Addendum 1 RFP Student Financial Aid Call Center Questions/Comments and Answers revised 6/17/2016

Transcription

1 Addendum 1 RFP Student Financial Aid Call Center Questions/Comments and Answers revised 6/17/2016 Q1: Do you have 1-2 years, broken down by month, of historic call volumes? A1: May June Total 2013/ (2 months) July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June Total 2014/15 13,514 July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Total 2015/16 11,264 (10 months) Q2: Can you send a copy of the previous vendor contract if available? A2: The previous vendor contract is a public record. We will respond to any public record request that is submitted to us. Proposers should contact the RFP coordinator to make such request.

2 Q3: Is this contract seeking to provide dedicated call center agents, or is a shared environment preferable? A3: The contract would invite either option as a viable solution to our service. Our past experience has shown we prefer the dedicated environment but would not exclusively rule out the shared environment scenario. Q4: What is the number/volume of interactions that you are forecasting annually? Please provide for all support channels i.e. phone, , chat, etc. A4: See Answer #1 for Phone Calls during peak months, approx. 150/day for July, August, January and 50/day for non-peak months Chat we have not had this support channel previously but assume peak months with heavy volume and light volume in non-peak months Q5: What is the number/volume of interactions that you are forecasting for peak periods? Please provide month by month breakdown. A5: See Answer #1 and Answer #4. Q6: Would TTU prefer to use its own ticketing system? If yes, which ticketing system are you using? A6: We have SSC being used by Enrollment Management but it is not currently used by Financial Aid. We would like to use a ticketing system for escalated issues. Q7: If TTU would like to use our i.e. vendor s ticketing system, please help us with the number of user license(s) you may require. A7: We would need 18 licenses total. Q8: What is the approved/estimated budget for this contract? A8: It is not our policy to provide or publish our estimated budget figures. Q9: How is the current Call Center structured? Is it in-house or outsourced? A9: Currently it is outsourced with vendor s employees having individualized access (inquiry access except for comment screen) to the Ellucian Banner/BDMS process. Q10: Can we submit proposal via ? A10: Your proposal must be packaged and delivered as described in Section 3.1 of the RFP. Q11: Page No. 27, Attachment 6.4 Section (Training), could you please elaborate like what is the duration of Training required? What is the frequency of Training? What is the subject of training? Etc. A11: Training should occur prior to implementation of active calls being taken. We expect an on-site visit from vendor to train the trainers and discuss protocol, escalation, forwarding and day to day interaction. Training should be on an as-needed basis by either the vendor or our office. We would estimate this at a minimum of bi-annually. Subject of training would consist of

3 items mentioned above plus follow-up with new implementation policies and procedures, and new federal regulations that impact our office on a high scale. Q12: Under the RFP Schedule of Events, you list an Effective Contract Date of 7/18/16. What is the anticipated start date to go live with taking calls? A12: September 15, 2016 this would get us through the current peak period and allow time to implement prior to new October filing dates. Q13: Throughout the RFP there are several references to Verification, Default Prevention and Financial Literacy. For clarification, these are not what the school is contracting for and the RFP is for financial aid call center support. Is this correct? A13: Our current focus would be call center services with ability to pick up those items in the near future. Although some of those services are included on the Cost Sheet, those costs will not be included in the evaluation. A revised RFP (with a revised Cost Sheet) will be posted to the Purchasing Webpage. Q14: Section Can you provide a telephone number for the address? Federal Express packages require a telephone number for shipping. A14: Please use the Purchasing Office number, (931) Q15: Section States the Proposer must sign and date the Technical Proposal. Are you referring to Attachment 6.3, or is there another signature requirement? A15: An original signature on Attachment 6.3 is the only requirement for the Technical Proposal. The Cost Proposal also requires an original signature. Q16: Question D.9 and D.10 seem to almost identical. Can they be combined to simplify the response? A16: We assume this question is referring to questions C.9 and C.10. Proposers may combine those answers as long as their response directs us to the appropriate page of their proposal. Q17: Cost Proposal and Scoring Guide, Attachment 6.6 You ask for full year cost for each of the five years. We charge on a per call answered basis. How are we to list our cost? A17: Please use the data from Answer #1 to estimate full-year cost. Q18: Cost Proposal and Scoring Guide, Attachment 6.6 You ask for a cost breakdown for Verification transactions and default management transaction. Are these services part of the services being procured by the school, or should we just respond not applicable? A18: If you do not offer these services, please enter Not Applicable. If you do offer these services, please enter your annual cost on the Cost Sheet for the University s information. The University might elect to add those services at a later date. A revised RFP (with a revised Cost Sheet) will be posted to the Purchasing Webpage. Q19: Is the University paying on a per-call answered basis or lump sum annual bill with its current vendor?

