Student Loan Default Prevention and Counseling Services

Austin Community College District is requesting proposals for comprehensive student loan default prevention and counseling services under RFP 924-26-268-00-S-JG, with proposals due February 25, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. CST. The district has established a 30% Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE) participation goal, and TX-RAMP certification from the Department of Information Resources at Level 1 minimum is mandatory.

The scope encompasses proactive default prevention strategies, borrower education, data analysis, regulatory compliance monitoring, grace period counseling, delinquency intervention, and default prevention support. Bilingual staff fluent in English and Spanish are required. Services must maintain ACC's student loan default rate below the federally mandated 30% threshold. ACC serves approximately 70,000 students annually across 11 campuses and currently manages a 2024-2025 federal loan volume of $38.4 million supporting 6,299 loan borrowers. The district intends to award one or more contracts and may award by region according to district maps.

Pricing must include all elements of cost — services, reporting, deployment, training, and onboarding support — submitted on Exhibit F. Monthly invoicing with service verification is required. Respondents must maintain original pricing for a minimum of two years from contract award. General liability insurance with $2 million policy aggregate limits and workers' compensation insurance per Texas statutory requirements are mandatory, with a certificate of insurance due prior to notice to proceed.

Evaluation criteria are responsiveness to ACC's needs (25%), fairness and reasonableness of costs (20%), quality and demonstrated experience (20%), bilingual staff availability and skills (15%), and presentations and demonstrations for selected respondents (20%). An optional solicitation conference is scheduled for February 16, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. CST via Zoom. Questions are due February 17, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. CST, with addenda issued by February 18. Selected respondents will present on March 24–25, 2026. Board of Trustees approval is scheduled for May 4, 2026, with contract award on May 18 and an anticipated contract start date of May 19.