7/16/2013 Request for Information (RFI) - Course Sequencing System

Transcription

1 7/16/2013 Request for Information (RFI) - Course Sequencing System 1. General Information and Overview Phoenix College (PC), a member of the Maricopa County Community Colleges herein referred to as Maricopa, MCCCD or the District is requesting information from a list of vendors who are interested in developing a partnership with Phoenix College and Maricopa for a software solution with a web interface that will provide course sequencing tools, what-if degree-mapping/planning scenarios, and predictive analytics for students. MCCCD desires a solution that is scalable and can easily accommodate expansion to other colleges individually or to the entire district. Depending on pricing and other factors, Maricopa may elect to extend this solution beyond the initial implementation at a single college (Phoenix College). MCCCD consists of ten (10) colleges, two (2) skills training centers, a district office, and multiple satellite education centers throughout the greater Phoenix area. Maricopa ranks as one of the nation s largest systems of its kind and as the largest single provider of higher education in Arizona. Maricopa educates and trains more than 260,000 persons year round with approximately 88% enrolled in credit courses and 12% enrolled in basic education and non-credit special interest courses. Additionally, thousands of employees from both local and relocating businesses and industries are enrolled in customized workforce training programs with the Maricopa system. With a workforce of over 9,600 employees, MCCCD works collectively and responsibly to meet the life-long learning needs of our diverse students and communities. 1.1 Content of RFI responses: MCCCD requires vendors to include (but not be limited to) the following in their responses: a) Executive summary of proposal b) Schematic illustrating the proposed architecture of the course sequencing solution c) Summary list of proposed equipment and systems required to support implementation of the course sequencing solution d) Summary of proposed system functionality e) Summary of implementation project plan f) Description of services for ongoing updates, support and training g) Scope of recommended services required as well as those to be provided by the company to facilitate interoperability of existing systems and services h) Plan and pricing to extend functionality beyond Phoenix College if adopted by other individual colleges in MCCCD or the entire District Subsequent to the receipt and review of the responses to this RFI, MCCCD, may contact the Respondents and schedule an online or onsite presentation at the college to allow vendors further opportunity to promote their solution. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain general information about the solutions available in the marketplace and evaluate those solutions based on their features and how innovative, user-friendly, and cost effective they are. There is no contractual obligation as a result of this RFI. Phoenix College reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) or to enter directly into negotiations with the Vendor to supply and deliver the proposed course sequencing system through a less formal competitive process. Situations where it might exercise this right could include: a) A case where the immediacy of the college s need outweighs the risks of pursuing an approach that has not been finalized, and/or

2 b) A particular approach is clearly preferable and it is determined that there is no significant benefit to issuing an RFP The award of any contract pursuant to this process is subject to funding approval and, dependent on the value of the contract. 2. Existing MCCCD Environment The following information is provided as an overview of MCCCD s current systems. The proposed solution shall be able to interface and work in harmony with existing MCCCD infrastructure. The overview is provided as an information item only. It will ultimately be the respondent s responsibility to verify equipment and systems required for integration. Most current student advising processes are conducted separately at each college, for services including advisement, tutoring, early alert, recruitment, etc. Maricopa s current Learning Management Systems are Instructure Canvas (a cloud-based LMS using Ruby on Rails and open source commercial/agpl licensing with an open API) and RioLearn (a custom LMS built on a predominantly Microsoft platform using IIS web servers, SQL databases, Active Directory, Windows Server, and homegrown.net code). Students and staff use Google Apps for Education , calendaring, and other functions. The current student record infrastructure is based on PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 8.9 and PeopleTools MCCCD maintains an upgrade schedule for PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and PeopleTools. Local subsets of the PeopleSoft data are currently available at Phoenix College in the form of two databases known as CDS and RDS. The former is refreshed every hour, the latter is refreshed nightly. PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.0 is scheduled to be implemented January 2014, at which time direct, live (or near-real-time) access to the data will be available. The district currently uses a Microsoft SQL database to store all curriculum information for the programs offered at each school. MCCCD uses LDAP authentication for both students and employees (faculty and staff). 3. Requirements This section of the RFI lists the items which require specific written responses or confirmations. Please describe if and how your system meets these needs. 1.1 Licensure: Must be licensed by the State the business is in or be licensed in the State of Arizona, if services requested require such licensures Please describe your licensing/pricing model. 1.2 Deployment/Delivery Method: Please describe how your solution operates: On Site/Premise - MCCCD would be responsible for data and infrastructure Hosted - infrastructure management, app delivery, etc. is handled by provider

