Revised 1/14/2008 .us
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR
THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS STATE BOARD OF COSMETOLOGY AND STATE BOARD OF BARBER EXAMINERS
ISSUING OFFICE
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department of State
Bureau of Finance and Operations
Room 308 North Office Building
401 North Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120-0500
RFP NUMBER: DOS-RFP-2015-2
DATE OF ISSUANCE
October 6, 2015
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR
BUREAU OF PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS STATE BOARD OF COSMETOLOGY AND STATE BOARD OF BARBER EXAMINERS
RFP NUMBER: DOS-RFP-2015-2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CALENDAR OF EVENTS iii
Part I—GENERAL INFORMATION 1
Part II—PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS 10
Part III—CRITERIA FOR SELECTION 14
Part IV—WORK STATEMENT 19
APPENDIX A, STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
APPENDIX B, PROPOSAL COVER SHEET
APPENDIX C, SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS LETTER OF INTENT
APPENDIX D, DOMESTIC WORKFORCE UTILIZATION CERTIFICATION
APPENDIX E, 2014 ANNUAL VOLUME CHART
APPENDIX F, COST PROPOSAL
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
The Commonwealth will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:
|Activity |Responsibility |Date |
|Deadline to submit Questions via email to Elsa Mangual at emangual@. |Potential Offerors |October 13, 2015 |
| | |2:00 p.m. |
|Answers to Potential Offeror questions posted to the DGS website |Issuing Office | |
|) | | |
|no later than this date. | |October 20, 2015 |
| | |4:00 p.m. |
| | | |
| | | |
|Please monitor website for all communications regarding the RFP. |Potential Offerors |Ongoing |
|Sealed proposal must be received by the Issuing Office at Room 308 North Office Building,|Offerors |November 3, 2015 |
|401 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0500. | |2:00 p.m. |
PART I
GENERAL INFORMATION
Purpose. This request for proposals (RFP) provides to those interested in submitting proposals for the subject procurement (“Offerors”) sufficient information to enable them to prepare and submit proposals for the Department of State’s consideration on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (“Commonwealth”) to satisfy a need for the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (Bureau), State Board of Cosmetology and State Board of Barber Examiners. (“Project”).
Issuing Office. The Department of State (“Issuing Office”) has issued this RFP on behalf of the Commonwealth. The sole point of contact in the Commonwealth for this RFP shall be Elsa Mangual, emangual@, the Issuing Officer for this RFP. Please refer all inquiries to the Issuing Officer.
Scope. This RFP contains instructions governing the requested proposals, including the requirements for the information and material to be included; a description of the service to be provided; requirements which Offerors must meet to be eligible for consideration; general evaluation criteria; and other requirements specific to this RFP.
Problem Statement. The Commonwealth, through the Bureau, is interested in securing and retaining the services of a qualified professional testing organization. The organization must be experienced in professional licensure examination development, preparation, administration and scoring and possess the adequate background, experienced personnel, qualifications and resources to develop, prepare, administer and score Commonwealth examinations and perform other related services for the Bureau and candidates as described in this RFP. Act 146 of 1980 requires that such services be performed by an approved and qualified professional testing organization and that examination activity costs must be covered by fees from examination candidates, not licensees. The Commonwealth strives to obtain examination services at the lowest practical costs to candidates.
Examination development, preparation, administration and scoring services will be required for the following licensing boards:
• State Board of Cosmetology
• State Board of Barber Examiners
The examining of candidates is an ongoing function of the Contractor and must continue without interruption. It shall be the responsibility of respondents to this RFP to satisfy the Commonwealth that the proposed system can be implemented.
Additional detail is provided in Part IV of this RFP.
Type of Contract. It is proposed that if the Issuing Office enters into a contract as a result of this RFP, it will be a five year, firm, fixed-price contract containing the Standard Contract Terms and Conditions as shown in Appendix A and available at . The Issuing Office, in its sole discretion, may undertake negotiations with Offerors whose proposals, in the judgment of the Issuing Office, show them to be qualified, responsible and capable of performing the Project.
Rejection of Proposals. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole and complete discretion, to reject any proposal received as a result of this RFP.
Incurring Costs. The Issuing Office is not liable for any costs the Offeror incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process or in anticipation of award of the contract.
Questions & Answers. If an Offeror has any questions regarding this RFP, the Offeror must submit the questions by email (with the subject line “DOS-RFP-2015-2 Question”) to the Issuing Officer named in Part I, Section I-2 of the RFP. If the Offeror has questions, they must be submitted via email no later than the date indicated on the Calendar of Events. The Offeror shall not attempt to contact the Issuing Officer by any other means. The Issuing Officer shall post the answers to the questions on the DGS website by the date stated on the Calendar of Events. An Offeror who submits a question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events assumes the risk that its proposal will not be responsive or competitive because the Commonwealth is not able to respond before the proposal receipt date or in sufficient time for the Offeror to prepare a responsive or competitive proposal. When submitted after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the Issuing Officer may respond to questions of an administrative nature by directing the questioning Offeror to specific provisions in the RFP. To the extent that the Issuing Office decides to respond to a non-administrative question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the answer must be provided to all Offerors through an addendum.
All questions and responses as posted on the DGS website are considered as an addendum to, and part of, this RFP in accordance with RFP Part I, Section I-10. Each Offeror shall be responsible to monitor the DGS website for new or revised RFP information. The Issuing Office shall not be bound by any verbal information nor shall it be bound by any written information that is not either contained within the RFP or formally issued as an addendum by the Issuing Office. The Issuing Office does not consider questions to be a protest of the specifications or of the solicitation. The required protest process for Commonwealth procurements is described on the DGS website.
Addenda to the RFP. If the Issuing Office deems it necessary to revise any part of this RFP before the proposal response date, the Issuing Office will post an addendum to the DGS website at . It is the Offeror’s responsibility to periodically check the website for any new information or addenda to the RFP. Answers to the questions asked during the Questions & Answers period also will be posted to the website as an addendum to the RFP.
Response Date. To be considered for selection, hard copies of proposals must arrive at the Issuing Office on or before the time and date specified in the RFP Calendar of Events. The Issuing Office will not accept proposals via email or facsimile transmission. Offerors who send proposals by mail or other delivery service should allow sufficient delivery time to ensure timely receipt of their proposals. If, due to inclement weather, natural disaster, or any other cause, the Commonwealth office location to which proposals are to be returned is closed on the proposal response date, the deadline for submission will be automatically extended until the next Commonwealth business day on which the office is open, unless the Issuing Office otherwise notifies Offerors. The hour for submission of proposals shall remain the same. The Issuing Office will reject, unopened, any late proposals.
Proposals. To be considered, Offerors should submit a complete response to this RFP to the Issuing Office, using the format provided in Part II, providing seven (7) paper copies [one marked “ORIGINAL”] of the Technical Submittal and two (2) paper copies of the Cost Submittal and two (2) paper copies of the Small Diverse Business (SDB) participation submittal. In addition to the paper copies of the proposal, Offerors shall submit one complete and exact copy of the entire proposal (Technical, Cost and SDB submittals, along with all requested documents) on CD-ROM or Flash drive in Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office-compatible format. The electronic copy must be a mirror image of the paper copy and any spreadsheets must be in Microsoft Excel. The Offerors may not lock or protect any cells or tabs. Offerors should ensure that there is no costing information in the technical submittal. Offerors should not reiterate technical information in the cost submittal. The CD or Flash drive should clearly identify the Offeror and include the name and version number of the virus scanning software that was used to scan the CD or Flash drive before it was submitted. The Offeror shall make no other distribution of its proposal to any other Offeror or Commonwealth official or Commonwealth consultant. Each proposal page should be numbered for ease of reference. An official authorized to bind the Offeror to its provisions must sign the proposal. If the official signs the Proposal Cover Sheet (Appendix B to this RFP) and the Proposal Cover Sheet is attached to the Offeror’s proposal, the requirement will be met. For this RFP, the proposal must remain valid for 120 days or until a contract is fully executed. If the Issuing Office selects the Offeror’s proposal for award, the contents of the selected Offeror’s proposal will become, except to the extent the contents are changed through Best and Final Offers or negotiations, contractual obligations.
