P RO CU RE ME NT D E P A RT ME NT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL ISSUED THURSDAY JUNE 18, 2015 SEALED PROPOSALS DUE NO LATER THAN 3:00 P.M., MONDAY JULY 13, 2015 SUBJECT: RFP #1202: VENDOR SELECTION FOR THE PURCHASE OF A UNIVERSITY CATALOG AND CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE APPLICATION FOR KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, KENT, OHIO Sealed proposals must be received at the Procurement Department, located in Suite 330 of Harbourt Hall, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, by the date and time specified above, and opened immediately thereafter for the same Request for Proposal above. Proposals received after that date and time will be returned unopened to the respondent. Proposals are to be submitted in accordance with the enclosed RFP Instructions and Specifications. There will not be a formal proposal opening. Questions pertaining to any specifications contained herein must be directed to Larry McWilliams, Assistant Manager of Procurement, at 330-672-9196, or via email to
[email protected]. Kent State University shall at all times reserve the right to reject any or all proposals, award partial proposals, waive any proposal informalities or irregularities, and request new proposals if doing so is deemed to be in the best interests of Kent State University.
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT
Lawrence W. McWilliams III, C.P.M. Assistant Manager By signing this document, I am agreeing, on behalf of my firm, to the specifications of this Request for Proposal and accepting, without exception or amendment the Instructions, Agreement Terms, and Specifications as set forth in this document. Any and all Purchase Orders resulting from this Request for Proposal shall be subject to these Instructions, Agreement Terms and Specifications, as incorporated herein.
SUBMITTED BY: _____________________________________________________________________________ (Company Name)
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: __________________________________________DATE: ___________________
____________________________________________________________________ (Printed Name, Title)
PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #1202: VENDOR SELECTION FOR THE PURCHASE OF A UNIVERSITY CATALOG AND CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE APPLICATION FOR KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, KENT, OHIO
ISSUED THURSDAY JUNE 18, 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION I:
Definitions
SECTION II:
RFP Timeline
SECTION III:
Overviews
SECTION IV:
RFP Instructions and Agreement Terms
SECTION V:
RFP Specifications
SECTION VI:
Signature Form
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SECTION I DEFINITIONS
Relative to this document, and any addenda incorporated herein, the following definitions apply. ADA-AA: “Americans with Disabilities Act” as amended. Addendum(a): Written instruments, issued solely by the Kent State University Procurement Department, that detail amendments, changes, modifications, or clarifications to the specifications, terms and conditions of this Request for Proposal (RFP). Such written instruments shall be the sole method employed by the Procurement Department to amend, change, modify or clarify this RFP, and any claims (from whatever source) that verbal amendments, changes, modifications or clarifications have been made shall be summarily rejected by the Procurement Department. Agreement, Contract: Formal award resulting from the RFP. KSU: “Kent State University” May, Should: Indicates something that is requested but not mandatory. If the Proposer fails to provide information, the Kent State University Procurement Department may, at its sole option, either request that the Proposer provide the information, or evaluate the Proposal without the information. Proposal Closing Date: The date and time specified in the RFP by which a sealed proposal must be received by the Kent State University Procurement Department. Proposals received after the stated date and time will not be considered. Proposal Issue Date: prospective vendors.
The date and time the RFP process is opened for submission by
Proposal, Quotation: Response provided by proposer. Proposer, Vendor, Carrier, Provider: Respondent to the RFP. RFP: “Request for Proposal” Shall, Must, Will: Indicates a mandatory requirement. Failure to meet mandatory requirements will invalidate the proposal, or result in the rejection of a proposal as non-responsive. WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines—http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
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SECTION II RFP TIMELINE
All proposers must agree to adhere to the following timeline in completion of the RFP process:
Thursday, June 18, 2015: RFP issued
Friday, June 26, 2015, 4:00 PM eastern: Deadline to register for mandatory preproposal meeting/conference call
Monday, June 29, 2015, 3:00 PM Eastern, location TBD: Mandatory pre-proposal meeting/conference call
Monday, July 13, 2015, 3:00 PM Eastern: Proposals due
Period of July 13 through July 24, 2015: Evaluation of proposals, finalist(s) selection; and scheduling of presentations, if necessary
Week of July 27, 2015: Select proposer presentations, if necessary
Week of August 3, 2015: Anticipated notification of contract award; contract negotiation and integration to follow
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SECTION III OVERVIEWS
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF KENT STATE UNIVERSITY Founded in 1910, Kent State University is the largest public multi-campus system in northeast Ohio, with campuses reaching nine local communities and a population of approximately 42,513 students, 3,635 full-time faculty and staff members, and 210,560 alumni. On July 1, 2014, Dr. Beverly J. Warren became President of Kent State, succeeding President Lester A. Lefton, who retired after eight highly successful years of leadership. The university’s Kent Campus has a student body of 28,457 and a thriving residential population of 6,432. The eight regional campuses draw full- and part-time students, now totaling approximately 13,000 from their communities: Ashtabula Campus, Ashtabula; East Liverpool Campus, East Liverpool; Geauga Campus, Burton; Salem Campus, Salem; Stark Campus, Canton; Trumbull Campus, Warren; Tuscarawas Campus, New Philadelphia; and the College of Podiatric Medicine in Independence. Kent State is proud of its outstanding faculty and staff, students, collaborative culture, exceptional academic and research orientation, and strong commitment to engagement, academic excellence, and diversity. Kent State offers more than 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. A third of Kent State graduates receive degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines. Academic programs are organized into ten colleges: Architecture and Environmental Design; Arts and Sciences; the Arts; Business Administration; Communication and Information; Education, Health, and Human Services; Nursing; Podiatric Medicine; Public Health; and Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology. Times Higher Education, a London-based higher education magazine, has ranked Kent State as one of the top 200 universities in the world, the only public research university in northeast Ohio to be awarded the honor and one of only four in the state of Ohio to make the list. The university also holds a coveted spot in the first-tier list of Best National Universities in the current edition of Best Colleges issued by U.S. News Media Group. Kent State University is ranked among the nation’s top 74 public high-research universities and among the top 76 in community engagement by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university is an engine for economic, cultural, and workforce development. (“Overviews” continue on following page.)
