Inbound Financial Aid Call Center Services

Tarrant County College District (TCCD) in Fort Worth, Texas has issued Request for Proposal (RFP) 26-006 for Inbound Financial Aid Call Center Services to support student financial aid inquiries across its multi-campus environment. The procurement seeks qualified vendors with at least three years of experience in higher education inbound student services or financial aid call center operations to handle approximately 70,000 annual inbound calls, with peak volume in August (20 percent) and lower volume during February through April and October through December (5 percent each month). Required services include Monday through Thursday operations from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM Central Time and Friday operations from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central Time during non-summer periods, with extended summer hours from mid-May through July and limited Saturday coverage during fall and spring terms. Vendors must demonstrate FERPA compliance capability, support for the Ellucian Colleague system, adequate staffing and continuity planning, quality assurance and reporting functionality, and implementation and training support. Proposals will be evaluated using weighted criteria: Firm Qualifications and Relevant Experience (15 percent), Technical Approach and Scope (25 percent), Staffing, Training, and Service Delivery Model (10 percent), Performance Standards, Reporting, and Quality Assurance (10 percent), Data Security and Compliance (10 percent), and Pricing (30 percent). TCCD expects the contractor to answer at least 80 percent of calls within 60 seconds and maintain an abandoned-call rate not exceeding 5 percent. The initial contract term is two years with options to extend for three additional one-year terms upon mutual agreement. Written questions are due by May 13, 2026, at 5:00 PM Central Time, proposals are due May 26, 2026, at 2:00 PM Central Time, and vendor demonstrations are scheduled for June 15-18, 2026.

Vendors must submit proposals in PDF format through the Bonfire e-Procurement platform at https://tccd.bonfirehub.com/portal, with hard copy submissions accepted only if sealed and delivered to the Tarrant County College Purchasing Office at 300 Trinity Campus Circle, Fort Worth, TX 76102, Building Trinity River East Fork, Room 3217. All proposals must remain valid for 180 days following submission and include comprehensive cost proposals in MS Excel format covering labor, management, software and system access, training, reporting, and all other costs for Years 1 and 2 of the initial term plus optional renewal years and extension periods. Vendors selected as apparent lower bidders must complete and file a Certificate of Interested Parties (Form 1295) in accordance with Texas House Bill 1295 within two days of notification, with submissions directed to christine.east@tccd.edu or the address listed on the RFP. All contractors must maintain minimum insurance coverage including $1,000,000 Commercial General Liability limits, $500,000 Automobile Liability combined single limits, and Workers' Compensation meeting statutory limits with Employer's Liability coverage of $100,000 per accident and $300,000 per disease limits, with all policies naming TCCD as an additional insured. The RFP does not specify an incumbent contractor or indicate set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises, and no explicit budget range has been published, with award value dependent on vendor pricing proposals evaluated within the 30 percent weightage assigned to cost.