Each Offeror submitting a proposal specifically waives any right to withdraw or modify it, except that the Offeror may withdraw its proposal by written notice received at the Issuing Office’s address for proposal delivery prior to the exact hour and date specified for proposal receipt. An Offeror or its authorized representative may withdraw its proposal in person prior to the exact hour and date set for proposal receipt, provided the withdrawing person provides appropriate identification and signs a receipt for the proposal. An Offeror may modify its submitted proposal prior to the exact hour and date set for proposal receipt only by submitting a new sealed proposal or sealed modification which complies with the RFP requirements.
Small Diverse Business Information. The Issuing Office encourages participation by small diverse businesses as prime contractors, and encourages all prime contractors to make a significant commitment to use small diverse businesses as subcontractors and suppliers.
A Small Diverse Business is a DGS-verified minority-owned business, woman-owned business, veteran-owned business or service-disabled veteran-owned business.
A small business is a business in the United States which is independently owned, not dominant in its field of operation, employs no more than 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees, and earns less than $7 million in gross annual revenues for building design, $20 million in gross annual revenues for sales and services and $25 million in gross annual revenues for those businesses in the information technology sales or service business.
Questions regarding this Program can be directed to:
Department of General Services
Bureau of Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities
Room 601, North Office Building
Harrisburg, PA 17125
Phone: (717) 783-3119
Fax: (717) 787-7052
Email: gs-bsbo@
Website: dgs.state.pa.us
The Department’s directory of BDISBO-verified minority, women, veteran and service disabled veteran-owned businesses can be accessed from: Searching for Small Diverse BuisnessesBusinesses .
I-13. Economy of Preparation. Offerors should prepare proposals simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the Offeror’s ability to meet the requirements of the RFP. Proposals may be no longer than 25 typed pages exclusive of appendixes, and must be double spaced in Times New Roman 12 font with a minimum 1-inch margin.
I-14. Alternate Proposals. The Issuing Office has identified the basic approach to meeting its requirements, allowing Offerors to be creative and propose their best solution to meeting these requirements. The Issuing Office will not accept alternate proposals.
I-15. Discussions for Clarification. Offerors may be required to make an oral or written clarification of their proposals to the Issuing Office to ensure thorough mutual understanding and Offeror responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. The Issuing Office will initiate requests for clarification. Clarifications may occur at any stage of the evaluation and selection process prior to contract execution.
I-16. Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The contract will require the selected Offeror to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them itself or by subcontract. The Issuing Office will consider the selected Offeror to be the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters.
I-17. Proposal Contents.
A. Confidential Information. The Commonwealth is not requesting, and does not require, confidential proprietary information or trade secrets to be included as part of Offerors’ submissions in order to evaluate proposals submitted in response to this RFP. Accordingly, except as provided herein, Offerors should not label proposal submissions as confidential or proprietary or trade secret protected. Any Offeror who determines that it must divulge such information as part of its proposal must submit the signed written statement described in subsection c. below and must additionally provide a redacted version of its proposal, which removes only the confidential proprietary information and trade secrets, for required public disclosure purposes.
B. Commonwealth Use. All material submitted with the proposal shall be considered the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and may be returned only at the Issuing Office’s option. The Commonwealth has the right to use any or all ideas not protected by intellectual property rights that are presented in any proposal regardless of whether the proposal becomes part of a contract. Notwithstanding any Offeror copyright designations contained on proposals, the Commonwealth shall have the right to make copies and distribute proposals internally and to comply with public record or other disclosure requirements under the provisions of any Commonwealth or United States statute or regulation, or rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction.
C. Public Disclosure. After the award of a contract pursuant to this RFP, all proposal submissions are subject to disclosure in response to a request for public records made under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know-Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101, et seq. If a proposal submission contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets, a signed written statement to this effect must be provided with the submission in accordance with 65 P.S. § 67.707(b) for the information to be considered exempt under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(11) from public records requests. If financial capability information is submitted in response to Part II of this RFP such financial capability information is exempt from public records disclosure under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(26).
I-18. Best and Final Offers.
A. While not required, the Issuing Office reserves the right to conduct discussions with Offerors for the purpose of obtaining “best and final offers.” To obtain best and final offers from Offerors, the Issuing Office may do one or more of the following, in any combination and order:
1. Schedule oral presentations;
2. Request revised proposals;
3. Conduct a reverse online auction; and
4. Enter into pre-selection negotiations.
B. The following Offerors will not be invited by the Issuing Office to submit a Best and Final Offer:
1. Those Offerors, which the Issuing Office has determined to be not responsible or whose proposals the Issuing Office has determined to be not responsive.
2. Those Offerors, which the Issuing Office has determined in accordance with Part III, Section III-5, from the submitted and gathered financial and other information, do not possess the financial capability, experience or qualifications to assure good faith performance of the contract.
3. Those Offerors whose score for their technical submittal of the proposal is less than 70% of the total amount of technical points allotted to the technical criterion.
The issuing office may further limit participation in the best and final offers process to those remaining responsible offerors which the Issuing Office has, within its discretion, determined to be within the top competitive range of responsive proposals.
C. The Evaluation Criteria found in Part III, Section III-4, shall also be used to evaluate the Best and Final offers.
D. Price reductions offered through any reverse online auction shall have no effect upon the Offeror’s Technical Submittal. Dollar commitments to Small Diverse Businesses can be reduced only in the same percentage as the percent reduction in the total price offered through any reverse online auction or negotiations.
I-19. News Releases. Offerors shall not issue news releases, Internet postings, advertisements or any other public communications pertaining to this Project without prior written approval of the Issuing Office, and then only in coordination with the Issuing Office.
I-20. Restriction of Contact. From the issue date of this RFP until the Issuing Office selects a proposal for award, the Issuing Officer is the sole point of contact concerning this RFP. Any violation of this condition may be cause for the Issuing Office to reject the offending Offeror’s proposal. If the Issuing Office later discovers that the Offeror has engaged in any violations of this condition, the Issuing Office may reject the offending Offeror’s proposal or rescind its contract award. Offerors must agree not to distribute any part of their proposals beyond the Issuing Office. An Offeror who shares information contained in its proposal with other Commonwealth personnel and/or competing Offeror personnel may be disqualified.
I-21. Issuing Office Participation. Offerors shall provide all services, supplies, facilities, and other support necessary to complete the identified work, except as otherwise provided in this Part I, Section I-22.
I-22. Term of Contract. The term of the contract will commence on the Effective Date and will end after five years. The Issuing Office will fix the Effective Date after the contract has been fully executed by the selected Offeror and by the Commonwealth and all approvals required by Commonwealth contracting procedures have been obtained. The selected Offeror shall not start the performance of any work prior to the Effective Date of the contract and the Commonwealth shall not be liable to pay the selected Offeror for any service or work performed or expenses incurred before the Effective Date of the contract.
I-23. Offeror’s Representations and Authorizations. By submitting its proposal, each Offeror understands, represents, and acknowledges that:
A. All of the Offeror’s information and representations in the proposal are material and important, and the Issuing Office may rely upon the contents of the proposal in awarding the contract(s). The Commonwealth shall treat any misstatement, omission or misrepresentation as fraudulent concealment of the true facts relating to the Proposal submission, punishable pursuant to 18 Pa. C.S. § 4904.