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BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE OFFICE OF CURRICULUM SERVICES Curriculum is a chief asset of the university, one that helps define Kent State's unique character. Because curriculum remains healthy through change, it maintains the value of programs for our students. Curriculum development and maintenance is the responsibility of faculty. The Office of Curriculum Services is responsible for analyzing, facilitating and monitoring proposed changes and the implementation of those changes as approved by governing bodies. The office staff reviews and implements approximately 1,500 curricular changes annually. The administration and staff of Curriculum Services are committed to providing accurate curriculum processing in an efficient manner to ensure quality program content and to benefit our students with the desired knowledge and experiences that will make them highly marketable once they graduate and take their place in society. (Proceed to Section IV, “RFP Instructions and Agreement Terms”.)
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SECTION IV REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS AND AGREEMENT TERMS
SCOPE Kent State University’s Office of Curriculum Services hereby requests proposals from appropriate vendors to provide university catalog and curriculum management software. The University’s current curriculum management software has been in development for nearly three (3) years and has yet to meet the needs of Kent State adequately. A new solution is needed that can more properly address the University’s requirements. Specifications follow in Section V. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION Proposals are to be written to address all information required, must be presented in a wellorganized presentation and should follow the format of the Request for Proposal (RFP). Each response should reference the number and headings as listed in the RFP. The proposal document must include a detailed Table of Contents formulated in the same order as the topics and questions as they appear in this document. The cost proposal and any accompanying materials and additional information deemed necessary by respondents to embellish and complement effectively their response should be included in an Addendum Section. Proposers are cautioned not to include an abundance of promotional and marketing materials as a substitute for objectively compelling and substantive documentation for the proper support of their response. In order to receive consideration, companies responding to this request are required to submit one (1) original (and so marked “ORIGINAL”), two (2) hardcopies, and one (1) electronic copy on CD or thumb drive of their response in a sealed envelope or package clearly indicating the contents, before and no later than the date and time specified on the RFP. Also, the Coversheet and all of Section VI must be completed, dated and signed by the respondent, and must accompany the written proposal in the manner described above. Respondents are asked to direct the proposal to Larry McWilliams, Assistant Manager of Procurement, at the following address: Kent State University Procurement Department Suite 330 Harbourt Hall 615 Loop Road PO Box 5190 Kent, OH 44242-0001 Directions to Harbourt Hall may be accessed at the following link: http://www.kent.edu/campuses/maps/map.cfm Responses must be received in the Kent State University Procurement Department, Suite 330 Harbourt Hall, 615 Loop Road, Kent, Ohio, by 3:00 PM Eastern on Monday, July 13, 2015.
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Responses will not be accepted via facsimile or via email. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the requested number of response copies arrive on time and at the designated location. Any submissions received after the stated date and time, or those that do not contain the correct number of copies, will be disqualified. This RFP is intended to provide its respondents with a formal and unrestrictive opportunity for their services to be considered by and for Kent State University. Respondents submitting information which meet the specified criteria and which are deemed to be the most advantageous to the university may be required to make a presentation to a University evaluation team at a later date. It is requested that those vendors who do not desire to submit a response indicate the same by submitting a “No Response” to the Procurement Department. Instructions, manufacturer’s model or catalog numbers, etc., where shown herein, and if applicable, are for descriptive purposes to guide the proposer in interpretation of the quality, design, and performance desired, and shall not be construed to exclude proposals based on furnishing other types of material or service which may be judged as an acceptable alternate. If the description of your offer differs in any way, you must give a complete detailed description of your quotation including pictures and literature where applicable. Unless specific exception is made, assumption will be that you are submitting a proposal exactly as the specifications of this document require. This RFP is part of a competitive procurement process which helps to serve the university’s best interests. It also provides contractors with a formal and unrestrictive opportunity for their services to be considered. The process of competitive negotiation being used in this case should not be confused with the process of competitive sealed bidding. The latter process is usually used where the goods and services being procured can be precisely described and price is generally the determinative factor. With a RFP and competitive negotiation, however, price is not required to be the determinative factor, although it may be, and the university has the flexibility to negotiate with one or more contractors to arrive at a mutually agreeable relationship. Check your proposal carefully for it may not be corrected after the proposal has been opened.
