web viewit is understood most are pdf’s or word docs. 30 for the portion of the 1.5 million that...

RFA #6100050590 - Central Repository for PLS Academic RecordsQuestions and Answers.

Question #

QUESTION ANSWER

1 Do the transcripts we are holding contain any non-public personal information such as: Individual names, Social Security numbers, Credit or debit card numbers, State identification card numbers or Driver's license numbers?

The state is not in possession of the transcripts. It is assumed that transcripts may include non-public information as some transcripts date back to the 1980’s.

2 How many days will there be between the publishing of answers to our questions and the due date of the RFA?

2 weeks

3 Do you want the "transcripts" to be text-searchable? The vendor would determine this based on their system as they are the entity servicing the transcripts.

4 What is the anticipated PoP?

5 Why are you not asking for a COTS product?

6 With regards to pricing models, do you want T&M to deploy on-premise, a cloud provider of your choice, or our PaaS/SaaS with a monthly fee or fee/transcript?

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7 Is this a "best value" award? YES

8 We received notification that this RFA was canceled and re-issued. I downloaded the documents from the new link, and they appear to be identical to those in the old RFA (including the original due date, which appears to have been extended on the eMarketplace site).

Can you confirm that there were no changes made to the documents (and that these are, in fact, the correct documents)? And also confirm the due date for response?

An addendum to the RFA will be posted on 5/28/2020. The addendum will include a REVISED RFA TECHNICAL SUBMITTAL PRIVATE LICENSED SCHOOLS. The question and answers due date and the Bidders Response due date have been changed. Also, answers to some of the questions already received will be answered. More answers will be provided in a separate addendum at a later time.

New Q&A Due date: June 5, 2020New Bidders Response due date: June 19, 2020 by 3:00PM

NO OTHER CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE RFA TECHNICAL SUBMITTAL.

9 What is the estimated funding source, or budget for this project?

10 What would be the type of contract?

11 Has funding been secured, or is that expected to take place at a later date?

The vendor will need to establish a payment method and amount for the costs of providing the service to students and include any upfront costs for collecting records, digitizing records, and standardizing the format and naming protocol of existing digital records. Costs also need to include the costs of maintaining the repository, storing and protecting records, and servicing records.

12 Is this a new requirement? Or is there an incumbent vendor providing these services? If so, what is the contract number, vendor name, and term of the contract?

In accordance with The Private Licensed Schools Act, Act of Dec. 15, 1986, P.L. 1585, No. 174, § 1 et seq., as amended, Act of Nov. 27, 2019, P.L. 753, No. 110, § 1 et seq., 24 P.S. § 6501 et seq., the Board is permitted to enter into an agreement with a centralized repository of student records for all private licensed schools.

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13 Is there a timeline for when this project must be started or awarded?

Contract to be awarded approximately one month after Bid Due Date.

14 Thank you for providing the list of both operational and closed schools. Are you able to provide further information regarding these institutions including:

a. The current number of annual requests processed for each of the closed schools

b. The current enrollment of each open school

Out of 149 schools who answered our survey, they stated 117 requests were made weekly for closed schools. In the 2018-2019 academic year, total enrollment of open schools totaled 130,333 students.

15 Long term, do you anticipate having staff within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania process orders for these credentials, once they are scanned and indexed or would the vendor be required to manage ordering services on your behalf?

The central repository will need to service the transcripts for students.

16 The RFA indicates there are approximately 500,000 transcripts in a paper format. Are there transcripts stored in other media formats (e.g., microfilm, microfiche, rolls, etc.)?

We are not aware of any transcripts stored in other media formats such as microfilm, microfiche, rolls, etc.

17 Page one (1) of the RFA defines the repository must establish a method to retrieve the 1.5M Transcripts within twelve (12) months of contract finalization. If all records are to be imaged and indexed, this is an aggressive timeline, which creates the following questions.

a. Will the Commonwealth have a set budget to complete the digitization and


This must be completed within 12 months due to the existing burden on the schools to service these records.

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indexing and/or re-indexing of records? b. Is the Commonwealth open to a phased

approach, digitization and indexing and/or re-indexing of records over a longer period of time?

18 Page one (1) of the RFA defines the requirement for the vendor to accept approximately 175K transcripts on an annual basis form current Private Licensed schools, regarding this requirement;

a. What compliance, regulatory, or legal requirements are/will be in place mandating these schools to comply with providing transcripts in a mutually acceptable format?

b. What role does the board play in ensuring compliance? Section I-6, item A indicates vendors must provide monthly status reporting, including outreach efforts outreach efforts to obtain academic transcripts and problems the repository has encountered in obtaining academic transcripts from schools. Is it the board expectation this collection effort falls strictly on the vendor?

c. What other requirements will be in place for current Private licensed schools? Will they be required to leverage a vendor to support credential

a. In accordance with §73.22 (a), annually, a school shall consolidate copies of all transcripts of academic performance for all students who have graduated, terminated or withdrawn during the previous calendar year. b. Staff complete compliance visits where this will be confirmed. c. Current private licensed schools will utilize the contracted vendor.