B. The Offeror has arrived at the price(s) and amounts in its proposal independently and without consultation, communication, or agreement with any other Offeror or potential offeror.
C. The Offeror has not disclosed the price(s), the amount of the proposal, nor the approximate price(s) or amount(s) of its proposal to any other firm or person who is an Offeror or potential offeror for this RFP, and the Offeror shall not disclose any of these items on or before the proposal submission deadline specified in the Calendar of Events of this RFP.
D. The Offeror has not attempted, nor will it attempt, to induce any firm or person to refrain from submitting a proposal on this contract, or to submit a proposal higher than this proposal, or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive proposal or other form of complementary proposal.
E. The Offeror makes its proposal in good faith and not pursuant to any agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive proposal.
F. To the best knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror, the Offeror, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, and employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the last four years been convicted or found liable for any act prohibited by State or Federal law in any jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to bidding or proposing on any public contract, except as the Offeror has disclosed in its proposal.
G. To the best of the knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror and except as the Offeror has otherwise disclosed in its proposal, the Offeror has no outstanding, delinquent obligations to the Commonwealth including, but not limited to, any state tax liability not being contested on appeal or other obligation of the Offeror that is owed to the Commonwealth.
H. The Offeror is not currently under suspension or debarment by the Commonwealth, any other state or the federal government, and if the Offeror cannot so certify, then it shall submit along with its proposal a written explanation of why it cannot make such certification.
I. The Offeror has not made, under separate contract with the Issuing Office, any recommendations to the Issuing Office concerning the need for the services described in its proposal or the specifications for the services described in the proposal.
J. Each Offeror, by submitting its proposal, authorizes Commonwealth agencies to release to the Commonwealth information concerning the Offeror's Pennsylvania taxes, unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation liabilities.
K. Until the selected Offeror receives a fully executed and approved written contract from the Issuing Office, there is no legal and valid contract, in law or in equity, and the Offeror shall not begin to perform.
I-24. Notification of Selection.
A. Contract Negotiations. The Issuing Office will notify all Offerors in writing of the Offeror selected for contract negotiations after the Issuing Office has determined, taking into consideration all of the evaluation factors, the proposal that is the most advantageous to the Issuing Office.
B. Award. Offerors whose proposals are not selected will be notified when contract negotiations have been successfully completed and the Issuing Office has received the final negotiated contract signed by the selected Offeror.
I-25. Debriefing Conferences. Upon notification of award, Offerors whose proposals were not selected will be given the opportunity to be debriefed. The Issuing Office will schedule the debriefing at a mutually agreeable time. The debriefing will not compare the Offeror with other Offerors, other than the position of the Offeror’s proposal in relation to all other Offeror proposals. An Offeror’s exercise of the opportunity to be debriefed does not constitute nor toll the time for filing a protest (See Section I-27 of this RFP).
I-26. RFP Protest Procedure. The RFP Protest Procedure is on the DGS website at . A protest by a party not submitting a proposal must be filed within seven days after the protesting party knew or should have known of the facts giving rise to the protest, but no later than the proposal submission deadline specified in the Calendar of Events of the RFP. Offerors may file a protest within seven days after the protesting Offeror knew or should have known of the facts giving rise to the protest, but in no event may an Offeror file a protest later than seven days after the date the notice of award of the contract is posted on the DGS website. The date of filing is the date of receipt of the protest. A protest must be filed in writing with the Issuing Office. To be timely, the protest must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the seventh day.
I-27. Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP. This RFP is being made available by electronic means. If an Offeror electronically accepts the RFP, the Offeror acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to insure that no changes are made to the RFP. In the event of a conflict between a version of the RFP in the Offeror’s possession and the Issuing Office’s version of the RFP, the Issuing Office’s version shall govern.
PART II
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
Offerors must submit their proposals in the format, including heading descriptions, outlined below. To be considered, the proposal must respond to all requirements in this part of the RFP. Offerors should provide any other information thought to be relevant, but not applicable to the enumerated categories, as an appendix to the Proposal. All cost data relating to this proposal and all Small Diverse Business cost data should be kept separate from and not included in the Technical Submittal. Each Proposal shall consist of the following three separately sealed submittals:
A. Technical Submittal, which shall be a response to RFP Part II, Sections II-1 through
II-8;
B. Small Diverse Business participation submittal, in response to RFP Part II, Section II-9; and
C. Cost Submittal, in response to RFP Part II, Section II-10.
The Issuing Office reserves the right to request additional information which, in the Issuing Office’s opinion, is necessary to assure that the Offeror’s competence, number of qualified employees, business organization, and financial resources are adequate to perform according to the RFP.
The Issuing Office may make investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Offeror to perform the Project, and the Offeror shall furnish to the Issuing Office all requested information and data. The Issuing Office reserves the right to reject any proposal if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such Offeror fails to satisfy the Issuing Office that such Offeror is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the RFP and to complete the Project as specified.
Statement of the Problem. State in succinct terms your understanding of the problem presented or the service required by this RFP.
Management Summary. Include a narrative description of the proposed effort and a list of the items to be delivered or services to be provided.
Work Plan. Describe in narrative form your technical plan for accomplishing the work. Use the task descriptions in Part IV of this RFP as your reference point. Modifications of the task descriptions are permitted; however, reasons for changes should be fully explained. Indicate the number of person hours allocated to each task. Include a Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) or similar type display, time related, showing each event. If more than one approach is apparent, comment on why you chose this approach.
Prior Experience. Include experience in competency assessment, examination development, preparation and grading, licensing examination administration; service to candidates and any similar or related areas as specifically stipulated in Part IV, below. Experience shown should be work done by individuals who will be assigned to this project as well as that of your company. Studies or projects referred to must be identified and the name of the customer shown, including the name, address, and telephone number of the responsible official of the customer, company, or agency who may be contacted.
Personnel. Include the number of executive and professional personnel, analysts, auditors, researchers, programmers, consultants, etc., who will be engaged in the work. Show where these personnel will be physically located during the time they are engaged in the Project. For key personnel, including Project Manager, Account Representatives, IT Personnel and Psychometrician to include the employee’s name and, through a resume or similar document, the Project personnel’s education and experience in examination development and administration. Indicate the responsibilities each individual will have in this Project and how long each has been with your company. Identify by name any subcontractors you intend to use and the services they will perform.
Training. If appropriate, indicate recommended training of agency personnel. Include the agency personnel to be trained, the number to be trained, duration of the program, place of training, curricula, training materials to be used, number and frequency of sessions, and number and level of instructors.
Financial Capability. Describe your company’s financial stability and economic capability to perform the contract requirements. Provide your company’s financial statements (audited, if available) for the past three fiscal years. Financial statements must include the company’s Balance Sheet and Income Statement or Profit/Loss Statements. Also include a Dun & Bradstreet comprehensive report, if available. If your company is a publicly traded company, please provide a link to your financial records on your company website in lieu of providing hardcopies. The Commonwealth reserves the right to request additional information it deems necessary to evaluate an Offeror’s financial capability.
Objections and Additions to Standard Contract Terms and Conditions. The Offeror will identify which, if any, of the terms and conditions (contained in Appendix A) it would like to negotiate and what additional terms and conditions the Offeror would like to add to the standard contract terms and conditions. The Offeror’s failure to make a submission under this paragraph will result in its waiving its right to do so later, but the Issuing Office may consider late objections and requests for additions if to do so, in the Issuing Office’s sole discretion, would be in the best interest of the Commonwealth. The Issuing Office may, in its sole discretion, accept or reject any requested changes to the standard contract terms and conditions. The Offeror shall not request changes to the other provisions of the RFP, nor shall the Offeror request to completely substitute its own terms and conditions for Appendix A. All terms and conditions must appear in one integrated contract. The Issuing Office will not accept references to the Offeror’s, or any other, online guides or online terms and conditions contained in any proposal.