OHIO REVISED CODE 9.24 REQUIREMENT: FINDING FOR RECOVERY Ohio Revised Code 9.24 Requirement: Finding for Recovery Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 9.24 prohibits the State from awarding a contract to any offeror(s) against whom the Auditor of the State has issued a finding for recovery if the finding for recovery is deemed “unresolved” at the time of award. By submitting a proposal, the offeror warrants that it is not now, and will not become subject to an “unresolved” finding for recovery under ORC 9.24, prior to the award of any contract arising out of this RFP, without notifying the university of such finding. Furthermore, if the warranty is false on the date the offeror would sign an Agreement resulting from this RFP, such and any future
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Agreement is void ab initio, and the Contractor must immediately repay to the State any funds paid under any such Agreement. “Contractor warrants that it is not subject to an “unresolved” finding for recovery under O.R.C. Section 9.24. If this warranty is found to be false, this Agreement is void ab initio and Contractor shall immediately repay to Agency any funds paid under this Agreement.” CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS Contractor hereby certifies that all applicable parties listed in Division (l)(3) or (J)(3) of O.R.C. Section 3517.13 are in full compliance with Divisions (l)(1) and (J)(1) of O.R.C. Section 3517.13. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND ETHICS COMPLIANCE No personnel of Contractor or member of the governing body of any locality or other public official or employee of any such locality in which, or relating to which, the work under this Agreement is being carried out, and who exercise any functions or responsibilities in connection with the review or approval of this Agreement or carrying out of any such work, shall, prior to the completion of said work, voluntarily acquire any personal interest, direct or indirect, which is incompatible or in conflict with the discharge and fulfillment of his or her functions and responsibilities with respect to the carrying out of said work. Any such person who acquires an incompatible or conflicting personal interest, on or after the effective date of this Agreement, or who involuntarily acquires any such incompatible or conflicting personal interest, shall immediately disclose his or her interest to Agency in writing. Thereafter, he or she shall not participate in any action affecting the work under this Agreement, unless Agency shall determine in its sole discretion that, in the light of the personal interest disclosed, his or her participation in any action would not be contrary to the public interest. Contractor represents, warrants, and certifies that it and its employees engaged in the administration or performance of the Agreement are knowledgeable of and understand the Ohio Ethics and Conflicts of Interest laws and Executive Order No. 2007-O1S. Contractor further represents, warrants, and certifies that neither Contractor nor any of its employees will do any act that is inconsistent with such laws and Executive Order. SUPPLIER DIVERSITY Kent State University encourages women and minority groups to respond to university Requests for Information. Kent State University is committed to a proactive and a comprehensive supplier diversity program that ensures an active and full participation of historically disadvantaged, economically and socially underutilized businesses located within the university’s geographic region and beyond with specific attention to include Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WOBE). Information about Kent State University’s Supplier Diversity Program including the Vendor Registration Process can be found on the Procurement Department Web site at http://www.kent.edu/procurement/welcome-supplierdiversity.cfm.
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Kent State University encourages the participation of women and minority groups in all university contracts. Kent State University therefore requires that all prospective suppliers demonstrate good faith efforts to obtain the participation of minority-owned and womenowned business enterprises in the work to be performed under university contracts. The supplier shall furnish appropriate quarterly information about its effort to include womenowned and minority groups in the contract, including the identities of such enterprises and the dollar amount supplied under the contract. A listing of Ohio certified minority businesses, as well as the services and commodities they provide, is available from the State of Ohio Minority Business Enterprise Unit and can be reviewed at http://www.das.ohio.gov/Eod/EODMBEOff.htm. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION DISCLOSURE All responses and accompanying documentation will become the property of the university at the time proposals are opened, with the exception of any material marked as proprietary information as defined by Ohio Revised Code Section 149.43. All proposal materials are subject to disclosure under the Ohio Public Records Law (ORC 149.43) except proprietary information, which will be returned to the unsuccessful respondent at the respondent’s request and expense, or be destroyed, at the conclusion of the selection process. VERBAL INFORMATION Companies submitting proposals shall NOT base the proposal on verbal information from any employee of the University from the date and time the RFP is received by the proposer, unless otherwise noted elsewhere in the RFP. Any such incident will invalidate the proposal, and bar that particular vendor from receiving a purchase or contract award. In case errors or omissions are found in the proposal document, companies submitting proposals shall at once inform the signee in the Procurement Department who will publish the correction to all companies. MANDATORY PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING/CONFERENCE CALL A mandatory pre-proposal meeting/conference call will be conducted on Monday, June 29, 2015 at 9:00 AM Eastern at a location yet to be announced on the Kent State University Kent Campus to answer any questions and address any issues that may arise in the development of proposals. Vendors are strongly encouraged to participate in the meeting in-person, but a conference call option may be exercised for those respondents whose representation can only be facilitated remotely. The location for the meeting has not been determined as of this writing, but those vendors registering for the meeting will be informed in sufficient time to attend. The pre-proposal meeting/conference call is mandatory, and participation is a condition for contract award. Proposers are asked to register for it by contacting Larry McWilliams in the Procurement Department via email at
[email protected]. The deadline for registration is 4:00 PM Friday, June 26, 2015. All emails will be acknowledged as received,
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along with a confirmation of your registration and directions and instructions for participating in the meeting/conference call on Monday, June 29, 2015. VALID PROPOSALS Proposals will be considered valid for a period of one hundred-twenty (120) days after the scheduled due date, unless otherwise noted. DUN AND BRADSTREET DATA Kent State University reserves the right to request data from Dun and Bradstreet concerning history of company’s financial and payment statistics. Proposals from companies failing to provide the requested data to Dun and Bradstreet will not be considered. MARKETING/ADVERTISING No respondent providing services to Kent State University shall willfully obtain the name, identifying marks or property of Kent State University for its own promotional purposes. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND PRICING NEGOTIATION In the event that information or pricing submitted by the proposer is unclear to the university, the university may request additional explanation and/or pricing breakdowns from the proposer for the purpose of evaluation and decisions. The proposer shall answer requests for additional information or clarification in writing, and these responses will become part of the company’s proposal. Proposers failing to provide adequate information on any issue in a timely manner to allow a comprehensive evaluation by the university shall be considered unresponsive, and their proposal subject to rejection. EVALUATION AND CONTRACT AWARD A committee of University officials will evaluate proposals and make a recommendation to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. The evaluation will be based upon the information provided in the proposal, additional information requested by the University for clarification, information obtained from references and independent sources, and oral presentations, if requested. The evaluation of responsive proposals shall then be completed by an evaluation team, which will determine the ranking of proposals. Proposals will be evaluated strictly in accordance with the requirements set forth in this solicitation, including any addenda that are issued. The University will award the Contract to the Respondent whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the University, taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in this RFP. Proposers must specifically address all criteria in their response. Any deviations or exceptions to the specifications or requirements must be described and justified in a transmittal letter. Failure