3 Other (Please describe). 1.3 Systems Please describe the type and level of integration with PeopleTools Document how system interfaces are compatible with PeopleSoft Campus Solutions version 8.9 and PeopleSoft Campus Solutions version Describe how the proposed solution/product supports single sign-on SSO via SAML, SAML2 or similar SSO technology Describe how the system provides different levels of access (e.g. role-based advisor vs. student) Describe support for Windows and Mac desktop platforms Describe support for Windows, Apple, and Android tablets Describe support for mobile/smart phone support for Windows, Apple, Android, and Blackberry. 1.4 Security/Safeguards Describe system security capabilities including compliance with State and Federal regulations Describe data retention schedule and options Describe system safeguards such as backups, redundancy, etc Describe any system limitations for concurrent users, including technical or licensing limitations. 1.5 Reporting Describe any/all reporting tools available within the system. Include screenshots of dashboards, reports, etc Describe how reporting can be customized. 1.6 Functionality/Interfaces General Describe from a students perspective what he/she would see and be able to do in the system Describe from an academic advisors perspective what he/she would be able to see and do in the system Furnish any case studies that help us understand your business model and successful implementations Describe the system s capability (if any) for creating/tracking advising appointments, including integration with external calendars such as Google Calendar Does the system allow for scanning of a student ID card in order to pull up the student record? Does the system allow for students to be assigned to a specific advisor? Can students be assigned to a group of advisors? Is the assignment of an advisor required? Describe how the system handles advisor notes. Is it possible to have some notes be private and others visible? Describe the workflow for activities such as adopting/approving course sequences, course substitution for prerequisites/graduation, acceptance into academic programs, etc Please provide screenshots of key interfaces What modes of communication are available for advisors to communicate with students? Course Sequencing Describe the system s ability to display one or more (e.g. part-time and full-time) recommended course sequences for each degree, program or certificate offered by the college Describe how students can modify a proposed course sequence Describe how academic advisors can modify a proposed sequence Describe if/how academic advisors are notified if a student modifies his or her course sequence.

4 Does the system have the ability to track students progress towards non-course degree requirements (i.e. minimum 12 credits must be completed at the student s home college; program/major GPA) Does the system have the ability to check if courses in a sequence are available in a given semester? If so, please describe this functionality Describe the system s capability for tracking student academic progress relative to their applicable course sequence(s) Describe how the system handles developmental courses, pre-requisites, co-requisites, crosslisted courses, etc Explain the process by which course sequences are added, updated or removed What-if Degree Mapping/Planning Describe how the system enables students to see how their existing credits would apply to the requirements of other degrees, programs or certificates offered by the college Describe how the system enables students to see how their existing credits would apply to the requirements of other degrees, programs or certificates offered by other colleges in Maricopa Describe how the system enables students to see how their existing credits would apply to the requirements of other degrees, programs or certificates offered by state universities Predictive Analytics How does the system evaluate courses to determine/rank the appropriateness/applicability of courses for the selected student/program? Describe the system s ability to predict a student s likelihood of success in a given degree, program or certificate, based on his/her educational preparation/background (e.g. other college courses taken, high school GPA, college GPA, standardized test scores, placement test scores, etc.). 4. Training Vendors must describe in detail what training materials and services are offered for staff and students, including options for on-site training, web-based training, participation at regional training seminars, as well as what materials would be available to Maricopa for ongoing in-house training. 5. Support, Warranty and Maintenance Describe how on-going support is provided -- including the options and levels of support, warranty coverage, and types of maintenance agreements that are available for the proposed system. Also provide information about how your system is maintained and improved. How often are patches and enhancements released? Are such patches and enhancements included in the licensing or do they require purchasing a version upgrade? Are they automatically deployed or does Maricopa have discretion as to when to deploy them? 6. Company Background Provide details about the company history, including information about the product history. Describe your involvement with the higher education industry. 7. Pricing Although pricing is a vital component to the overall selection of a vendor, the expectation is that all pricing submitted should be suggested retail and exclude any special discounts. All pricing information will be kept confidential.

5 Please describe in detail your company s pricing model and all options associated with that model. Please submit ballpark/approximate pricing range inclusive of all the requirements to support a single college implementation at Phoenix College (approximately 12,000 head count/6,000 full time equivalent students per semester). Also include pricing information that would include adoption of the system by additional individual colleges up to a potential Maricopa-wide implementation (260,000 students). Include initial costs and ongoing pricing for a 5-year period. Submitted pricing is for information purposes only and is non-binding. 8. RFI Submittal Information Submittals must include one (1) original, one (1) printed copy and one (1) CD/DVD or flash drive containing digital versions of the documents. Submittals must be received prior to 3:00 p.m. (local time) on: August 7, 2013 Submit to: Maricopa County Community College District Main Reception Desk Attn: Keith Killourie, CPPB 2411 W. 14th Street Tempe, Arizona The envelope or enclosure must be worded "Request for Information / Course Sequencing System" with date and time of deadline.