Regardless of any objections set out in its proposal, the Offeror must submit its proposal, including the cost proposal, on the basis of the terms and conditions set out in Appendix A. The Issuing Office will reject any proposal that is conditioned on the negotiation of the terms and conditions set out in Appendix A or to other provisions of the RFP as specifically identified above.
II-9. Small Diverse Business Participation Submittal.
A. To receive credit for being a Small Diverse Business or for subcontracting with a Small Diverse Business (including purchasing supplies and/or services through a purchase agreement), an Offeror must include proof of Small Diverse Business qualification in the Small Diverse Business participation submittal of the proposal, as indicated below:
A Small Diverse Business verified by BDISBO as a Small Diverse Business must provide a photocopy of its DGS issued certificate entitled “Notice of Small Business Self-Certification and Small Diverse Business Verification” indicating its diverse status.
B. In addition to the above certificate, the Offeror must include in the Small Diverse Business participation submittal of the proposal the following information:
1. All Offerors must include a numerical percentage which represents the total percentage of the work (as a percentage of the total cost in the Cost Submittal) to be performed by the Offeror and not by subcontractors and suppliers.
2. All Offerors must include a numerical percentage which represents the total percentage of the total cost in the Cost Submittal that the Offeror commits to paying to Small Diverse Businesses (SDBs) as subcontractors. To support its total percentage SDB subcontractor commitment, Offeror must also include:
a) The percentage and dollar amount of each subcontract commitment to a Small Diverse Business;
b) The name of each Small Diverse Business. The Offeror will not receive credit for stating that after the contract is awarded it will find a Small Diverse Business.
c) The services or supplies each Small Diverse Business will provide, including the timeframe for providing the services or supplies.
d) The location where each Small Diverse Business will perform services.
e) The timeframe for each Small Diverse Business to provide or deliver the goods or services.
f) A subcontract or letter of intent signed by the Offeror and the Small Diverse Business (SDB) for each SDB identified in the SDB Submittal. The subcontract or letter of intent must identify the specific work, goods or services the SDB will perform, how the work, goods or services relates to the project, and the specific timeframe during the term of the contract and any option/renewal periods when the work, goods or services will be performed or provided. In addition, the subcontract or letter of intent must identify the fixed percentage commitment and associated estimated dollar value that each SDB will receive based on the total value of the initial term of the contract as provided in the Offeror's Cost Submittal. Attached is a letter of intent template (Appendix C) which may be used to satisfy these requirements.
g) The name, address and telephone number of the primary contact person for each Small Diverse Business.
3. The total percentages and each SDB subcontractor commitment will become contractual obligations once the contract is fully executed.
4. The name and telephone number of the Offeror’s project (contact) person for the Small Diverse Business information.
C. The Offeror is required to submit two copies of its Small Diverse Business participation submittal. The submittal shall be clearly identified as Small Diverse Business information and sealed in its own envelope, separate from the remainder of the proposal.
D. A Small Diverse Business can be included as a subcontractor with as many prime contractors as it chooses in separate proposals.
E. An Offeror that qualifies as a Small Diverse Business and submits a proposal as a prime contractor is not prohibited from being included as a subcontractor in separate proposals submitted by other Offerors.
II – 10. Cost Submittal. The information requested in this Part II, Section II-10 shall constitute the Cost Submittal. The Cost Submittal shall be placed in a separate sealed envelope within the sealed proposal, separated from the technical submittal. The total proposed cost shall be broken down into the following components: Barber Theory Examination Fee, Barber Performance Examination Fee, Cosmetology Theory Fee, Cosmetology Performance Examination Fee and Duplicate Score Report Fee.
II – 11. Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification. Complete and sign the Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification contained in Appendix D of this RFP. Offerors who seek consideration for this criterion must submit in hardcopy the signed Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification Form in the same sealed envelope with the Technical Submittal.
PART III
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements. To be eligible for selection, a proposal must be:
A. Timely received from an Offeror;
B. Properly signed by the Offeror.
Technical Nonconforming Proposals. The two (2) Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements set forth in Section III-1 above (A-B) are the only RFP requirements that the Commonwealth will consider to be non-waivable. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (1) waive any other technical or immaterial nonconformities in an Offeror’s proposal, (2) allow the Offeror to cure the nonconformity, or (3) consider the nonconformity in the scoring of the Offeror’s proposal.
Evaluation. The Issuing Office has selected a committee of qualified personnel to review and evaluate timely submitted proposals. Independent of the committee, BDISBO will evaluate the Small Diverse Business participation submittal and provide the Issuing Office with a rating for this component of each proposal. The Issuing Office will notify in writing of its selection for negotiation the responsible Offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the Commonwealth as determined by the Issuing Office after taking into consideration all of the evaluation factors.
Evaluation Criteria. The following criteria will be used in evaluating each proposal:
A. Technical: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Technical criterion for this RFP as 50 % of the total points. Evaluation will be based upon the following in order of importance: Examination Development, Examination Administration, Format and Content of Required Publications, and the Approach to Security, Investigating Examination Complaints and Irregularities. The final Technical scores are determined by giving the maximum number of technical points available to the proposal with the highest raw technical score. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Technical Scoring Formula set forth at the following webpage: .
B. Cost: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Cost criterion for this RFP as 30 % of the total points. The cost criterion is rated by giving the proposal with the lowest total cost the maximum number of Cost points available. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Cost Formula set forth at the following webpage: .
C. Small Diverse Business Participation:
BDISBO has established the weight for the Small Diverse Business (SDB) participation criterion for this RFP as 20 % of the total points. Each SDB participation submittal will be rated for its approach to enhancing the utilization of SDBs in accordance with the below-listed priority ranking and subject to the following requirements:
1. A business submitting a proposal as a prime contractor must perform 60% of the total contract value to receive points for this criterion under any priority ranking.
2. To receive credit for an SDB subcontracting commitment, the SDB subcontractor must perform at least fifty percent (50%) of the work subcontracted to it.
3. A significant subcontracting commitment is a minimum of five percent (5%) of the total contract value.
4. A subcontracting commitment less than five percent (5%) of the total contract value is considered nominal and will receive reduced or no additional SDB points depending on the priority ranking.
Priority Rank 1: Proposals submitted by SDBs as prime offerors will receive 150 points. In addition, SDB prime offerors that have significant subcontracting commitments to additional SDBs may receive up to an additional 50 points (200 points total available).
Subcontracting commitments to additional SDBs are evaluated based on the proposal offering the highest total percentage SDB subcontracting commitment. All other Offerors will be scored in proportion to the highest total percentage SDB subcontracting commitment within this ranking. See formula below.
Priority Rank 2: Proposals submitted by SDBs as prime contractors, with no or nominal subcontracting commitments to additional SDBs, will receive 150 points.
Priority Rank 3: Proposals submitted by non-small diverse businesses as prime contractors, with significant subcontracting commitments to SDBs, will receive up to 100 points. Proposals submitted with nominal subcontracting commitments to SDBs will receive points equal to the percentage level of their total SDB subcontracting commitment.
SDB subcontracting commitments are evaluated based on the proposal offering the highest total percentage SDB subcontracting commitment. All other Offerors will be scored in proportion to the highest total percentage SDB subcontracting commitment within this ranking. See formula below.
Priority Rank 4: Proposals by non-small diverse businesses as prime contractors with no SDB subcontracting commitments shall receive no points under this criterion.