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to list such exceptions or deviations in the transmittal letter may be considered sufficient reason to reject the proposal PROCEDURE FOR CONDUCTING NEGOTIATIONS —Who To Negotiate With First After completion of the initial evaluation process, the University may begin negotiations with one or more vendors whose proposals are most in keeping with the University’s requirements as enumerated in the RFP. Notification of such negotiations will be offered after a reasonable amount of time has elapsed from the proposal deadline. Negotiations shall continue to the satisfaction of the University or, if the University determines a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached, the University may initiate negotiations with one or more of the remaining vendors. —Negotiations With Multiple Vendors The University reserves the right, at all times during the negotiation process, to negotiate with one or more vendors at the same time, but is under no obligation to do so. The vendor(s) with whom the University enters into negotiations must have present a representative with decision-making authority. —If Negotiations Are Unsuccessful With respect to any of the services that are a part of this RFP, in the event that the University determines that a contract cannot be negotiated with any of the vendors who respond to the RFP, the University shall have the right to issue a new RFP or other process to seek qualified applicants, to provide the services itself, or to use another process (e.g., sole source contracting) in order to have the product(s) and/or service(s) provided. PERIOD OF AGREEMENT The term of the agreement shall be for two (2) years. CONTRACT EXTENSION It is understood and agreed that Kent State University reserves the right to extend the contract period a maximum of thirty (30) days beyond the normal expiration date of this contract. Any further extension as may be required shall be through mutual assent.
RENEWAL OF CONTRACT After the initial term, Kent State University reserves the right to renew this contract for additional one (1) year terms, with mutual assent, not to exceed three (3) renewals. Any renewal agreed upon shall occur ninety (90) days prior to expiration of the contract then in force.
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TERMINATION Either party may terminate this contract after the expiration of sixty (60) days from the effective date of the contract. Termination may occur by giving the other party ninety (90) days prior written notice of intent to terminate; except that any breach of this contract shall be just cause to terminate immediately the contract and any obligations existing there under without any prior notice to you. Termination resulting from breach of contract will be cause, at the sole discretion of the Procurement Department, to suspend the contractor from submitting a proposal on any future project at the University for a period up to three (3) years. PRICE ADJUSTMENT All prices are expected to remain firm during the first year of the contract; however, prior to entering into the second year of the contract and in the event of a price change related to an increase or decrease, prices may be changed subject to a negotiated adjustment to reflect such an increase or decrease. In all instances, the “Preferred Vendor” must document such requests in writing to the Procurement Department and any price changes that may result will apply only to the second year of the contract. EXTENSION OF CONTRACT TO IUC-PG Kent State University is a member of the Inter-University Council Purchasing Group of Ohio, frequently called the IUC or IUC-PG. It is a purchasing consortium comprised of the purchasing officers of the State of Ohio institutions of higher education. The purpose of the formation was to achieve standardization of requirements, methods of operation and to buy at optimum quantity discounts. The organization has thirty-four (34) members made up of the thirteen (13) state universities, one (1) medical college, thirteen (13) community colleges and seven (7) technical colleges and institutions that receive state appropriated funds. The IUC-PG operates under the requirement of the current appropriation legislation, the Ohio Revised Code, and the By-Laws of each institution’s Board of Trustees. All contracts entered in to shall be governed by such laws aforementioned in the state of Ohio. If you are willing to extend your contract to other IUC-PG members, please indicate the same where applicable in Section VI.
INDEMNIFICATION/HOLD HARMLESS Proposer shall indemnify and hold Kent State University harmless from and against all claims, losses, expenses, damages, causes of actions and liabilities of every kind and nature (including without limitation reasonable attorney’s fees), arising out of any alleged breach of any proposer’s obligations or warranties or from any other acts or omissions of contractor, its officers, agents, employees and subcontractors.
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PREFERENCE TO UNITED STATES AND OHIO PRODUCTS State of Ohio Am. H.B. 271 requires that preference be given to products produced or mined in the United States and in Ohio. BUY AMERICAN ACT If applicable, proposals will be evaluated to determine that a proposer’s offering is for a “domestic source end product”, as defined in the Federal Buy America Act, 41 U.S.C.A., section 10a-10d. Any proposer’s offering that does not meet this requirement shall be rejected, except in those circumstances where a determination has been made that certain articles, materials and supplies are not mined, produced or manufactured in the U.S. in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of satisfactory quality. BUY OHIO If applicable, sections 125.09 and 125.11 of the Ohio Revised Code require that in the evaluation of bids, the University give preference to products which are mined, excavated, produced, manufactured, raised, or grown in the state by a person where the input of Ohio products, labor, skill, or other services constitutes no less than 25% of the manufactured cost”, or products offered by bidders who have a “significant Ohio presence,” defined to mean that the bidders:
Pay required taxes to the state of Ohio; and Are registered and licensed to do business in the state of Ohio with the Office of Secretary of State; and Have ten or more employees based in Ohio, or seventy-five percent or more of their employees based in Ohio.
Any bids meeting the above criteria will be given a preference of up to five (5) percent over the lowest price “non-Ohio” bid submitted; except that such preference will not be applied against vendors from bordering states, provided that the border state imposes no greater restrictions than contained in sections 125.09 and 125.11 of the Ohio Revised Code. Where it has been determined that selection of the lowest Ohio proposer, if any, will not result in an excessive price or a disproportionately inferior product or service, the contract shall be awarded to the low Ohio proposer at the proposal price quoted. Where, it is advantageous to award the contract to other than an Ohio proposer or Proposers from a border state, then the contract shall be awarded accordingly. FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LAWS The proposer shall in the performance of work or services on this job fully comply with all applicable federal, state or local laws, rules, regulations and ordinances, and shall hold Kent State University harmless from any liability from failure of such compliance.
