RFP_Attachment_5_-_Supplemental_Information_and_Questions_2018.docx

NextGen OSCAR Supplemental Information and Questions

NextGen OSCAR RFP Supplemental Information and Questions

Table of Contents

Purpose

Offerors shall address the supplemental questions listed in this attachment in addition to the requirements listed in the statement of work. These responses are part of the technical approach identified in Volume II, Technical Approach. .

The government recognizes that some requirements of the OSCAR program will not be fully addressed via every proposed product. The goal of the solicitation is to find the best match to our needs. The solicitation does not require a perfect match to every requirement. Offerors should clarify where there are gaps between government requirements and product functionality. Offerors should also suggest work around options to address these gaps whenever possible. For example, if an Offeror cannot directly support all the information portal / training material distribution needs of our RFP, they should describe options that other clients with similar requirements have used.

Respondents may reply to these items either as separate direct responses, or by providing a reference (e.g. Page #, Paragraph #, etc.) to the section of their proposal that provides the required information.

General Capabilities

Existing Configurable System

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts (hereinafter known as either the AO or Government) is seeking a SaaS solution for an applicant tracking system that has previously been developed and successfully deployed to a substantial number of customers. This approach was selected to reduce delays and project risks inherent with custom solution development.

Describe the history and scale of your organization’s SaaS applicant tracking system to include information about the number of active private sector and active public-sector customers your organization currently has in the United States for such solutions. Please include information about your year over year customer retention rate for your SaaS solution. Indicate if your organization has any specialized experience working with legal professionals, law school students, law schools, or federal government customers.

System Availability

Provide information regarding your SaaS offering’s availability during the previous 12 calendar months to include information about how availability has been assessed, calculated, and verified. Describe elements of the system hardware and software design that enhance system availability.

Security

Security Certifications Held or in Progress

Provide information regarding any actions your organization has taken to comply with FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, FIPS 140-2, 199, and 200, or other FISMA security standards. Indicate if your proposed SaaS offering is currently FedRAMP certified or if certification efforts are currently underway.

Describe how your organization monitors and responds to changes in security standards published by the United States government.

Third-Party Assessment Organization (3PAO)

Provide information regarding any external parties your organization has engaged to conduct independent security audits of your organization’s software, infrastructure, or operating procedures. Indicate if independent/3rd party audits are conducted on a recurring basis. Provide a copy of the 3PAO’s most recent summary assessment report or similar document if such a document exists.

Physical Location of Servers and Data

All NextGen OSCAR data and software must be stored only on servers or backup media that are physically located within the continental United States. Verify your agreement to this condition, and identify the physical location of servers and backup media that your organization will use if your proposal is selected. Indicate if this location is currently being used to host data for other existing customers of your organization or if our implementation would be your organization’s first deployment to the hosting facility.

If necessary, offerors may propose the use of servers located outside of the continental United States for the prototyping stages only -- provided they also include detailed plans for the implementation of U.S. based storage after the prototype. In this scenario, the prototypes would not be able to utilize any sensitive OSCAR data.

Data Encryption in Transit

Indicate if your system utilizes encrypted connections (HTTPS) for connections between servers and/or between servers and client devices. Describe the encryption protocol(s) that are used.

User ID and Password Processing

Describe the functionality of your system that supports creation and maintenance of secure user IDs and passwords. What default rules are required to ensure user IDs and passwords are sufficiently complex? Can these rules be modified based upon customer requirements? Does your system lock accounts due to unsuccessful login attempts? Does the system notify system administrators and/or managers when an account has been locked out? Does your system provide an option for automated username notification and password reset? Does the reset process incorporate individual challenge questions? Does your system support two factor authentication? If so, please describe.

Single Sign On (SSO)

Describe your organization’s experience implementing a hybrid single sign-on setup for customers with both internal employee users with known credentials and external users who are creating new IDs for web based access.

AO Required Security Reviews

The AO conducts routine security audits and testing of all information systems that are utilized by its users. The AO may utilize vulnerability scanning tools as a component of this process. Please acknowledge your organization’s agreement to the following: (1) cooperatively participate in these audits and related testing, (2) provide supporting information, and (3) address any identified deficiencies.

User Groups and Access Rights

Our current implementation allows us to create IDs (with elevated access rights) that are used to provide assistance and oversight to other users in their groups. Law school administrators (LSA) are one example of users who support other users. LSAs support law school students and faculty recommenders from their respective schools. As another example, designated court staff provide support to judges and chambers staff in their court. In each of these situations, these users only have access to information from their associated school or court affiliation. A LSA from one school cannot access records for students or faculty recommenders associated with a different school. In a similar fashion, a court employee with elevated access rights cannot view or edit records associated with another court.

