Student debt prevention professional SVC

The State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education (SBTCE) and South Carolina Technical College System (SCTCS) are seeking a professional services contractor to provide comprehensive student debt prevention and financial literacy services across 14 technical colleges statewide. The primary deliverables include reducing student loan cohort default rates through financial literacy tools, comprehensive default prevention planning, borrower outreach during grace periods and delinquency, and robust reporting systems accessible to system and college administrators. Qualified vendors must demonstrate at least five years of experience reducing student loan default rates and submit two comparable project references completed within the last three years. The procurement will follow a two-phase evaluation process, with Phase I focusing on qualifications (30 points), technical approach (35 points), and pricing (20 points), and Phase II involving demonstrations (15 points). Key dates include a non-mandatory pre-proposal conference on May 16, 2024, at 10:00 AM EST via Zoom, with questions due by 3:00 PM EST that same day, and proposal submissions required by June 11, 2024, at 10:00 AM EST through the state's procurement website. The contract is expected to run from August 13, 2024, through August 12, 2029, with the award posting scheduled for August 1, 2024.

No specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises were mentioned in the solicitation documents. The procurement does not indicate an incumbent vendor or express dissatisfaction with current services. While a budget cap exists, the specific amount was not disclosed, with cost being one of several evaluation factors rather than the sole basis for award. Offerors must maintain specific insurance requirements, including $1,000,000 commercial general liability insurance per occurrence, $1,000,000 cyber liability and privacy insurance per claim (with $2,000,000 aggregate), and worker's compensation insurance as required by South Carolina law. The contract will require strict compliance with federal and state data security regulations, including FERPA requirements, and restrictions on processing government information outside the continental United States. Pricing proposals must detail the total cost of ownership across all five contract years, with potential unit pricing variations for different services such as grace period contact, delinquency contact, and financial literacy education.