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AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT AS AMENDED Kent State University encourages compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended (ADA-AA) and other applicable State of Ohio and Federal standards such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding accessibility and disability. The University’s goal is to ensure that products and services are functionally accessible to individuals with disabilities. Compliance means that a person with a disability can acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability, in an equally effective and integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. There are multiple approaches to providing equally effective and substantially equivalent ease of use. A product will be considered to have met this standard based on processes that may include a review by the University or the vendor demonstrating that the work clearly meets the appropriate accessibility standards, etc. Where applicable, your proposal shall identify how the product or service addresses accessibility to individuals with disabilities including but not limited to the following: blind/low vision, deaf/hard of hearing, dexterity or fine motor skill impairments and individuals with limited mobility. CHOICE OF LAW This Request for Proposal will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio. As a statutorily created State of Ohio institution, Kent State University does not have the authority to agree to any law or venue other than that of the State of Ohio and the State Court of Claims. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Kent State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and as such makes the following request: The proposer, in submitting a proposal and /or filling a purchase order, agrees not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment with respect to hiring and tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment, because or race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or identity as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era to the extent required by law. The proposer must further agree that every subcontract or order given for the supplying of this order will contain a provision requiring nondiscrimination in employment, as herein specified. This covenant is required pursuant to Federal executive orders 11246 and 11375 and any breach thereof may be regarded as a material breach of the contract or purchase order. SALES TAX Kent State University is exempt from Ohio sales tax and federal tax and will furnish an exemption certificate upon request.
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PREFERRED INVOICING AND PAYMENT METHODS The successful proposer(s) must invoice products or services awarded exactly as indicated on a resultant university purchase order, to include cost, unit specified, quantity ordered, item descriptions, etc. Kent State University prefers to receive invoices for goods and services via electronic means. It is the goal of the university to make payment on invoices via Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer. To that end, please indicate your company’s capabilities for electronic invoicing and payment where appropriate in Section VI of this document. PAYMENT TERMS AND CASH DISCOUNTS Kent State University will endeavor to use any cash terms offered, and these could be considered in determining the final net price depending on the discount period. In the event that Kent State University is entitled to a cash discount, the period of computations will commence on the date of delivery or receipt of a correctly completed invoice, whichever is later. If an adjustment is necessary due to damage, the cash discount period shall commence on the date final approval for payment is authorized. If a discount is part of the contract, but the invoice does not reflect the existence of a cash discount, the University is entitled to a cash discount with the period commencing on the date it is determined that a cash discount applies. AUDITS Kent State University reserves the right to perform audits as often as is deemed necessary by the university with advance notice. The university will utilize all invoicing and documentation, which relates to Kent State University’s final cost. Kent State University personnel from the Procurement Department, Internal Audit Department, Finance, and others, may perform these audits. The company to be audited must provide access to files and information necessary to validate cost data and assist in the performance of each audit. Audit discrepancies must be resolved to the satisfaction of Kent State University. Kent State University reserves the right to terminate the partnership at any time if the audit results are not resolved to meet the requirements of Kent State University. COMMUNICATION CONTACT All questions regarding this request for proposal must be directed to Larry McWilliams in the KSU Procurement Department at 330-672-9196, or via email to
[email protected]. (Proceed to Section V, “Specifications”.)
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SECTION V REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL SPECIFICATIONS SCOPE As iterated elsewhere, Kent State University’s Office of Curriculum Services hereby requests proposals from appropriate vendors to provide university catalog and curriculum management software. The University’s current curriculum management software (CurricUNET) has been in development for nearly three (3) years and has yet to meet the needs of Kent State adequately. A new solution is needed that can more properly address the University’s requirements, as follows:
CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Respondents must include the following in their proposals: Requirement
Description
Accuracy
Ability of the system to recognize errors/inconsistencies (i.e., spelling/grammar errors, on hold/inactive course listings in programs, inconsistencies between SIS and system, etc.)
Accessibility Archive Calculation Collaboration Compatibility
Communication
Connection
System meets accessibility compliance standards (when applicable) set forth by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) so all users have the same opportunity to access the information provided and navigate the program. All changes to curriculum must be archived and retained System must be able to calculate sums in fields (for courses: content outline; for programs: program hours, roadmap semesters and total hours, budget proposal) Proposal originators must be able to assign rights to other users (indepartment and outside-of-department) to collaborate on proposals System must be compatible with common platforms (Windows, Mac), browsers (IE, Mozilla, Chrome, Safari) and devices (desktop, laptop, tablet) Ability for admin to send individualized targeted emails to users (all users, users by department, users by role, etc.) (to alert to deadlines, agenda posting, meeting minutes, etc.) Data should be connected (i.e., courses in programs should be built using drop-down menus; references to courses and programs in other courses/programs/policies should be linked to the original sources) so that changes to data are reflected automatically. Cross-listed and slash courses should be connected so that a proposal generated for one automatically connects the other; admin should be able to disconnect the two proposals if needed
Control
Admin ability to create and amend forms, webpages, workflows, courses and programs; admin ability to override functions (i.e., reassigning workflows midstream, updating committee lists while proposals are in queue, etc.)
