and testing session security procedures.

6.2.4.1. Pursuant to Section 24-34-107(1), C.R.S., if the candidate does not have a social security number, Contractor shall use the candidate’s individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or another document verifying the candidate’s identity, as determined by the State.

6.2.5. Contractor shall provide reports of exam incidents and irregularities to the State prior to the release of any exam results information.

6.3. Contractor shall maintain exam security in accordance with Contractor and State policies.

6.4. Contractor shall take reasonable steps to ensure that registration- and examination-related documents (whether in paper or electronic format) are properly handled and processed. In the event that a mistake occurs in the handling or processing of these materials, including answer booklets, or in the administration of examinations, Contractor will correct the error if possible or permit the affected candidate(s) to retest at no additional fee or receive a refund of his or her original fee.

6.5. Contractor and the State shall have joint responsibility for investigating and responding to irregularities including, but not limited to, instances of suspected candidate misconduct, to determine if an irregularity has occurred and whether results should be invalidated. Contractor shall provide the State with timely notice of all such testing irregularities and corroborating evidence. The State will provide Contractor with timely reports regarding the status of any investigations and the information obtained during the course of those investigations.

6.5.1. For any irregularities related to the administration of CBT examinations, Contractor and Pearson VUE will conduct any required investigations to determine if an irregularity has occurred and whether results should be invalidated.

6.5.2. Any decision to invalidate a test score on a completed examination because of suspected candidate misconduct or other irregularity will be made by the State, with input, when appropriate, from Contractor. Contractor shall retain the authority, however, to:

6.5.2.1. Refuse to permit a candidate to test if the candidate does not have proper identification or otherwise has failed to comply with Contractor or Contractor’s requirements and policies for exam registration and admission; and

6.5.2.2. Remove a candidate from a testing center because of suspected misconduct, either before, during or after the candidate completes an examination. If a candidate is removed prior to concluding an examination, the examination will not be scored.

7. Examination and NCEES Record Fees

7.1. Contractor will collect all examination-related fees directly from candidates during the examination registration process. The examination fees charged will be those that have been approved by the Council and as published in the NCEES Policy Manual. The fee assessed for the administration of pencil-and-paper examinations will be the fee that is established by the NCEES Board of Directors.

7.2. Contractor shall assess State’s candidates the following fees:

CBT Examinations

Pencil-and-paper Examinations

NCEES Record

All license types, NCEES Record transmittal to State, to include review and evaluation of engineer/surveyor experience

$100

$100

7.3. The State shall be given at least ninety (90) days written notice by Contractor, and the State must provide written acknowledgement of receipt of Contractor’s notice, if Contractor wishes to change the fees. Fee changes shall be mutually agreed to by both Parties to this contact and accomplished in a State approved contract amendment.

7.4. Fee increases shall be applied in a manner that ensures that State’s candidates are not charged higher fees than those charged to candidates testing from other jurisdictions across the United States.

7.5. In no event shall fees be increased more than once in any twelve (12) month period.

7.6. Contractor shall accept candidate payments by major credit cards. Contractor’s electronic payment system and credit card payment provider for credit card processing must be secure at all times.

7.7. All fees paid by candidates shall be non-refundable, regardless of whether the candidate actually takes the examination ordered, except as otherwise expressly provided as follows:

7.7.1. For the PE Structural 16-hour pencil-and-paper examinations, Contractor shall allow candidates to cancel their registration by Contractor-designated cancellation dates. Candidates who cancel by the deadline shall receive a refund of their fee minus a fifty dollar ($50) processing fee.

7.7.2. For CBT examinations, candidates who cancel their exam less than 48 hours prior to their scheduled exam will forfeit their entire registration fee. Those who cancel more than 48 hours prior to their scheduled exam will receive a refund of their registration fee less a $50 administrative fee. All reschedule fees are payable directly to Pearson VUE and are subject to applicable Pearson VUE fees.

7.7.3. Contractor shall allow exceptions to refund policy for medical emergencies, death in immediate family and unexpected military deployment. Candidates are required by Contractor to provide documentation supporting incidents. Approved exceptions shall receive a full refund.

8. Test Administration Accommodations

8.1. Contractor, in cooperation with the State, shall determine reasonable, fair and equitable methods to be employed to administer examinations to candidates. All such accommodations shall comply with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Contractor will review all requests for accommodation and make determinations regarding the approval of the request. Procedures shall be in accordance with Contractor exam accommodation policies and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accommodations.

8.2. Contractor shall have the responsibility for ensuring that the Examinations are administered according to Contractor approved accommodations. All administrative costs associated with such accommodations shall be the responsibility of Contractor.

9. Examination Scoring and Results

9.1. Contractor shall be responsible for scoring of all Contractor’s examinations including verifying rosters for scoring, reporting exam results, and conducting copying/collusion analyses.

9.2. Results of CBT examinations will be available to the State and will be released directly to each candidate within 7–10 days.

9.3. For Contractor’s PE Structural 16-hour pencil-and-paper examinations, Contractor shall score and provide official pass/fail results for Contractor’s examinations to the State within twelve (12) weeks.

9.3.1. Results shall be provided to the State via electronic files “Examination Results Files” using secure transmission methods. The Examination Results Data File format and data elements shall conform to that specified in Exhibit B of this contract. Exhibit B shall be transmitted by Contractor to State through May 31, 2019, after which time the State shall access the Examination Results electronically through Contractor’s site.

9.3.2. Such results shall be made available to State’s candidates electronically via Contractor’s secure web-based program.

10. NCEES Record/Experience Review

10.1.1. Contractor shall direct candidates to submit educational transcripts and provide Contractor with documentation of experience related to the license type in accordance with Sections 12-25-211 through 213, and 12-25-311 through 313, C.R.S., and Board Rule. This documentation shall become the NCEES Record.