· Describe functionality of your proposed toolset that would support this type of delegated support role. Include information about the granularity of the elevated rights. For example, can user rights be adjusted to control read, write, update, delete access for individual fields, documents, application packages, etc. Indicate if the permissions are set based upon assigned user roles, individual user id, or both. Describe how the features of your solution would be configured to ensure that “privileged” users would not have access to information outside of their group.

· Describe functionality of your proposed toolset that would support audits and review of individual accounts, groups, group membership, access rights, and other account security details.

Additional Requirements, Issues, and Clarifications

Software, Hosting, and Professional Services

As indicated in section IV of the SOW, the Government is seeking an offeror who can provide a hosted SaaS solution and any professional services required to configure the solution to meet the requirements of NextGen OSCAR. Describe how your organization would fulfill each component of this requirement.

SaaS Software

Is the proposed SaaS software provided directly by your organization or is it being provided via a partnership with another vendor? If a partnership is utilized, fully describe the nature of the partnership. How long has the partnership existed? How many previous implementations of the SaaS software have been completed via the partnership? How will the offeror ensure that the partner’s software fully meets the Government’s requirements? Are these assurances included in the text of the proposed service level agreement?

Web Based Solution

A core requirement of NextGen OSCAR is that users can access full system functionality via widely available web browsers. Identify the browsers (with version information) that can be used with your proposed solution. Also identify any differences in system functionality when using Microsoft Windows, Apple iOS, and Android platforms. Describe any functionality that requires installation of browser plug-ins or downloads. Include functionality used by end users, system designers, and system administrators. For example, if the process to design/configure a GUI component for the system requires client server software package, please identify and describe that functionality and the required software.

Mobile Device Support

An increasing number of OSCAR users are interested in accessing the system via mobile devices such as iPads, tablets (Android or Windows), iPhones, other smartphones, etc. Identify the mobile devices (with any version requirements) that can be used to access your proposed solution. Please identify any limitations in the use of mobile devices versus desktop based browsers. Does your solution incorporate responsive design methods to support mobile device usage?

Tenancy

Describe the tenancy model used to deploy your SaaS solution to different customers. Please identify any shared hardware and/or software components.

Hosting Services

Describe the architecture of the hosting infrastructure proposed for NextGen OSCAR. Provide information about capacity (data storage, data bandwidth, etc.), firewalls, load balancing, redundancy and backup features, tenancy, security components, etc.

Is the proposed hosting service provided directly by your organization, or is it being provided via a partnership with another vendor? If the later situation is the case, fully describe the nature of the partnership. How long has the partnership existed? How many previous customers have been provided with hosting via the partnership? How will offeror ensure that the partner’s hosting services will fully meet the Government’s requirements? Are these assurances included in the proposed service level agreement?

Is the cost of hosting assessed separately from other fees or is it incorporated into a base subscription fee? If hosting is provided by a partner organization is the charge assessed to the government as a direct cost pass through, or is the government charge based upon a “cost plus” model? If a 3rd party hosting vendor decreases their costs, is the cost to the government reduced? Conversely, is the government protected from hosting price increases during the term of the contract? Provide full information on your hosting price model.

Professional Services

Will proposed professional services be provided directly by your organization, or is it being provided via a partnership with another vendor? If the latter situation is the case, describe the nature of the partnership. How long has the partnership existed? How many previous customers have been provided with professional services via the partnership? Will resources be available for in-person meetings with the Government without incurring travel expenses? How will the offeror ensure that the partner’s professional services fully meet the Government’s requirements? Are these assurances included in the proposed service level agreement?

Service Level Agreement

Provide a proposed service level agreement for the solution offered in your proposal. The AO will use this to assess the offerors general support capabilities and metrics. A more specific service level agreement will be developed in collaboration with the AO during the prototyping stages. If your organization offers different support levels, describe the available levels and the associated costs of each level. Ensure that any cost models included in your response clearly identify any associated service tier.

Content Management

The current OSCAR system provides robust content management functionality that is used by the AO to maintain and update numerous components of the system. This functionality allows us to modify the publicly facing pages of OSCAR that can be reviewed at: https://oscar.uscourts.gov/. The current content management system is also used to manage additional content that is only visible to registered users. The existing content management functionality supports web page edits, graphic files, multimedia files, user notifications, online help, and other content that supports the role of OSCAR as an information portal.