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Copy/paste Data conversion
Data extraction
Database
Delimitation
Previous versions of curriculum (historical/archived versions of courses, programs and policies) should be viewable to all users but only manipulated by admin Admin must be able to make changes to curriculum without creating a workflow Information should be able to be copied from a source (Word, web, etc.) and pasted into the solution without formatting/display issues Data imported from Banner (for courses) and built from current database (Commonspot/CurricUNET for programs); much of this information is currently in text fields rather than in a database Ability to create reports from all data inside the system (including credit hours, course descriptions, course learning outcomes, attributes, schedule types, program descriptions, GPA requirements, program total hours, user data, etc.) as well as more abstract data (workflow progress, error/accuracy report, agenda builder, Curriculum Bulletin builder, proposal impact) Reports should be generated in Excel to enable manipulation and analytics Certain reports should be available to all users while others (such as adhoc) should be restricted to administrative users All information should be housed in a database to enable data links and extraction, to ensure consistency and to reduce duplication of effort; database should be connected to SIS and catalog Fields must be able to be delimited based on selections (graduate proposals are restricted to graduate workflows, schedule type limited by level, etc.) Ability to restrict available proposal types by user (i.e., faculty can only create proposals within their own disciplines, origination rights limited to faculty only) Proposals cannot be generated by more than one user (i.e., once a user begins a revision/inactivation, the original proposal should not be able to be copied by other users); see note on collaboration above for exception System should be able to integrate deadlines, so that proposals cannot be generated for a term whose deadline for submission has passed; admin should be able to override (http://www.kent.edu/curriculum/curriculumdeadlines) Proposal type/workflow route should be determined by the user’s answers to questions on the form rather than by the user selecting the proposal type
Impact Individualization
Ability to alert user to the impact of a proposal (i.e., where a course is listed in a program, policy, as a requisite, etc.) and notify affected areas automatically Ability to custom-make reports to match Kent State’s current forms and reports Ability to create workflows dependent on proposal type and origination area (as many of our colleges/departments have committees specific to their academic areas and may have different processes for different types of proposals)
Integration
System should fully integrate with SIS (currently Banner) and catalog software (TBD) such that a completed/approved proposal will update both the Banner record and the future catalog
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System should be able to recognize inconsistencies (such as when an update is made to SIS directly instead of through curriculum management) and generate an error/inconsistency report to alert admin to the issue System should reflect style of catalog so that users understand the implications of curricular changes on the future catalog Information should be uploaded nightly
Large-scale changes
Notification Proposal types
Proposals should be able to be generated to affect multiple curriculum items (i.e., if a department changes a subject code, a single proposal should be able to be generated to change all of the courses rather than separate proposals for each change); admin should be able to make a change that affects multiple curriculum items without making the change multiple times Users are notified via email when a proposal is in queue for review; originators are notified via email when the proposal passes a workflow step Ability to create proposals for course/program/policy creation/revision/inactivation Revision/inactivation proposals should open with pre-populated information from the parent (fed by SIS/database) in order to eliminate error and to enable comparison
Review
Ability for admin to send curriculum information to specific users for review (i.e., if a course is put on hold via the hold policy, Curriculum Services should be able to notify the department to review the course and decide on a course of action)
Search
Ability of the system to call information based on title, content or keyword; search should be filtered by proposal status (draft, under review, disapproved, active, on hold, inactive, historical), level (undergraduate, graduate, professional), type (course, program, policy; minor, degree program, certificate), area (college, department), etc.
Stylization
Support
Smart search that returns results for simple plurals and misspelled words Search should yield results from most to least current Forms and reports should be stylized representations of Kent State’s current forms and reports as opposed to reprints/screenshots of webpages (eliminate navigation bars, URLs, white space, etc.) Template-driven course/program creation with required fields; ability to override templates for specific programs that necessitate looser parameters Forms and reports should be generated in multiple outputs (PDFs for accuracy/consistency, Word for manipulation as needed, html for easy sharing, etc.) Ability to contact support (via phone, email or ticket system) 24/7; prompt response time (within 24 hours) and time to resolution (dependent on issue but no longer than 30 days); support must be unlimited and not accrue additional fees. Admin should be able to assume the identity of users or screen share to assist in troubleshooting Users should be able to submit errors/tickets directly to Kent State admin who will then correct the issue or forward the ticket to software support team
Term-based
Proposals must be generated based on effective term; the approved proposal updates must be made in SIS and catalog based on effective term selected
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Tracking
Training Transparency Unlimited data Upgrades
Usability/User friendliness
Workflow
Ability to track changes made to a proposal by user (with name, date and time stamps) while a proposal is being created and also during workflow A report should be generated showing comparison between parent/child versions of proposals showing all tracked changes. Training environment to allow end users to experiment with the system without live implications User ability to see all proposals and track all proposals as they move through the workflow System must be able to house an unlimited amount of data including users, courses, programs, proposals, characters in fields, attachments, etc. Software must be upgraded without incurring new charges; software should not operate in “versions” so that when a new version is released the old is unsupported/obsolete System should guide user through a curricular process with intuitive design, guidance and instruction (i.e., help fields embedded in site, manual uploaded to site, training videos available on site, etc.); overall site design should be intuitive and easy to use Forms should be all on one page or categorized using tabs to eliminate unnecessary clicking or page refreshing. Forms must be able to be saved without being submitted so that a user can work on a proposal over time Workflow must be multi-directional so that reviewers have the ability to approve/disapprove/return proposal for edits Admin must be able to override steps of the workflow at any point (to take action on behalf of a reviewer, to re-route the proposal to another body as the need arises, etc.) Workflow should be archived to retain actions, comments and changes to a proposal as it progressed; archive should be accessible to all users Admin should be able to control actions available to reviewers (approve, disapprove, return for edits, comment, etc.)
PRICING Please provide a detailed pricing proposal for the requirements above. (Proceed to next page.)