10.1.2. Contractor shall review the experience in the NCEES Record for candidates who pass the examination to evaluate progressive experience in accordance with NCEES Model Rule.

10.1.3. Contractor shall directly engage candidates regarding experience documentation.

10.1.4. Contractor shall provide feedback of initial candidate experience review to candidates within three weeks of receipt of experience documentation. Feedback shall be limited to outcome of verified experience; information provided by verifier shall not be released to candidate as it is confidential.

10.1.5. Contractor shall permit the State to securely access the NCEES Records electronically through Contractor’s site.

11. Reports

11.1. Contractor shall be responsible for providing to State, at least annually in May of each year, technical evidence regarding validity of pass/fail interpretations of candidate performance on Contractor’s examinations. Technical evidence shall comply with generally accepted psychometric standards and sufficiently disclose to State information pertinent to the valid interpretation of candidate pass/fail performance on Contractor’s examinations. Such evidence at a minimum shall include information concerning its methods of scoring Contractor examinations, its methods of determining cut scores and reliability information for its examinations.

11.2. Contractor will provide statistical data on the performance of examination candidates to institutions within the State that have ABET accreditation status as requested by the State.

12. Data, Records and Information Management

12.1. Nothing in this contract shall be deemed to grant to the State, whether by implication, estoppel, forfeiture or otherwise, any ownership, license, entitlement or other proprietary rights relating to inventions, patents, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, copyrights or franchise, with respect to any Contractor Examinations or other Contractor intellectual property. All such rights shall be and remain exclusively those of Contractor.

12.2. Under no circumstances shall the State accept custody or ownership of Contractor’s secure licensing examinations or other confidential examination-related materials. If the State needs to review Contractor’s secure examination content and related confidential materials, the State shall make arrangements with Contractor to conduct such reviews at Contractor’s proctored test sites and per Contractor’s non-disclosure requirements.

12.3. Examination data of State’s candidates are the property of the State. Contractor shall maintain each examinee’s records for at least three (3) years after the examinee’s exam date, at no cost to the State, and in a manner that allows retrieval of candidate data and provision of such data to the State in a timely manner.

12.4. Contractor shall ensure that all candidate data, information and communications about candidates between Contractor and the State shall be confidential, protected from access by unauthorized parties and sent via secure transmission methods at all times.

12.5. Information related to the State’s candidates shall not be posted on the public Internet. All personally-identifiable information about an individual candidate shall be accessible only to Contractor and that candidate. In all cases, no personally-identifiable information shall be available to any person other than Contractor, the State or State-authorized personnel, and the State’s candidate to which it applies.

12.6. State shall be given at least ninety (90) days written notice by Contractor, and the State must provide written acknowledgement by the State of receipt of Contractor’s notice, regarding any changes Contractor may request to the data file format. Changes shall be mutually agreed to by both Parties to this contract and accomplished in a State approved contract amendment.

13. Contractor Performance

13.1. Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that its licensing examinations comply with commonly-accepted psychometric standards.

13.2. Contractor shall have the right to establish reasonable policies for exam administration, which shall include but not necessarily be limited to all such policies established by Contractor.

13.3. Contractor shall be liable to the State for any damages suffered by the State as a result of a material breach by Contractor of this contract, subject to the following limitations:

13.3.1. Contractor shall not be liable for any damage or injury caused by or arising out of the act, neglect, default or omission of any persons or entities other than Contractor and its employees and subcontractors.

13.4. Contractor shall assist the State in the event of legal challenges concerning the validity of Contractor examinations and State’s use of pass/fail results from Contractor examinations. Contractor shall be responsible for all costs and expenses incurred in defending any challenge to the validity of an examination.

13.5. Upon request by State, Contractor shall provide the State with information concerning its methods of scoring Contractor examinations, its methods of determining cut scores and reliability information for its examinations, and its methods for review of engineering and surveying experience.

13.6. The State may audit Contractor’s performance during the course of this Contract. Audits may encompass service quality, including marketing, responsiveness to candidates and the State, timeliness of required reporting, and test site visits in which the State is permitted to observe administrations of Contractor’s examinations to the State’s candidates.

14. Business Continuity

14.1. Contractor shall create a Business Continuity Plan that Contractor will follow in order to continue operations after a Disaster or a Business Interruption. A Business Interruption is any event that disrupts Contractor’s ability to complete the Work for a period of time, and may include, but is not limited to a Disaster, power outage, strike, loss of necessary personnel or computer virus. A disaster is an event that makes it impossible for Contractor to perform the Work out of its regular facility or facilities, and may include, but is not limited to, natural disasters, fire or terrorist attacks. The Business Continuity Plan shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

14.1.1. How Contractor will replace staff that has been lost or is unavailable during or after a Business Interruption so that the Work is performed in accordance with the Contract.

14.1.2. How Contractor will back-up all information necessary to continue performing the Work, so that no information is lost because of a Business Interruption.

14.1.3. In the event of a Disaster, the plan shall also include how Contractor will make all information available at its back-up facilities.

14.1.4. How Contractor will minimize the effects on candidates and the State of any Business Interruption.

14.1.5. How Contractor will communicate with the State and candidates during the Business Interruption and points of contact within Contractor’s organization the State can contact in the event of a Business Interruption.

14.1.6. Planned long-term back-up facilities out of which Contractor can continue operations after a Disaster.

14.1.7. The time period it will take to transition all activities from Contractor’s regular facilities to the back-up facilities after a Disaster.

14.2. Contractor shall deliver the Business Continuity Plan to the State upon request.

Some of the above information may be changed upon final contract execution, after negotiation with contracted vendor.

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