Describe how (or if) your solution would allow the Government to manage content supporting NextGen OSCAR.

Informational Portal

NextGen OSCAR must provide information beyond the range of active hiring. It is the primary portal for all federal law clerk and staff attorney hiring information. In addition to providing information about positions that are available, the system is an important tool in communicating when and where positions are NOT available. The system maintains profiles for all federal judges. While most judges do utilize OSCAR for their law clerk hiring, it is not mandatory. If a judge prefers to have candidates apply in a different manner, OSCAR judge profiles will also communicate that information. In addition, staff attorney offices maintain office profiles to notify applicants of their hiring practices.

Describe how your solution addresses the need for NextGen OSCAR to serve the need to be a general information portal as described above.

Delivery Methodology

Describe your organization’s proposed delivery methodology to address the needs expressed in this RFP. Please include the following information:

· Activities to be performed

· Deliverables to be produced

· Sequencing and timeframe of events

· Resources to be utilized (Including people, tools, hardware, software, etc.)

· For personnel, include information about required skillsets, qualifications, and experience levels

· Risk management methods to be used

· Training to be provided

· Quality controls, standards, and gateways

· Communication plan – between offeror and Government for requirements gathering and solution delivery Indicate if your delivery methodology is based upon Agile principles for software development, or another software delivery methodology.

System Migration and Data Conversion

Describe your organization’s proposed approach for system migration and data conversion. Include information regarding how your organization would identify functionality and data that should be replicated in the NextGen OSCAR. Please describe your organization’s experience with conversion of MySQL data. Please identify any tools that are used to support system migration and data conversion.

Supporting Software

Identify any third-party software or tools that would be used to support the delivery and how they would be leveraged. For example, does your organization use JIRA or other software for issue tracking? What tools are used for requirements tracking? What tools are used to support GUI design? What tools are used to support software testing and release management?

Third Party Software

Identify any third-party software, libraries, or application frameworks that is incorporated into your solution. Describe the controls and processes that are in place to identify and remediate any security vulnerabilities in this third-party software.

Application Processing and Submission

Describe the application processing and tracking capabilities of your proposed solution. Identify any functionality that your solution provides which are unique or superior in the ATS marketplace. Your response shall describe the following:

· The process involved in creating a job posting.

· The process involved in preparing and submitting an application to include information about the supported submission methods such as on-line via the system, via email submission of packages, or via printout and mailing of hardcopy packages.

· The process involved in application package review.

Communication and Collaboration Methods

Describe functionality in your system that supports individual and group level communication. For example, does your solution allow users to submit application packages via internal messaging, external email, or other methods? Does your solution support automated or manual reminder messages? If group messaging is supported, how is permission to this functionality controlled? Does your solution support discussion groups, group scheduling, or other collaboration tools for use by hiring panels or other groups of users?

Templates

Describe any functionality that is available in your proposed solution that provides reusable templates for job postings, emails, letter generation, qualification testing, workflow rules, etc.

Resume Parsing

Describe any functionality that is available in your proposed solution that could extract or parse information from resumes or other source documents to reduce required data entry. Please identify the supported source file formats.

Data Integration and Exchange

Describe any functionality that is available in your proposed solution that could provide similar document parsing or data exchange to facilitate data population. Identify the supported source file formats such as PDF, Microsoft Word DOC, txt file, LinkedIn data exchange, etc.

Search Configuration, Execution, and Review

Describe the process required to configure, execute, and review search results for both the job poster, applicants, and law school administrators.

· Describe the process to configure data elements for inclusion or exclusion from available search criteria? Include screenshots of the interface(s) used during this process.

· Does your system implement a standardized search interface that is used for all queries, a customized GUI for different types of searches (e.g. search for a position versus search for a candidate), a drillable “Dashboard” GUI, or some other method to customize searches? Provide screenshots along with description of the process for configuring the search page(s) of your toolset. If customization of the search interface is possible, identify who completes this. For example, is the layout of the search GUI(s) determined at the time the system is first deployed, or is it configured by system administrators and deployed to end users, or is the end user able to customize their search interface?

· Indicate if individual users have the ability to save search criteria and/or result sets for later use. Please describe the process.

· Please describe any functionality available for users to “tag” individual records for subsequent tracking. Please describe any user level functionality to create custom groups or folders to organize records of interest to that individual user.