To the extent that there are multiple SDB Participation submittals in Priority Rank 1 and/or Priority Rank 3 that offer significant subcontracting commitments to SDBs, the proposal offering the highest total percentage SDB subcontracting commitment shall receive the highest score (or additional points) available in that Priority Rank category and the other proposal(s) in that category shall be scored in proportion to the highest total percentage SDB subcontracting commitment. Proportional scoring is determined by applying the following formula:
SDB % Being Scored x Points/Additional = Awarded/Additional
Highest % SDB Commitment Points Available* SDB Points
Priority Rank 1 = 50 Additional Points Available
Priority Rank 3 = 100 Total Points Available
Please refer to the following webpage for an illustrative chart which shows SDB scoring based on a hypothetical situation in which the Commonwealth receives proposals for each Priority Rank: .
D. Domestic Workforce Utilization: Any points received for the Domestic Workforce Utilization criterion are bonus points in addition to the total points for this RFP. The maximum amount of bonus points available for this criterion is 3% of the total points for this RFP.
To the extent permitted by the laws and treaties of the United States, each proposal will be scored for its commitment to use domestic workforce in the fulfillment of the contract. Maximum consideration will be given to those Offerors who will perform the contracted direct labor exclusively within the geographical boundaries of the United States or within the geographical boundaries of a country that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement. Those who propose to perform a portion of the direct labor outside of the United States and not within the geographical boundaries of a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement will receive a correspondingly smaller score for this criterion. See the following webpage for the Domestic Workforce Utilization Formula:
.
Offerors who seek consideration for this criterion must submit in hardcopy the signed Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification Form in the same sealed envelope with the Technical Submittal. The certification will be included as a contractual obligation when the contract is executed.
Offeror Responsibility. To be responsible, an Offeror must submit a responsive proposal and possess the capability to fully perform the contract requirements in all respects and the integrity and reliability to assure good faith performance of the contract.
In order for an Offeror to be considered responsible for this RFP and therefore eligible for selection for best and final offers or selection for contract negotiations:
A. The total score for the technical submittal of the Offeror’s proposal must be greater than or equal to 70% of the available technical points; and
B. The Offeror’s financial information must demonstrate that the Offeror possesses the financial capability to assure good faith performance of the contract. The Issuing Office will review the Offeror’s previous three financial statements, any additional information received from the Offeror, and any other publicly-available financial information concerning the Offeror, and assess each Offeror’s financial capacity based on calculating and analyzing various financial ratios, and comparison with industry standards and trends.
An Offeror which fails to demonstrate sufficient financial capability to assure good faith performance of the contract as specified herein may be considered by the Issuing Office, in its sole discretion, for Best and Final Offers or contract negotiation contingent upon such Offeror providing contract performance security for the first contract year cost proposed by the Offeror in a form acceptable to the Issuing Office. Based on the financial condition of the Offeror, the Issuing Office may require a certified or bank (cashier’s) check, letter of credit, or a performance bond conditioned upon the faithful performance of the contract by the Offeror. The required performance security must be issued or executed by a bank or surety company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth. The cost of the required performance security will be the sole responsibility of the Offeror and cannot increase the Offeror’s cost proposal or the contract cost to the Commonwealth.
Further, the Issuing Office will award a contract only to an Offeror determined to be responsible in accordance with the most current version of Commonwealth Management Directive 215.9, Contractor Responsibility Program.
Final Ranking and Award.
A. After any best and final offer process conducted, the Issuing Office will combine the evaluation committee’s final technical scores, BDISBO’s final small diverse business participation scores, the final cost scores, and (when applicable) the domestic workforce utilization scores, in accordance with the relative weights assigned to these areas as set forth in this Part.
B. The Issuing Office will rank responsible offerors according to the total overall score assigned to each, in descending order.
C. The Issuing Office must select for contract negotiations the offeror with the highest overall score; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT AN AWARD WILL NOT BE MADE TO AN OFFEROR WHOSE PROPOSAL RECEIVED THE LOWEST TECHNICAL SCORE AND HAD THE LOWEST COST SCORE OF THE RESPONSIVE PROPOSALS RECEIVED FROM RESPONSIBLE OFFERORS. IN THE EVENT SUCH A PROPOSAL ACHIEVES THE HIGHEST OVERALL SCORE, IT SHALL BE ELIMINATED FROM CONSIDERATION AND AWARD SHALL BE MADE TO THE OFFEROR WITH THE NEXT HIGHEST OVERALL SCORE.
D. The Issuing Office has the discretion to reject all proposals or cancel the request for proposals, at any time prior to the time a contract is fully executed, when it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth. The reasons for the rejection or cancellation shall be made part of the contract file.
PART IV
WORK STATEMENT
IV-1. OBJECTIVES
A. General. The Commonwealth requires the following services of a qualified and approved professional testing organization: develop, prepare, and administer theory (via a computerized (electronic) testing system) and hands-on performance examinations; grade valid, reliable and legally defensible licensing examinations for applicants for licensure as nail technicians, estheticians, natural hair braiders, cosmetologists, cosmetology teachers, nail technology teachers, esthetic teachers, natural hair braiding teachers, barbers, barber managers, barber teachers, and barbers licensed by endorsement; and perform other related services for a five-year term beginning on or before January 1, 2016.
B. Specific. Each task required of the Contractor has one or more objectives, which are described in Part IV-4, below. Overall, this RFP has four specific objectives:
1. To obtain valid, reliable and legally defensible licensing examinations and examination scores;
2. To obtain a comprehensive examination administration program that covers all services from a candidate’s application request through the reporting of examination scores electronically;
3. To obtain efficient examination administration services, including information, applications and scheduling, that are continuously available during normal business hours; and
4. To obtain basic support services for the Bureau so that Bureau staff may concentrate on discretionary and regulatory tasks, rather than the routine, repetitive tasks associated with examination administration.
IV-2. NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
This RFP encompasses all services necessary for the development, preparation, administration and grading of examinations for applicants for licensure with the State Board of Cosmetology and the State Board of Barber Examiners.
The Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, supplies, applicant eligibility determinations for the various categories of licenses, examination facilities, personnel, training, data processing services, and the security required to perform the necessary services. The necessary examinations must be delivered at locations throughout Pennsylvania, as described more fully in Parts IV-4(C)(2) and IV-4(C)(12)(a), below.
IV-3. REQUIREMENTS
A. Estimated Volume of Candidates. Based on recent experience, the Bureau estimates an annual volume of up to 14,000 candidates for the combined theory and performance examinations.
During the 2014 calendar year, the number of examinees for each examination site is listed in Appendix E.
However, the attached figures are only estimates and not a guarantee of the actual number of candidates who may apply to take the examinations during the term of any contract resulting from this RFP. The actual number of candidates to be examined during each year of the contract term may be higher or lower than the above estimates. For each scheduled administration of each examination, the Contractor’s facilities and services shall be adequate to accommodate any number of candidates who are approved to take the examination.
NOTE: The Contractor must also make provisions to administer a paper and pencil version of the theory examinations in addition to the performance examinations for approximately 15 Cosmetology candidates per year at the SCI Muncy Beauty School and SCI Cambridge Springs School of Cosmetology (CBS) and 100 Barber candidates at the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill and the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh.
B. Contractor Performance Standards. The Contractor shall administer only valid, reliable, and legally defensible examinations to all candidates who are approved to take the examinations. The specific quality control procedures, timeliness requirements, performance standards, and performance deadlines that the Bureau expects the Contractor to meet are described in Part IV-5 below.
