University Degree Program ROI Study RFP

The Florida Board of Governors is seeking an independent research organization to conduct a comprehensive return on investment (ROI) study of five undergraduate programs within the State University System of Florida, specifically focusing on Computer Science, Civil Engineering, Finance, Nursing, and Women/Gender Studies. The procurement is a Request for Proposal (RFP BOG24-003) targeting a detailed evaluation of operational costs, student outcomes, and return on investment for these academic programs. Respondents must demonstrate extensive experience conducting ROI studies for public university systems, developing standardized outcomes across multiple universities, and maintaining sophisticated databases capturing credentials and wage data. The evaluation criteria will allocate 80 points to technical proposals and 20 points to cost proposals, with a single award to be made to the most responsive and responsible bidder. Key deliverables include a draft report due March 14, 2025, and a final comprehensive report due March 31, 2025. Proposals are due by January 21, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. EST, with a public opening via conference call, and potential vendors must submit questions by January 8, 2025, with answers posted by January 13, 2025.

The contract, which will initially run from February 1, 2025, through March 31, 2025, includes the option to renew yearly for up to three additional years. No specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises were explicitly mentioned in the documents. The Board will provide student and faculty/staff data, while the contracted research organization must independently model costs, correlate degrees to careers, and analyze ROI for both state and student investments. Required certifications include non-collusion, scrutinized companies, vendor certification, forced labor, and foreign countries of concern attestations. The work will be conducted primarily remotely, with bi-weekly virtual meetings and the potential for an optional in-person final presentation with reimbursed travel expenses. While a specific budget range was not disclosed, the project requires a sophisticated research approach with comprehensive data analysis capabilities. The contractor must provide weekly written status updates and develop visualizations to aid understanding of the ROI analysis, which should estimate lifetime earnings minus the cost of attendance for students in the specified programs.