· Provide details about how searches are executed with the proposed solution. For example, are search filters applied 1 at a time as they are specified with result sets narrowing as more filters are selected, or with result sets expanding as filters are deselected? Alternatively, are all search filters compiled and applied at the same time to produce a result set? Please also indicate if search execution can be scheduled for “offline” execution with delivery of results to the user. If this is the case, please describe available delivery options such as user “dashboard” in system, or email delivery, etc. Please include screenshots for search execution, and scheduling interfaces as applicable.

· Indicate if your system has the capability to allow users to filter search results so that they only show “new” results since the individual user last executed the query. Provide details on how the system identifies “new” results for this filter. Please also indicate if the user can choose to deselect the “new” filter to view full result sets?

· Indicate if the solution can provide a similar filter capability to exclude “already viewed” line level results that the user does not want to see the next time the search is executed. This situation could be applicable for hiring personnel who have already reviewed an applicant’s submission, and they do not want to see the application again. Alternatively, an applicant may have reviewed a job posting that they do not want to view again. Please provide screenshots showing related functionality. Also describe how a user could “undo” an “already viewed” tagging that may have been inadvertently applied.

· Provide information about the output options for search results. For example, Screen, Excel File, PDF file, URL/link that can be forwarded and opened by authorized users, etc. If graphic presentations of results are possible, identify output options such as png, gif, jpeg, PDF, etc.

Reporting

Describe the reporting functionality and capabilities of your proposed solution to include information related to how data elements are made available for end user reporting. For example, are database field names used on reports, or is there a process that adds a “user friendly” name that would be used by default on reports? Identify support output formats such as PDF, Excel, CSV, etc. for both data and graphics. Describe any capabilities to produce event driven or scheduled distribution of reports. Describe any reporting functionality that would facilitate the use of third party reporting tools such as Tableau, BusinessObjects, etc. For example, does your reporting functionality produce outputs in a specialized format that can be directly read by a third-party tool?

System Metrics

Describe functionality and capabilities of your proposed solution to report system metrics such as the number of active users, the number of applications submitted, the number of positions posted, etc.

Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan

The Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan applies unique rules when law school students are hired for related positions. The primary components of the plan are as follows:

· Law school students must complete at least two years of law school before they can begin the law clerk application process. All law school students who meet this requirement are allowed access to the OSCAR system on the same date and time during the annual hiring cycle. This is known as the hiring plan “Access Date.” The goal is to ensure that all eligible candidates are provided with equal access to positions available each year.

· Federal judges begin evaluation of law school candidates on the same date and time during the annual hiring cycle. This is known as the hiring plan “Release Date.” The goal is to ensure that all hiring judges are provided with equal access to the pool of law school candidates available each year.

The hiring plan constraints apply to current law school students seeking federal law clerk positions. However, the hiring plan does not apply to the following:

· Applicants who have already graduated law school, or

· Applications from both law school students and graduates to staff attorney office positions.

More information about the Hiring Plan can be found at: https://oscar.uscourts.gov/federal_law_clerk_hiring_pilot That page provides a link to a PDF document (Ad Hoc Committee on Law Clerk Hiring Announcement) that offers additional background information. The hiring plan is a two-year pilot. The Ad Hoc Committee is seeking the voluntary participation of federal judges, faculty recommenders, and other parties involved in this process. Any judge who chooses not to follow the plan would have to do so outside of the OSCAR system to accept online applications; however, these judges can maintain a profile and post positions.

Processing Cycles and Usage Spikes

The NextGen OSCAR system will experience dramatic spikes in system usage corresponding to the “Access Date” and the “Release Date.”

On the “Access Date,” a large number of law school students will have their first chance to create accounts, upload documents that will become part of application packages (e.g., resume(s), cover letters, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and writing samples), view profiles and positions, generate recommendation requests; and submit applications online. Due to the highly competitive nature of law clerk positions, a significant number of students will immediately start using the system at the very moment that access is opened to them.

As part of the application process, applicants will request letters of recommendation from law school faculty recommenders and external recommenders. A spike in related activities will occur. There will also be an increase in the number of recommendation letters that are uploaded directly by recommenders, or with the assistance of law school administrators.

Submitted applications will be released to judges who have available positions roughly four months after the applicant access date. On this “Release Date,” a significant number of judges and/or members of their chambers staff will begin reviewing applications and generating application packages. Their goal is to efficiently identify the most qualified candidates for their positions before they are hired into another position by another judge.