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CATALOG SOFTWARE BUSINESS AND FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS Respondents must include the following in their proposals: 1. Business Requirements Overview/Need The platform (CommonSpot) that hosts the current online catalog will no longer be supported after 2015. The university needs an online Program and Course Catalog that:
Uses supported technology and platforms The current technology will no longer be supported after 2015 Maximizes efficiency and increases accuracy by using a content management database Information in the current catalog is entered in multiple systems multiple times; this is labor intensive and increases the opportunity for errors Meets audit requirements for producing and archiving a complete, annual, printable catalog Current catalog consists of over 2,000 individual pages that must be manually combined to produce a full catalog Engages visitors and offers an interface that is easy to browse and easy to search The online catalog is a marketing tool for prospective students and for students deciding on a course of study. A large portion of site visitors do not know what they are looking for when they enter the site. The site must be user-friendly, with careful consideration given to images, social media, responsive web design, and site navigation.
Scope – replace the current online catalog; design for future curriculum management capability Stakeholders – Curriculum Services Schedule – Stakeholders would like a functioning solution in September to begin entering 2016 course and program changes. 2. User Requirements – Catalog Visitor Device User should be able to access the catalog from multiple device types (laptop, tablet, phone). Responsiveness User should be able to search all content from any page. Search User should have the option to search specific content such as all policies or all program requirements. User needs a variety of PDF print options; examples are: - Print all content related to a program; ideally this would be combined into one packet, and the user would only click Print one time (this packet may include program requirements, policies, roadmap, course requirements etc.) Print - Print specific content such as just the program requirements/roadmap or just a policy - Print the full catalog (all program requirements, all policies, etc.) - Print previous years’ catalog pages (full catalog or single items) User needs to able to hover over text/click and see a callout of additional information and Hover/Callout clickable links. Example: Hovering over a course description would produce a callout with current scheduling information. User needs the ability to click and enter an email address to share a page. This is a “nice-toShare have” feature; not required. Sitemap/Navigation
User needs to be able to view a sitemap page. User needs to see breadcrumb navigation aids on each page.
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3. User Requirements – Catalog Content Manager (Curriculum Services) Need database to enter information so that data is only entered once (program descriptions, titles, legends, etc.). Information will be displayed on several pages; updates and deletes Content need to cascade throughout the site. Management Database needs to be user-friendly. 2,000+ changes are made each year. Need to be able to update catalog information based on effective dates: - Current/live catalog Effective dates - Previous years’ catalogs - Future catalog Need ability to maintain a keyword library used by the Search function. Need ability to Keyword Library associate keywords with specific pages or with the full site. Need the ability to activate the new catalog each year. i.e. Future catalog becomes the Catalog Activation current catalog. Need the ability to create ad-hoc reports. Need to be able to select from all fields to create custom reports. Reporting Need ability to export reports/data to Excel. User needs ability to initiate an approval workflow, assign approvers in the workflow, Workflow approve/reject a workflow, and report on the status of all workflows. Need site analytics such as: - Most viewed programs Analytics - Keyword searches - Visits per country 4. User Requirements – Catalog Approver (various Faculty and Staff) Need to receive an email notifying them to review a workflow. Workflow Need the ability to review, markup, approve/reject workflows assigned to them. 5. Functional Requirements Responsive Web The site needs to dynamically change in response to the screen size and orientation of the Design/Content device being used to view it. Prioritization Site needs to display information from both Banner and from a content management database. Data Sources Need to associate course data (Banner) with program data (content management database). This information is not currently “linked” in any system. Need Banner course data to feed the website (title, description, number, term, credit hours, schedules, location, etc.) Data from Banner Need nightly uploads of above data from Banner to catalog. Need a content management database for the following data: Program data: effective dates, description, requirements, course sequence, applicable policies, career opportunities, graduation requirements, learning outcomes, study abroad opportunities, accreditation, advanced degree programs, notes, footnotes, etc. College/School/Dept data: addresses, contact info, description Data from Content Mgmt Database Faculty data: if possible would like to pull this information from the system that Academic Personnel uses (titles, contact info, etc.). We assume this is the HR information maintained in Banner. Policies – this information may be in database fields, may be PDFs, or may be a combination of both.
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Accessibility
Effective Dates / Default Data
Data Validation / Compare
Data Consistency
Page Layouts and Elements
Hover/Callout
Page Types
Program Requirements / Roadmap
PDF Generation
PDF Archive
Search
Application meets all applicable requirements set forth by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and meets necessary accessibility standards to render content readable, navigable, and accessible for all users. Default data displayed on pages should be the current/live catalog based on effective dates/terms in the database. Previous years’ data should be available in PDF form through a separate page. Future year data should only be available to the Content Manager. Data discrepancies should be visually tagged for the Content Managers (red outline, highlighting, etc.). Data discrepancies include discrepancies between Banner course data and course data in the catalog. Examples: Course number errors, courses showing inactive in Banner but not in catalog. The content management database should enforce strict data consistency. i.e. data types and syntaxes should be defined and enforced. All pages should be template-driven Main content area - needs to have 3-7 “tabs” horizontally across the top. Clicking on the tab changes the content that is displayed. This is for the Program Page, but may also be used for College or Department Pages. Search - Needs to be on every catalog page Left menu - Needs to be consistent throughout the site Should appear on MouseOver or clicking. Needs to have capability to include text and links. Catalog Home Page - Includes links to colleges, programs, courses; may include thumbnail images of colleges, programs, areas of study, etc. Program Page - Needs to include a program requirements table and a roadmap table; the credits column will need a calculation. Curriculum Services will need to be able to override the calculation. Information Pages – Includes links or text for University Calendar, Policies, Accreditation, Archives, Glossary, etc. Sitemap College Page Department/School Page Need to combine these into one web page and one pdf (one is currently in an html text field and one is in MS Word). The program requirements list all courses needed to earn a degree. The roadmap lists all these courses in a suggested semester-by-semester sequence. Both are needed and useful, but should not be separate documents. See Appendix D and E. All PDFs must be formatted and styled so that presentation is clean and attractive (navigation bars, white space, and other unwanted elements should be removed). PDF content must stay current and reflect the catalog content. This is true for PDFs for the current/active year and for PDFs of previous years (content for previous years is updated as needed). All PDFs must include the university seal and catalog year. PDFs will have additional information in headers and footers. All PDFs must be rendered accessible and navigable by screen reader. The catalog will have an archive page containing all available previous year catalogs. Search needs to include several database fields and the keyword library. Needs to be “smart” and return results for simple plurals and misspelled words. Content manager needs ability to maintain a keyword library. Results should return current/active year information first; previous year catalog information should appear in the results after the current year.