C. Alternative Language Examinations. For State Board of Cosmetology candidates, upon candidate request, the Contractor shall administer the examination in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Korean. For State Board of Barber Examiners candidates, upon candidate request, the Contractor will administer the theory examinations in Spanish. The Contractor will ensure that the translation of the questions contained in theory examinations is a fair and accurate rendition of the English exam. The Commonwealth desires to offer the exam to as many candidates as possible; however, it recognizes that the cost of the exam may increase with the number of languages required. The Offeror’s proposal shall set forth all languages that examinations are available.
Candidates will be required to request the alternate language version of either the theory or examination upon application to take the examination. Candidates will be permitted to bring a translation dictionary for the theory examination. For examinations, written instructions must be provided by the Contractor in English and Spanish for Barber examinations, and also Vietnamese for the Cosmetology board. The Contractor shall provide candidates with the option to use an interpreter selected by the Contractor when taking the examination. The Contractor shall provide the interpreters costs in the cost proposal; however, this cost will not be used for the purpose of scoring the cost proposal.
The Department encourages the development of examinations in multiple languages. The Offeror’s proposal should outline all available languages for examinations.
D. The application shall contain questions related to pending or previous criminal charges. Where an applicant has indicated that he or she has pending or previous criminal charges, the contractor shall thereafter collect from the applicant all criminal history information including, but not limited to, documents such as criminal complaints, information, sentencing records, etc. The documents shall be forwarded to the Board for determination of whether the candidate is eligible to test. The Contractor shall, on at least a weekly basis, provide a list of candidates with pending criminal charges so that the Board can track the individuals’ eligibility.
IV-4. TASKS. The following is an outline of the tasks required. In its proposal, the Offeror shall explain in detail how it will accomplish these tasks and provide all the services required by this RFP.
STATE BOARD OF COSMETOLOGY
A. Examination Development
1. The Contractor shall develop a Board of Cosmetology examination or propose to administer a national uniform examination that includes Pennsylvania-specific items regarding statutory and regulatory requirements. The examinations must be provided for :
• nail technicians
• estheticians
• natural hair braiders
• cosmetologists
• nail technology teachers
• esthetics teachers
• natural hair braiding teachers
• cosmetology teachers
For the Pennsylvania-specific aspects of the examination, the Contractor shall conduct an item bank review with the State Board of Cosmetology on an annual basis. The item bank review shall be coordinated with the State Board of Cosmetology Administrator. If the Contractor opts to develop its own examination, item bank reviews for all items must be conducted annually.
2. The Contractor shall develop a single-part theory examination for:
• cosmetology out-of-state candidates from non-reciprocal states
• delinquent candidates (any previously licensed individual whose license has not been active for five or more years)
3. All examinations shall be developed and prepared in accordance with Administrative Code Section 812.1, “Administration of Examinations” (71 P.S. § 279.3a); Cosmetology Law (63 P.S. §§ 507-527); and the State Board of Cosmetology’s rules and regulations (49 Pa. Code §§ 7.1-7.142). It is the Contractor’s duty to be familiar with the provisions of these laws and any amendments thereto that may be promulgated during the contracting period. The examinations shall also be in accordance with recognized standards for test construction and evaluation.
4. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe the procedures that the Offeror intends to use to develop valid, reliable and legally defensible examinations. At a minimum, the following tasks are required of the Contractor for each examination:
• Perform a job or task analysis. The Contractor shall identify the content of the examination by linking required job knowledge and skills to the examination’s specifications using a single theory/procedural skills examination.
1. Consult with the Cosmetology Board to identify resources to use as references for item writing. The Contractor shall use these resources to write multiple-choice items that are related to the examination specifications.
2. Review items and revise using Subject Matter Experts and the Board to establish examination validity, reliability and legal defensibility. Each item written by the Contractor shall be reviewed by the Contractor for subjective bias and readability, and shall be analyzed statistically.
3. Field test examination items on a selected group of licensees and/or candidates to determine how each item performs under actual examination conditions.
4. Analyze items and make revisions by Subject Matter Experts based upon review of the statistical performance of the examination items. The Contractor shall rewrite examination items as necessary.
5. Assemble approved examination items into a final examination form.
6. Use Subject Matter Experts to properly set a passing score for each examination subject to the Cosmetology Board’s approval. The Contractor’s objective shall be to set a passing score that distinguishes at least minimally competent candidates from incompetent candidates. (See also Part IV-4 (D)(1)(b), below.) This procedure is of key importance to the Board, which is charged with protecting the health and safety of the public.
7. Prepare an Examination Administration Manual that sets standards and procedures for ensuring uniform, secure examination administrations. (See also Part IV-4(C)(9), below.)
8. Prepare a Candidate Information Bulletin that describes, among other things, the content areas of the examinations. (See also Part IV-4(C)(10), below.)
5. The State Board of Cosmetology shall have the right to approve the following in advance of the commencement of any work by the Contractor: the Contractor’s choice of Pennsylvania Subject Matter Experts, the references used by the Contractor in writing examination items, and the examination development procedures to be used by the Contractor.
6. The Contractor shall prepare the examination for administration, deliver the examination to the examination administration locations and ensure the security of the examination during all phases of preparation and delivery.
B. Examination Revision
1. The Contractor shall make a reasonable and continual effort to revise and amend the examination to maintain the validity, reliability and legal defensibility. The Contractor shall develop new examination items or revise existing items as necessary to reflect new occupational requirements and changes in the law and the regulations. Any revisions required due to legislative or regulatory changes must be implemented as soon as possible after the final passage of regulatory or legislative changes. The Contractor shall monitor all regulatory and legislative activity with regard to the State Board of Cosmetology during the term of the contract so that the Contractor is prepared for potential changes. The Contractor must submit a task plan within 30 days of any regulatory or legislative changes. The task plan should include a timeline for updates based on statutory or regulatory changes. The task plan must be approved by the Cosmetology Board.
a. The Contractor shall perform examination item analyses as necessary, but at least once during the contract term, to maintain the validity, reliability and legal defensibility of the examination. The Contractor shall use Subject Matter Experts chosen with the approval of the Cosmetology Board.
b. The Contractor shall review the item bank of each examination with the Board annually in Harrisburg or another agreed-upon location. Such review shall be coordinated with the Board Administrator, and the Contractor shall pay any and all expenses related to the annual item bank review.
2. In its proposal, the Offeror shall describe procedures and policies for ensuring that the Board and candidates have sufficient notice prior to the effective date of any changes in the content or administration of the examinations.
C. Examination Administration
1. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe its examination administration policies and procedures, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following subjects: the handling of candidate complaints at examination locations; examination irregularities and emergencies; examination security; the responsibilities of examination administration supervisors and other administration personnel; and the cancellation and rescheduling of examination administrations in the event of inclement weather and similar emergencies.
2. The Contractor shall administer the examination seven days a week on a daily basis, in each of the following metropolitan areas: Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, and Wilkes-Barre. The Contractor shall administer the examinations more frequently and at additional locations approved by the Board if candidate volume so warrants. The Board will entertain proposals for a more expansive examination schedule. If the Offeror wishes to submit more than one proposal containing separate examination schedules, each proposal shall include a proposed schedule for the administration of examinations, and shall specifically describe procedures and time frames for each step in the administration process.
3. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe its policies and procedures regarding examination cancellation and the refund of examination fees to candidates.
4. The Contractor shall prepare and print (subject to the Board’s approval) and distribute examination application forms and licensure application forms to all candidates. Supplies must also be provided to schools and the Board offices upon request.