Outside of these peak periods, the system will experience relatively moderate to low activity. During these off-peak periods, judges will continue to post positions as needed, and applicants who are subject to hiring plan restrictions will file applications that will be immediately released to judges.

Configuration and Infrastructure Requirements

Please describe how your proposed system could be configured to address the business and technical requirements associated with the Law Clerk Hiring Plan as described above. At a minimum please address the following:

· How would your solution screen out and block creation of accounts for ineligible law school students prior to their appropriate Access Date?

· How would your solution facilitate audits of created accounts to identify entry of incorrect responses to screening data? Would these audits be available to LSAs and OSCAR program office personnel?

· How would your solution address the requirement to hold applications from current cycle law school students until a set Release Date?

· How would Access and Release dates be updated for each year? Would OSCAR program office personnel have direct control over these dates?

· Please describe how your proposed system would maintain system performance levels during the peak usage periods described above? Include information regarding proactive monitoring of usage changes, peak capacity handling, and “elastic” provisioning capabilities. Offerors shall indicate how quickly the proposed infrastructure will respond to changes in system utilization. Identify if additional costs would be incurred during peak usage and/or if costs would be reduced during periods of lower usage.

PDF Processing

The NextGen OSCAR system will need to accurately and efficiently process PDF files as both a file source and output format. PDF files are frequently used in the current OSCAR for system for submission of transcripts, letters of recommendation, and other inputs. Compiled application “packages” can be generated from multiple source files and system data in a standardized PDF output file. When managing these files, it is essential that the output file size is kept below a given threshold to reduce system overhead and to facilitate printing. Scanned transcripts are often problematic due to the large file sizes that can be generated. When processing PDF files, it is also vital that accessibility features such as screen magnification and “read out loud” are supported to the maximum possible extent.

Provide information about your system’s PDF processing capabilities. Does your system generate PDF files as an output option? Does all PDF generation occur on the server, or are client based components or software involved? Can the file size of input PDF files be restricted or adjusted to fit within a given threshold? Can text be extracted from input PDF files where the content was either character based or graphically based scanned documents? What level of OCR accuracy can users generally expect from these sources? Describe what PDF accessibility features are supported by your system. For example, does your system provide the option to tag documents to support “Read Out Loud” functionality?

Active Application Quantity Limit (100)

The current OSCAR system enforces a limit of 100 active applications per applicant on a rolling basis. The goal is to ensure that applicants carefully select the positions they apply for based upon their qualifications and focused interests. This limitation is only for law clerk applications, not for staff attorney applications.

Describe any functionality that is available in your proposed solution that can support this 100-law clerk application limit. If functionality does not exist to enforce a limit, please indicate if functionality exists that could filter out applications from users who have submitted a given number of applications.

Recommendation Letter Processing

The current OSCAR system allows applicants to request letters of recommendation from law school faculty or external recommenders as part of building an online application. Recommender accounts are created to specifically facilitate submission of recommendation letters. These letters are submitted on a confidential basis by the recommender or law school administrator. Although applicants cannot view the contents of the letters, they are able to track if the letter has been provided.

Describe any functionality that is available in your proposed solution that could support the submission and tracking of confidential letters of recommendation for faculty and external recommenders.

Candidate Pools

Describe any functionality available in your proposed solution that could support the implementation of a general searchable candidate pool. This general searchable candidate pool would be in addition to applications submitted directly to available law clerk and staff attorney positions. Please indicate features available to candidates to specify what opportunities they would or would not be interested in. For example, could candidates indicate their interests in opportunities in a set of geographically locations, or after a specific date, etc.? Fully describe the search/filter capabilities that would be available to hiring personnel to efficiently match qualified candidates for their available positions. For example, could hiring personnel indicate that they only wanted to see candidates who have completed a given number of years of law school or have a class rank above a given level? How would the toolset process results if a filter was set to specify minimum class rank, but a candidate’s school does not calculate or provide a class rank?

Data Archiving

AO policy requires that all applications submitted in the OSCAR system must be accessible for at least 2 years after a position was closed. The current OSCAR system maintains all associated files for an extended period of time via an “archiving” process. This allows the AO to meet the needs of data preservation while also maintaining the efficiency of our system. Please describe how your system would address this objective.

Specific Data Processing Scenarios

The majority of law clerk positions are filled by recent law school graduates. Law school students typically apply for these positions well before they graduate. Because they often have minimal work experience, they rely heavily upon their academic performance to distinguish themselves from other applicants. Incorporating data used to measure academic performance (e.g., transcripts and class rank) into OSCAR presents challenges.