4 A19: Per call answered basis. Q20: If you are paying on a lump sum basis today for call center services, how do you estimate the number of calls? How do you reconcile the payments if the call estimates are not correct? A20: See Answer #1 for estimate of calls and Answer #19 for per-call vs. lump sum. Q21: If we are required to only provide a lump sum cost per year, what is the number of calls we will be supporting? A21: See Answer #1. Q22: If we provide a lump sum cost based on an estimated number of calls from the university, how will the cost be adjusted if the estimated calls are too low or too high? A22: Use per-call basis using data from Answer #1. Q23: Can you provide a breakout of your call volume for calls received and answered by month for the last 12 months? A23: See Answer #1. Q24: Cost Proposal and Scoring Guide, Attachment 6.6 You have a section for a cost breakdown for Peak Periods Only. Is Tennessee Tech looking for year round support or only support for peak periods? A24: The University is primarily looking for year-round support, however we reserve the option to contract for peak periods only. See footnote on RFP Cost Sheet for more details. Q25: If Tennessee Tech is not looking for peak period support should we just respond not applicable on the cost worksheet? A25: Please answer with an estimate using July, August and January as peak months but realistically looking at year-round costs. Please respond Not Applicable if Proposer is not willing to contract for peak periods only. Q26: Will our score be negatively affected if we don t provide peak period support? A26: We are looking primarily for year-round support so that shouldn t be an issue. Q27: Section 4.9, Licensure States that If the scope of services requires a license from the TN Board of Licensing Contractors, the proposer MUST have that license prior to submitting the proposal. Do the scope of services under this RFP require this? A27: No, the scope of services under this RFP does not require a TN license. Q28: Section C, Question C.3 You ask to illustrate our ability to transfer calls to university and ability for university to transfer calls to vendor. Under what circumstances will the university be transferring calls to the vendor? A28: I want to speak to (insert vendor agent name here). This situation would be extremely rare.

5 Q29: Section C, Questions C.4 You ask to provide a narrative that illustrates that Proposer has sufficient staffing to effectively manage call, verification and/or cohort default management volume. Is the university contracting for verification and default management? If not, do we respond not applicable for these services? A29: We do not plan to contract for those services at this time. Non-applicable unless you can provide future support. See also Answer #13 and Answer #18. Q30: Section C, Question C.18 You ask for a narrative that demonstrates knowledge and contribution to programs assisting Tennessee students. Providing a narrative on the knowledge of Tennessee programs seems to be repetitive with questions C.9, C.10 and C.11, can we just reference these questions for the response? Please define contributions to programs assisting Tennessee students? Would there not be a conflict of interest if we were making financial or in-kind contributions to these types of programs and then supporting those very programs utilized by the school? We ask that the word contribution be deleted due to potential conflict issues. A30: The University agrees that the wording on C.18 is ambiguous, so we are eliminating that question altogether. A revised RFP will be posted to the Purchasing webpage. Q31: Will we have access to your Banner Document Imaging System? A31: Yes. Q32: Can the school provide historical inbound call volume data by month for the previous academic year? A32: See Answer #1. Q33: Will Tennessee Technological University provide anticipated call volumes for the upcoming academic year? A33: See Answer #1 for previous year volume. Q34: We will be using a subcontractor for a portion of the services, will that subcontractor need to complete and sign a Contractor Requirement Form and a Proposal Transmittal and Statement of Certification and Assurances Form as well? A34: Regarding subcontractors, the University would have to provide written approval of the proposed subcontractor. If approved, the Proposer will be the prime contractor and shall be responsible for all services provided. The contract between the Proposer and the subcontractor, in regards to the scope of services covered by this RFP, would have to include some state mandated language, which the University would provide. The two forms you mention are not required from the proposed subcontractor as part of the RFP response. Q35: Regarding the Cost Proposal & Scoring Guide, TTU asks for cost breakdowns for verification transactions and default management transactions. Could the University define what is meant by transactions? Does the University want to see a per student cost listed in the pricing grid?

