Financial aid services

Winthrop University in York County, South Carolina is seeking a third-party vendor to provide comprehensive Financial Aid Services with an Integrated Call Center through a Request for Proposal (RFP). The university requires a vendor to manage inbound call center services for student and prospective student inquiries related to financial aid, admissions, registration, and account status, handling an average of approximately 8,838 calls over six months. Contractor staff must possess at least three years of financial aid experience, demonstrate proficiency with the Ellucian Banner system, and be capable of handling all higher education financial aid requirements compliant with federal, state, and institutional regulations. The evaluation criteria will be based on technical proposal (40 points), offeror's experience and qualifications (35 points), and price proposal (25 points). Key proposal submission deadlines include a questions deadline of January 23, 2023, at 3:00 PM, and proposal submission deadline of February 15, 2023, at 11:00 AM, with award notification expected on February 24, 2023. The initial contract term is one year, with potential extension to a total five-year contract period ending February 19, 2028.

The procurement does not specify specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises. The university currently has no existing contract for these services, having recently received supplemental services from FA Solutions for a couple of months. The vendor must provide all call center technology, staffing, and infrastructure, while Winthrop will provide VPN access, Banner system access, financial aid email access, and shared documents. Call center operators must be full-time, dedicated exclusively to Winthrop, ideally US-based, with a majority of live operator answering and flexible service metrics. The vendor must also provide their own ticketing system, quality assurance processes, and staff training. While a specific budget range is not explicitly stated, the university processes over $90 million in federal, state, and institutional financial aid annually for its enrollment of more than 4,700 students. Pricing must be submitted on a yearly basis with an extended five-year total price, and the state will not apply in-state vendor preferences to this solicitation.