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management?

19 For the 1M transcripts already digitized, have they already been indexed? If so, can you share the naming convention utilized?

a. Do you have any budget that you can put towards the scanning and indexing of student records? There isn’t a model that the vendor can support without a budget outlay for this work since this is a hard cost that involves the labor of going through your records, choosing the documents that need to be scanned, scanning them and ensuring that our scanners are pulling out the right data points for indexing so the records are searchable.


20 Of the 500k transcripts in paper form, about how many pages exist for each record? Are there other docs included in these records such as immunization records? What size paper? Are any of the records fragile or deteriorating? Are they stored in folders, stapled, contain stickers, and/or handwritten information?

A student’s transcript is typically 1-2 pages. It is unknown if there are other pages included with the records.

21 Of the transcripts in digital form, about how many pages exist for each record? Are there other docs included in these records?


22 Are there other records commingled with the transcripts in both paper or electronic formats, i.e.

It is unknown if there are other pages included with the records.

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cumulative records, financial aid records, etc.?

23 Page one (1) states the central repository may charge a reasonable fee to the students for this service. Can you please define the “reasonable” ?

24 What is the process for identifying confidential, proprietary or other sensitive information being provided in bid responses? Will information identified as such not be subject to Freedom of information or open records act requests?

Any Offeror who determines that it must divulge trade secrets or confidential proprietary information as part of its proposal must submit a redacted version of its proposal, which removes only the confidential proprietary information and trade secrets, for required public disclosure purposes.

25 Item I-8 on page seven (7) of the RFA references bidders options for identifying objections to terms and conditions. May bidders also provide a standard terms with the response?

26 Do our company have to be register vendor to participate?

a. If so; where do we register?

YES. Please click on link below to guide you through the registration process.

https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Supplier%20Service%20Center/New%20Vendor%20Registration%20Guide.pdf

27 Bids must be received by the purchasing agency………..a. Question: Bids mut be send by mail in

close envelops?b. How is the bidding process will work?c. Can we send the bids to your email? If

so you do not have “memory constraints”?

Bids can be sent by mail. They must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Friday June 19, 2020

All bids will be reviewed and scored by an evaluation committee.

Bids can be sent electronically to [email protected]. Bids MUST be received no later than 3:00 PM on Friday June 19, 2020. No memory constraints.

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mailto:[email protected]




28 What percentage of the 1.5mm existing transcripts is from active (open) schools?

This is estimated at 40%.

29 For the digital portion of the 1.5 million, are these images, PDFs, file dumps or line data?

It is understood most are PDF’s or Word Docs.

30 For the portion of the 1.5 million that are from closed schools, who holds the transcripts, whether paper or digital and are they available?

Other private licensed schools serve as the repository and hold the records.

31 For the 12 month requirement, is the time limit for the 'method' or is the requirement for the transcripts to be available for retrieval?

The 12 month time limit is for the transcripts to be available for students to request.

32 Of the ongoing annual volume (175,000), will this all be from active schools? Some closed? If a school closes, how will vendor be notified that the school has closed? Will the location of the transcripts and the means to access them be provided to the vendor?

It will be from both open and closed schools. If a school closes, they will be required to submit the transcripts to the vendor in the method prescribed by the vendor.

33 The Technical Submittal document states that "the repository will need to accept approximately 175,000 new transcripts per year." Will these new transcripts all be supplied to the vendor in electronic format? Or will the repository vendor be required to scan (some) paper documents before importing them into the repository?

It is the hope that annual transcript submissions will be digitized in the method prescribed by the vendor. This will be dependent if the school has the technology to digitize the records.

34 For the paper portion of the 1.5 million, are these separate pages per student, spreadsheets, other?

It is understood these are separate pages per student.

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35 Estimated number (or past history) of transcript requests per year?

See response to Question #14.

36 Can a subcontractor's experience be used as part of the required Company Overview experience?

YES

37 Please confirm that the contract that will be executed with the Board. Are all schools required to participate? What ensures that the selected vendor will be reimbursed by the schools?

38 If a pricing model shows costs to the schools, how are such contracts enforced? (may need rewording)

39 Is it acceptable to include an annual charge to the schools for ongoing storage & maintenance?

Yes.

40 What metadata currently is associated with each of the schools transcripts? What is the form of the metadata? (e.g., line data, spreadsheet, keywords)?