Respondents should indicate how they would address these challenges. Respondents are not expected to be able to completely resolve these challenges. However, responses should provide insight regarding:

· How a vendor would process problematic data sources and

· Any unique features of a respondent’s toolset that could be leveraged to minimize the impact of these challenges.

1. Transcripts

Many judges and staff attorney offices require applicants to submit law school, graduate, and undergraduate transcripts as part of their applications. Some of the key information includes the following:

· Course subjects that have been studied,

· Grades that were received,

· Any subjects that were taken multiple times,

· How many semesters of grades have been recorded,

· Student’s overall grade point average (GPA),

· Grading scale used by the school,

· Student’s class ranking (if available), and

· Names of school(s) attended – particularly for transfer students.

There is no standardized layout for transcripts. Transcripts also typically include intricate graphic backgrounds designed to impede alterations. The graphic elements create significant challenges for the OSCAR system:

· End user scans are sometimes executed at a very high resolution (and/or color depth) that can produce extremely large output files. These files can be cumbersome to process in the system and can occasionally cause printer errors.

· Alternatively, end user scans may be executed in a manner that produces poor quality and/or unreadable output files.

· Files saved in graphic format need to be processed by optical character recognition (OCR) software before text data can be accessed. The combination of varied document formats, graphic backgrounds, and unreliable scan quality greatly reduces the accuracy of OCR processing of transcript data.

The lack of accurate text extraction from transcripts prevents the OSCAR system from directly loading the information from them. The current OSCAR system requires students to manually enter academic performance data into the OSCAR system in a grade sheet form. The process of entering “grade sheets” is relatively time consuming, and it is one of the most frequently cited “pain points” by applicants.

Respondents to this RFP need to provide information on the following as part of their solution:

· How their proposed solution would process transcripts in a manner that would address concerns with file size, readability, and accessibility of the underlying data to the extent possible? Describe any specialized experience processing PDF files, and how this experience would be leveraged to handle these files.

· Describe any specialized experience in handling transcript data. For example, indicate if you have worked previously with any organization offering electronic transcript exchange services.

1. Class Ranking

Law schools use one of the following class ranks systems to rank their students: (1) Does Not Rank, (2) Ranks, or (3) Partially Ranks. The system shall accommodate the following class rank criteria for law schools to certify their class ranking system and applicants to identify as part of their account registration and profile:

· Does Not Rank: If a school does not rank its students, the law school administrator selects “Does Not Rank” for the class rank certification in OSCAR. For applicants who select a law school that does not rank, the system only displays the option of “School Does Not Rank” as part of the applicant profile under the class rank field. To ensure equitable treatment of applicants from schools that do not rank, OSCAR is configured so that a judge’s applicant search on any percentage class ranking also includes all applicants from those schools that do not rank. The system identifies those applicants in a search result listing “School does not rank” in the class rank column of the applicant list.

· Ranks: If a school ranks it students, the law school administrator selects "Ranks” for the class rank certification in OSCAR. For applicants from a school that ranks, OSCAR requires those applicants to select their class rank from a drop-down menu that includes the selections of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 33%, 50%, Below 50%," and “I am not ranked option. They will not have the option to select "School does not rank." OSCAR is configured so that a judge’s applicant search on any of the class rank percentage selections returns all applicants that meet that class ranking percentage or less. For example, when a judge searches on 10%, the system returns all applicants that identified their class rank as 10%, 5%, and Does Not Rank and list their ranking in the class rank column.

· Partial Rank: If a school has a partial ranking system (e.g., school only provides rankings to the top one third of its students), law school administrators selects "Partial Rank” for the class rank certification. Applicants from schools that partially rank have the option of selecting their class rank percentage (e.g., 5% through Below 50%) or "I am Not Ranked." Ranked applicants from schools that partially rank are returned with a search on a percentage ranking; unranked students are not (although they will show in other searches, e.g., by law school). Unranked students from those schools are identified in a search result by the words "Student is not ranked" in the class rank column.

· For applicants who do not attend an American Bar Association accredited law school, they identify their law school as “Other” and these applicants have access to all the ranking options in OSCAR.

Respondents to this RFP need to provide information on the following as part of their solution:

· How does the offeror’s proposed solution will process class rank data for searching, filters, and sorting? Are there any capabilities in the proposed toolset that could help to rationalize this data?