5. Candidate Eligibility
a. The Contractor shall develop an application for examination that is approved by the Board.
b. The Contractor shall process examination applications (which includes the collection of authorized examination and license fees) for all candidates including the preparation and mailing of discrepancy letters when candidates do not meet eligibility requirements. The license fees are set by regulation for all the licensing classes. The Contractor shall submit a check for the amount of initial fee revenue due to the Board on a monthly basis.
c. Eligibility requirements for candidates to qualify for the examination are set forth in statute and regulation. The Contractor will determine the candidate eligibility of applicants pursuant to the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements of the Board.
d. With the prior approval of the Board, the Contractor shall prepare, print and distribute to the staff an Examination Eligibility Manual containing instructions for the evaluation of candidate eligibility. The Contractor shall review and revise the Manual’s content as necessary. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the Manual to the Bureau and the Board if requested. The Contractor shall obtain Board approval of any revisions prior to printing and distribution.
e. The Contractor shall provide to the Board a daily list of candidates whose examination applications were approved and who have requested a temporary license pursuant to the Cosmetology Law (63 P.S. §§ 507-527). The Contractor shall provide this listing in an electronic format compatible with the Department’s data processing equipment.
6. The Offeror shall describe its procedure for admitting candidates to the facilities and verifying the identity of each candidate. At a minimum, the Contractor shall:
a. Require the candidate to provide two forms of ID, one of which is photo identification, prior to being admitted into the examination location and,
b. Photograph candidates at the examination location.
In the event that a candidate does not have photo identification because the candidate objects to being photographed for legitimate religious reasons, the Contractor shall implement a reasonable accommodation with the approval of the Board.
7. The Contractor shall schedule approved candidates for examinations.
8. The Contractor shall prepare, print and distribute to the staff an Examination Administration Manual that contains instructions for the secure and uniform administration of the examinations. The Contractor shall review and revise the Manual’s content as necessary. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the Manual and any Manual revisions to the Bureau as requested.
9. The Contractor shall prepare, print and distribute a Candidate Information Bulletin (CIB) that describes the methods of examination and scoring, examination administration procedures, the content areas of the examinations, procedures and fee for obtaining a duplicate score report, procedures for investigating and resolving alleged examination irregularities or suspected cheating, and procedures for reporting and resolving candidate complaints. The CIB and any updates thereto are subject to Board approval prior to distribution.
a. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the CIB to each applicant upon submission of an examination application and to any approved education provider, college or university within ten (10) days of a request.
b. Upon request, the Contractor shall provide copies of the CIB to the
Board.
c. When a revision to the CIB is made, remaining paper copies of the prior version shall not be distributed and must be destroyed.
d. The Contractor shall ensure that a sufficient supply of the current CIB is available at all times. (Requests may exceed the number of candidates.)
e. The CIB shall also be posted on the Contractor's website and shall be updated and posted within 30 days of the revision.
10. All forms, applications, manuals, bulletins and other information provided by the Contractor must be up to date and available by electronic means. The Contractor shall not distribute any written information regarding this examination program unless the information is current.
11. The Contractor shall be available to provide customer service to candidates, at least Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern time. The Offeror shall describe in its proposal, the number of service representatives and the proposed service level for responding to candidate inquiries, complaints and comments. At a minimum, the Contractor shall respond within 24 hours or the next business day.
12. At each examination location, the Contractor shall maintain adequate examination facilities, which it shall describe in detail in its proposal.
a. At each examination location, the Contractor shall provide and maintain examination facilities that are safe and reasonably accessible to all candidates; that have adequate lighting, ventilation, electrical supply, climate and other environmental features appropriate and conducive to the taking of examinations; that are free of noise and other distractions; that are legally accessible to individuals with disabilities; and that have adequate restroom and parking facilities. Each of the Contractor’s facilities must also have on-site, limited-access security adequate to guarantee the integrity and confidentiality of the examinations and examination materials. At all its facilities, the Contractor shall provide adequate seating and workspace that is comfortable for adults and appropriate to the format of the examinations. The Offeror’s proposal shall explain how its proposed examination facilities, seating configurations and procedures for admitting candidates to the facilities comply with security requirements. The Contractor’s facilities at each of the examination locations must be reasonably comparable to each other.
b. The Contractor shall permit authorized Bureau staff or other persons with written authorization from the Bureau to observe any examination at any time, without advance notice and upon confirmation of identity. No persons other than approved candidates, the Contractor’s examination personnel, and Bureau staff or other persons authorized by the Bureau shall be admitted to an examination location.
13. The Contractor shall employ trained examination facility supervisors as well as a sufficient number of trained examination administration personnel at each facility to ensure fair, professional and secure examination administrations. The Contractor shall:
a. Describe in detail in its proposal the examination administration personnel/candidate ratio, and list the qualifications and experience of examination facility supervisors.
b. Provide copies of the policy, procedure and instructional manuals used for training examination administration personnel and facility supervisors.
14. The Contractor shall receive from candidates with disabilities all requests for reasonable accommodations and supporting documentation. The Contractor shall make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities as required for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“the Act”). No person with a disability shall, on the basis of such disability, be excluded from receiving or participating in the services provided by the Contractor under the terms of any contract resulting from this RFP. As a condition of accepting and executing any such contract, the Contractor shall comply with all applicable regulations promulgated under Title II of the Act. At its sole expense, the Contractor shall make reasonable accommodations as required by the Act, including examination facility modifications and the provision of auxiliary aids, subject to the prior review and approval of such reasonable accommodations by the Board. In the event that a candidate is not satisfied with the Contractor’s determination under the ADA, the candidate shall have a right to appeal to the applicable Board. The Contractor shall provide adequate notice of the appeal right to the candidate. The Board will hear all appeals and determine whether to grant or deny the request for accommodations
15. The Contractor shall describe the form and method to be used to obtain a written critique of the examination process from each candidate. This process shall include a procedure for direct submission of the candidate critiques to the Bureau.
16. The Contractor shall establish a written procedure for investigating candidate complaints and examination irregularities. The Contractor shall have a qualified psychometrician available to respond to candidate critiques of the examinations. The Contractor shall inform candidates in its Candidate Information Bulletin and at examination locations that any examination complaints are to be directed in writing to the Contractor. The Contractor’s proposal shall identify the persons who will investigate candidate complaints and examination irregularities and describe their training and experience.
17. The Contractor shall respond to candidate complaints as follows:
a. As to complaints received by the Contractor via a candidate’s written examination critique or other writing, the Contractor shall conduct a full and complete investigation and respond to the candidate in writing within ten (10) business days of the Contractor’s receipt of the complaint. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the response to the Board, and attach copies of the complaint, record of investigation, and findings by the Contractor. In the event that the Board receives a candidate’s written complaint, they shall forward the complaint to the Contractor, and the Contractor shall thereupon investigate, respond and provide a copy to the Board as set forth above. If the Board finds it necessary, appropriate action may be taken against the Contractor.
b. As to complaints or comments received by the Contractor orally or via telephone, the Contractor shall respond to the candidate within forty-eight (48) hours (holiday and weekend hours excepted), and said response may be made via telephone. If the complaint or comment relates to a major problem or irregularity in the examination program, or if an appropriate response requires the Contractor to conduct an investigation that cannot be completed within the aforementioned forty-eight (48) hour period, the Contractor shall respond to the complaint or comment in accordance with the preceding subparagraph 17(a).
18. The Contractor shall employ a sufficient number of trained personnel, including proctors, to ensure professional and secure examination administrations. The Contractor shall:
a. Describe in detail in its proposal the examination administration personnel/candidate ratio and list the qualifications and experience of examination facility supervisors.
b. Provide, if requested, copies of the policy, procedure and instructional manuals used for training examination administration personnel and facility supervisors.
c. Describe the plans to address proctor tardiness or absences (including last minute notification) to scheduled candidates and the Board. At a minimum, the Contractor shall attempt to make contact with scheduled candidates as soon as the Contractor is aware that a proctor will be tardy or absent.