41 The Appendix with the list of closed schools and repositories contains phone numbers and emails. Given that the schools are closed are these references to "trustees" of the transcripts? Can we assume that the Board has the leverage to ensure compliance to vendor's request for transcripts?

These are phone numbers and emails to the closed schools’ repositories. The repository will submit the transcripts.

42 Will schools be creating transcripts after each marking Schools will annually consolidate complete transcripts. The most recent submission

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period (where applicable) or only at the conclusion of the program? If the former, can we assume that new submissions are cumulative, and that only the most recent submission needs to be returned for student request (with the exception of teachout and clinical situations)?

would be provided to the student.

43 How are records currently updated to show completion of teachout programs or clinical requirements following the closure of a school

The school who completed the program for the student completes the transcript.

44 What is the time range over which 'pairing' of transcripts may need to occur to demonstrate completion?

45 What information is submitted after completion of teachout program or clinical requirements (which needs to be mapped to closed school transcript)? What are the data keys for matching the documents?

46 How will repository be informed of graduation dates? Where will those be maintained?

A policy would need to be determined by the vendor on how they would like this to be updated. Completed transcripts will be sent to the repository annually.

47 Must student request for transcript retrieval be electronic?

It is preferred.

48 What are authentication requirements for student requestor? Is there available metadata from the older, closed transcripts to authenticate?

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49 What is the range of current fees that schools charge for transcripts (low, median, high)

Schools currently charge between $10-$25.

50 Is there a process the Commonwealth is expecting to be performed to authenticate the validity of the transcripts?

51 Can we assume that the documents we receive in the 1.5 million will currently be less than 50 years old? If not, please confirm your expectation that these will purge on day 1 of system go-live

Yes, all will be less than 50 years.

52 The requirement states that destruction occurs 50 years after graduation. Presumably for some students of closed schools there will not be a graduation date. Can the date of the last marking period be used instead?

Yes, or last date of attendance.

53 Is it your expectation that the paper documents will be destroyed after capture? Is destruction part of the scope? Or are the paper documents returned to the schools?

Once digitized, paper documents may be destroyed.

54 What is your expectation of the records management methodology? Proof of destruction? Report?

Report.

55 Are any schools currently using similar transcript formats and metadata? If so, how many?

Unknown.

56 For requests from students from active schools that have chosen to service their own transcripts, if a

Please contact the school for your transcript.

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student requests a transcript through the portal, what is response back to student?

57 For students that were at closed schools, now at active schools, what information is available to them? what if at an active school that has not OPTED IN

The student may need to request their closed school transcript from vendor and their transcript from the active school directly from the active school.

58 What are the number of students that graduate annually from the system? What is the total current enrollment in PA Private Licensed Schools?

In 2018-2019, 64% of students graduated.


59 How many transcript requests are anticipated annually? Out of 149 schools who answered our survey, they stated 117 requests were made weekly for closed schools. In the 2018-2019 academic year, total enrollment of open schools totaled 130,333 students.

60 Can we get representative sample images? Is there an ability to review the condition of the paper documents? If we cannot review the paper documents, can you provide some information on their condition (e.g., staples, dog-eared corners, paper clips….)?

61 Given the situation with COVID-19, is there an appreciation that some extension may need to be granted before we can obtain existing transcripts

This may be considered if schools are not operating by the time the contact is secured.

62 Are there technologically-knowledgeable staff at each school that are planning to assist in the extraction of the transcripts

No.

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63 Are any paper transcripts on "secure paper" - meaning that they cannot be copied and would require data entry?

Unknown.

64 Will you provide us with the revenue for each school? No.

65 If we don't receive answers until 6/2, would you consider extending the response due date?

Bid due date has been changed to June 19, 2020 @ 3:00 PM

66 Appendix A is described as a list of closed schools and their repositories. However "records location" is primarily a set of phone numbers. Is additional information on these repositories available? (e.g., physical location, format of documents, storage media). Please also confirm that data we receive will be transcripts only.

The repositories addresses may be provided if necessary.

67 The Appendix with the list of closed schools and repositories contains phone numbers and emails. Given that the schools are closed are these references to "trustees" of the transcripts? Can we assume that the Board has the leverage to ensure compliance to vendor's request for transcripts?

These are phone numbers and emails to the closed schools’ repositories. The repository will submit the transcripts.

68 What is the vendor's obligation in terms of contractual fulfillment if (some) closed school transcripts cannot be obtained or are illegible?

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69 This document inidcates that the list of closed schools was last updated a year ago. Is this list still current?

More schools have closed recently. An updated list can be supplied.

70 Since a service, as opposed to an actual system, is being delivered to the State (actually the schools and students), is the underlying system that supports the service required to conform to all of the given IT standards as described in IT Terms and Conditions?