6 A35: Verification would be one student file completed and Default Management would be one student record. For the purposes of the Cost Sheet, please provide your annual cost based on the numbers provided in the Cost Sheet footnotes. Q36: Regarding the Cost Proposal & Scoring Guide, the footnotes reference monthly costs but the pricing grid asks for cost breakdowns. Does the University want a per unit price and an estimated cost based on the numbers provided in the footnotes? A36: In each case, please provide an annual cost based on the numbers provided in the footnotes and/or in this Addendum. Q37: Regarding the Cost Proposal & Scoring Guide, TTU asks for monthly cost breakdown details for call center support for peak periods only. Could TTU provide the # of calls the peak periods for year 1 through 5 for the estimate? A37: See Answer #1 for previous two years to use as an estimate of volume. Peak times would be July, August and January. Q38: Regarding Attachment 6.2, Section E.14., the data security and access standards link is not working. Could TTU provide an updated link? A38: Q39: Are hours of operation Monday-Friday? A39: Yes from 8-4:30 Central. Q40: What are the expectations for holiday hours? A40: No services on days the University is closed but with out of office greeting. The University will provide successful Proposer the University calendar. Q41: Please provide projected/estimated call volume on daily and monthly basis for all support channels inbound and outbound (i.e. Phone, , Chat, etc.). A41: See Answer #1 and Answer #4. Q42: Please provide projected/estimated call volume daily and monthly basis for inbound and outbound project type listed in the RFP (financial aid, verification, default aversion, and financial literacy). A42: See Answer #1 and Answer #4. Q43: What is the average length of each call? A43: During April 2016, 3:58 Q44: What is the current abandon rate? A44: During April 2016, 13.44% Q45: What is the current escalation rate? A45: During April 2016, 3.5%

7 Q46: What is the first call resolution rate? A46: We do not collect this data. We would expect to collect this rate from future vendors. Q47: Is communication part of this program in addition to calls? A47: Yes. Q48: Whose system are we using for incoming calls? A48: EdFinancial Services. Q49: Would University prefer to use its own ticketing system? If yes, which ticketing system are you using? A49: See Answer #6. Q50: What is the escalation rate for the past year for peak, non-peak and overall? What is the desired escalation rate peak, non-peak and overall? A50: See Answer #45. Q51: Will access to the Banner system be read only or will we have the ability to update your system? A51: Inquiry only but write access to RHACOMM (comments screen). Q52: Is the University seeking semi-dedicated staffing (fully trained agents that serve multiple accounts) or fully dedicated agents (solely dedicated to The University)? A52: Either as long as vendor is able to fully support our service. We would prefer solely dedicated. Q53: If you currently outsource this service, who is your current provider and what would you like to enhance? A53: Our current provider is EdFinancial Services. Training (frequent turnover), call escalation, abandonment rate, consistency of communication between call center and student and university staff, and services. Q54: If you currently outsource this service, what is the pricing? A54: $4.51 per call, $2.60 per , and $.05 per virtual outbound call (robocall). Q55: Will we have access to the questions and answers from other bidders? A55: Yes all questions/comments are included in this document. Q56: What does financial literacy involve? A56: We have recently been provided assistance to this piece of the contract, so you may ignore any mention of financial literacy. Q57: What % of students requires default aversion? A57: We have a 6.1% 3-year cohort default rate.

8 Q58: Do you have cell phone consent from your student population? A58: We do not send text messages but if student provided a cell number on student record we can call. Q59: Will the University send a trainer to proposer s location to train associates? A59: We can at vendor s cost. Q60: What is the duration of training? A60: That depends on the level of knowledge and expertise to our contract terms, i.e., Banner knowledge, Title IV aid knowledge, etc. Q61: The effective date of the contract is July 18th what is the proposed go live date? A61: Proposed go-live date is Sept 15, END OF QUESTIONS/ANSWERS