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Revision History
URLs Link Checking
Workflow
Markup Tool Data Conversion and Integration
A revision history must be retained for all changes to program requirements, policies, and catalog proofs. This audit trail should capture the change, the date and the user that made the change. Curriculum Services needs to be able to look up and view these changes. The URL for live catalog pages should remain the same each year. Example: www.kent.edu/catalog/biology, not www.kent.edu/catalog/2014/biology This is so any department or other website that links to the catalog will always link to the active catalog. Site needs to auto detect and report on broken links within the site. Need an electronic approval workflow for content changes. Workflow needs to: - Route pages to faculty/staff for review, markup and approval - Notify reviewers that they have a task - Have markup capability for the content being reviewed - Display changes on screen in easy-to-use interface - Track and log changes - Report on status of all changes - Send email reminders for approaching deadlines Need to be able to define multiple approvers to a workflow; approvals will take place in a linear order. Curriculum Services needs to have admin capability for the workflow to reassign tasks, terminate workflows, etc. All users in a workflow need markup tool capabilities (highlight, underline, comment, etc. functions). All program information currently exists in texts fields on individual catalog pages. Need a conversion plan to extract and load into the content management database. Heavy data cleansing will be necessary; data is duplicated throughout site and is inconsistent. May uncover unknown issues with data.
PRICING Please provide a detailed pricing proposal for the requirements above. (Proceed to Section VI, “Request for Proposal Signature Form”, following page.)
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PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT
SECTION VI REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL RESPONSE AND SIGNATURE FORM
By signing below, Contractor warrants that it is not subject to an unresolved finding for recovery under ORC 9.24. If the warranty is false on the date the parties sign an Agreement resulting from this RFP, such and any future Agreement is void ab initio, and the Contractor must immediately repay to the State any funds paid under any such Agreement.
PAYMENT TERMS AND CASH DISCOUNTS: FEDERAL TAX ID No. OR SOCIAL SECURITY No.: FIRM NAME: ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE No.: FAX No.: EMAIL: AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: NAME OF SIGNEE: TITLE: DATE: *All bids submitted are taken by the University as offers to sell by the bidder and acceptance shall occur only by the issuance of a University Purchase Order or where appropriate, upon the execution of a written contract. (Please continue on following page.)
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PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT
TYPE OF BUSINESS (PLEASE CHECK ALL APPLICABLE CLASSIFICATIONS) Large. Small business – An independently owned and operated business which, together with affiliates, has 250 or fewer employees or average annual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previous three years. Department of Minority Business Enterprise (DMBE) certified women-owned and minority-owned business shall also be considered small business when they have received DMBE small business certification. Women-owned business – A business concern that is at least 51% owned by one or more women who are U. S. citizens or legal resident aliens, or in the case of a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company or other entity, at least 51% of the equity ownership interest is owned by one or more women who are citizens of the United States or non-citizens who are in full compliance with the United States immigration law, and both the management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women who are U. S. citizens or legal resident aliens. Minority-owned business – A business concern that is at least 51% owned by one or more minority individuals or in the case of a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company or other entity, at least 51% of the equity ownership interest in the corporation, partnership, or limited liability company or other entity is owned by one or more minority individuals and both the management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more minority individuals.
EXTENSION OF CONTRACT TO IUC-PG Are you willing to extend your pricing agreement to the IUC-PG membership? Please circle answer “Yes” or “No” below.
YES
NO
(Please continue on following page.)
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ELECTRONIC INVOICING AND PAYMENT CAPABILITY All bidders are required to complete the following information: 1. Does your company offer electronic invoicing? ___Yes ___No If yes, please specify method: ____________________________________________________ 2. Is your company capable of receiving payment via ACH transfer? ___Yes ___No
BUY OHIO BIDDER AND PRODUCT INFORMATION All bidders are requested to complete the following information: 1. Bidder is an Ohio vendor. 2. Bidder qualifies as an Ohio bidder because it: A. Is offering an Ohio product. B. Has a significant Ohio economic presence. C. Is located in a border state (Kentucky, Michigan, New York, or Pennsylvania) that imposes no greater restriction than contained in section 125.09 and 125.11 of the Ohio Revised Code. 3. Bidder does not qualify as an Ohio bidder. 4. All products offered in this bid are Ohio products except those listed below:
BUY AMERICAN CERTIFICATE The Bidder or Offeror hereby certifies that each end product, except the end products listed below, is a domestic source end product as defined in the Buy America Act; and that components of unknown origin have been considered to have been mined, produced, or manufactured outside the United States:
Certified: Name
Signature
(Please Print)
Date
Title
Note: Any questions regarding the above should be directed to: Kent State University, Procurement Department, 330-672-2276.
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