71 For the paper transcripts, what is the average number of images per doument? (an image is a one-sided piece of paper that relates to a group that will be indexed together)


72 For the paper transcripts, are there color images that need to be scanned in color?

Unknown.

73 For the paper transcripts, what percentage of the documents are double-sided?

Unknown.

74 Is this repository for strictly academic transcripts or will diplomas also be included ?

Strictly academic transcripts.

75 Can you provide sample copies of the records/transcripts to be housed in repository ?

We do not have a sample to provide as each school creates their own transcript with the items required by regulation.

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76 Average of how many transcripts are requested annually across all the 200 PLS schools?

Out of 149 schools who answered our survey, they stated 551 requests were made weekly for open schools.

77 How much is currently charged when these transcripts are requested ?


78 Can the schools be invoiced for annual scanning/digitalizing of the transcripts ?


79 What data fields need to be captured with transcript (First, Last, DOB, Employee ID, etc.) ?

80 How many pages on average are each transcript or document to scan?


81 .Are the paper transcript/documents all 8.5x11 or any longer pages ?

We understand paper transcripts to be on 8.5x11 paper.

82 How are the paper transcript/documents held (staples, clips, folders, other types of dividers or bindings, etc.) ?

Unknown.

83 Pls clarify the statement below, we are unclear:The repository will maintain a secure system to update records to show completion of teachout programs or clinical requirements follow the closure of a school OR

Records will need to be updated if student from a closed school finishes their program at another institution due to a teach-out agreement.

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the repository will maintain a system to pair such transcripts to demonstrate completion.

84 On page 7 of the RFA it is stated that the electronic RFA response is due on June 5, 2020. The advertisement information on eMarketplace lists a due date of June 12, 2020. What is the due date for the response?

The Bid Due date has been changed to June 9, 2020 @ 3:00 PM

85 Are the tasks described in the RFA currently fulfilled by a vendor?

86 If there is a current vendor for this work, which vendor? NO

87 If there is a current vendor for this work, please provide a copy of the current contract which includes the annual and term values.

N/A

88 What is the rate that students currently pay for receipt of a transcript?


89 On average, how many transcripts are requested annually?


Out of 149 schools who answered our survey, they stated 551 requests were made weekly for open schools.

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90 What are the annual fees that operating trade schools currently pay for the services described in the RFA?

The schools currently service transcripts themselves. If a fee is charged, the school (repository) sets and collects the fee themselves.

91 How do all transcript fees associated with closed schools currently get reimbursed to the party providing the service?

The schools currently service transcripts themselves. If a fee is charged, the school (repository) sets and collects the fee themselves.

92 Is it correct to understand that the Board will not be billed for any services associated with this RFA, with all service fees (including those for daily intake and periodic reporting) being obtained from invoicing of operating trade schools and students (and, potentially, a different mechanism for closed schools)?

Yes.

93 What methodologies are currently in place for ensuring the accuracy of the identification of a student submitting a transcript request?

Unknown.

94 Concerning the specification: “The repository will maintain a secure system to update records to show completion of teachout programs or clinical requirements follow the closure of a school OR the repository will maintain a system to pair such transcripts to demonstrate completion,” does this require repository staff to find stored transcripts and update them? If not, please elaborate on the fulfillment activities required for this specification.

A policy would need to be determined by the vendor on how they would like this to be updated. Completed transcripts will be sent to the repository annually.

95 To confirm, the overall goal of this project is to setup a centralized digital repository for all student records for your member schools?

Yes.

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96 What organization will house the actual software for the system, including servers and file storage hardware? Are we the software providers required to host the solution and maintain the hardware?

The vendor.

97 What organization will be the actual customer listed for the software solution? PLS, individual schools?

98 Per the RFA, it looks like the preferred method of billing for file conversion/storage is to be charged to the individual schools. The goal is to have PLS be independent during the project and incur no costs, correct? This project is being facilitated by PLS, but not truly for PLS?

See response to Question #11. Please note that any costs billed or proposed to be billed directly to the Board may result in a delay in finalization of the contract to allow for promulgation of regulations to establish fees for schools to recover these costs.

99 Will there be revenues from record fulfillments (distributions) that are received by the government or the entity that wins the award?

100 What is the duration, in years, of this contract? 5 Years

101 We are a Pennsylvania resident company, but is that a bid requirement?

NO

102 While we are not yet certified as a minority owned business (but we can prove that we are working towards that end and deserving) does that assist our

NO – not necessary

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application?

103 Is there a preferred timing for digitizing the 500,000 documents?

12 months.

104 Upon scanning and indexing of the current paper transctipts (500,000), what does the vendor do with the paper copies ? Are they to be returned or securely destroyed

They may be destroyed.

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