D. Examination Scoring
1. The Contractor shall score all examinations in a valid, reliable and legally defensible manner. The Contractor’s determinations as to correct examination answers and the number of correct answers on each examination shall not be altered or amended without the express written consent of the Board.
a. The Offeror’s proposal shall fully describe scoring policies and procedures for examinations that shall be in accordance with recognized professional standards.
b. The Contractor shall set a minimum passing score for the examination (“cut score”). The Contractor shall set each cut score in accordance with recognized professional standards to distinguish candidates who are minimally competent to practice safely and independently from candidates who are not competent to practice safely and independently. The Contractor shall review cut scores as necessary to address examination item revisions. In setting a cut score, the Contractor shall give due consideration to the reciprocal licensing requirements of other jurisdictions.
c. The Contractor shall report all examination scores to candidates and the Board as scaled scores. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe the method proposed to convert raw examination scores to scaled scores.
d. The Contractor shall use item analysis statistics to evaluate the adequacy of all examination items before the release of score reports. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe policies for identifying and handling flawed or defective examination items.
e. The Contractor shall send to the Board on a daily basis a score roster of passing candidates in an electronic format compatible with the Department’s data processing system. Currently, the vendor uses a SFTP site to upload exam scores and the Department retrieves the file for import into our system. The Department may need to update the import process in the future. If such a change is required it will be communicated in writing to the vendor.
2. The Contractor shall prepare and submit to the Board a sample score report that includes information such as: the candidate score (expressed as a scaled score) and the examination cut score and performance feedback for failed candidates. The Contractor’s score report form shall be approved in advance by the Board. A sample score report must be submitted with the Offeror’s proposal.
3. The Offeror shall describe in detail its’ plan for releasing scores to candidates including how to handle separate parts and the time frame for releasing scores.
4. The Contractor shall establish written policies and procedures for the hand-scoring of examinations. Upon the request of the Board, the Contractor shall hand-score any examination at no cost to the Board and at no additional cost to the candidate. The Contractor may charge a candidate a reasonable hand-scoring fee when the candidate requests the hand-scoring of an examination. The Contractor’s hand-scoring fee shall be stated only in its sealed, separately bound cost proposal (see Part II-10 and Appendix F). The Contractor shall insert a hand-scoring request form in the Candidate Information Bulletin. In the event that the hand-scoring of any examination results in a score change, the Contractor shall report all relevant information to the Board for review prior to releasing the score change to the candidate.
5. Upon request and the presentation of identification, the Contractor shall provide to authorized Bureau personnel written or verbal confirmation of any candidate’s examination score.
6. Except as provided for herein, the Contractor shall not disclose examination scores verbally, electronically (including via telephone and facsimile transmission), or in writing. The Contractor shall not disclose an examination score to or discuss an examination score with any person other than the candidate or personnel authorized by the Bureau.
7. Upon request, the Contractor shall immediately and at no additional cost provide a duplicate score report to any candidate who does not timely receive a score report. The Contractor may establish a fee, to be paid by candidates, for all other candidate requests for a duplicate score report. The Contractor’s fee for duplicate score reports shall be stated only in its sealed, separately bound, Cost Proposal (see Part II-10 and Appendix F). The Contractor shall include a duplicate score report request form in the Candidate Information Bulletin.
E. Record Retention
1. The Contractor shall maintain the candidate record for all candidates for the duration of the contract. The candidate record shall include the following information for each examination administration date: the name of each candidate examined; the name of each examiner; the examination administered to each candidate and the administration location(s); and the score report for each candidate and the original application form. At Contract termination, all candidate records shall be forwarded to the location designated by the Bureau.
2. The Contractor shall maintain examination questions and examination responses for each examination administration for the duration of this contract. The Contractor is required to maintain and store records from the previous contractor to ensure retention of records for a period of ten years for each licensee, to comply with the Commonwealth’s record retention requirements.
3. Copies of successful candidate application files shall be returned to the Boards’ offices in license type order, with all applications in alphabetical order within the license type and microfilm ready, on a monthly basis within 10 days of issuing the examination results to the Board.
STATE BOARD OF BARBER EXAMINERS
A. Examination Development
1. The Contractor shall develop a two-part examination consisting of a theoretical portion and a practical portion, or propose to administer a national uniform examination that includes Pennsylvania-specific items regarding statutory and regulatory requirements. The examinations must be provided for:
• barbers
• barber teachers
For the Pennsylvania-specific aspects of the examinations, the Contractor shall conduct an item bank review with the State Board of Barber Examiners (“the Board”) on an annual basis. The item bank review shall be coordinated with the Board Administrator. If the Contractor opts to develop its own examinations, item bank reviews for all items must be conducted annually.
1. The Contractor shall develop a single-part theory examination for:
• barbers licensed by endorsement
• manager barber
3. All examinations shall be developed and prepared in accordance with Administrative Code Section 812.1, “Administration of Examinations” (71 P.S. § 279.3a); Barbers’ License Law (63 P.S. §§ 551-567); and the State Board of Barber Examiners’ rules and regulations (49 Pa. Code §§ 3.41-3.45). It is the Contractor’s duty to be familiar with the provisions of these laws and any amendments thereto that may be promulgated during the contracting period. The examinations shall also be in accordance with recognized standards for test construction and evaluation.
4. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe the procedures that the Offeror intends to use to develop valid, reliable and legally defensible examinations. At a minimum, the following tasks are required of the Contractor for each examination:
• Perform a job or task analysis. The Contractor shall identify the content of the examination by linking required job knowledge and skills to the examination’s specifications.
9. Consult with the Board to identify resources to use as references for item writing. The Contractor shall use these resources to write multiple-choice items that are related to the examination specifications.
10. Review items and revise using Subject Matter Experts and the Board to establish examination validity, reliability and legal defensibility. Each item written by the Contractor shall be reviewed by the Contractor for subjective bias and readability, and shall be analyzed statistically.
11. Field test examination items on a selected group of licensees and/or candidates to determine how each item performs under actual examination conditions.
12. Analyze items and make revisions by Subject Matter Experts based upon review of the statistical performance of the examination items. The Contractor shall rewrite examination items as necessary.
13. Assemble approved examination items into a final examination form.
14. Use Subject Matter Experts to properly set a passing score for each examination subject to Board approval. The Contractor’s objective shall be to set a passing score that distinguishes at least minimally competent candidates from incompetent candidates. (See also Part IV-4 (D)(1)(b), below.) This procedure is of key importance to the Board, which are charged with protecting the health and safety of the public.
15. Prepare an Examination Administration Manual that sets standards and procedures for ensuring uniform, secure examination administrations. (See also Part IV-4(C)(9), below.)
16. Prepare a Candidate Information Bulletin that describes, among other things, the content areas of the examinations. (See also Part IV-4(C)(10), below.)
5. The State Board of Barber Examiners Board shall have the right to approve the following in advance of the commencement of any work by the Contractor: the Contractor’s choice of Pennsylvania Subject Matter Experts, the references used by the Contractor in writing examination items, and the examination development procedures to be used by the Contractor.
6. The Contractor shall prepare the examinations for administration, deliver the examinations to the examination administration locations and ensure the security of the examinations during all phases of preparation and delivery.
B. Examination Revision
1. The Contractor shall make a reasonable and continual effort to revise and amend the examinations to maintain their validity, reliability and legal defensibility. The Contractor shall develop new examination items or revise existing items as necessary to reflect new occupational requirements and changes in the law and the regulations. Any revisions required due to legislative or regulatory changes must be implemented as soon as possible after the final passage of regulatory or legislative changes. The Contractor shall monitor all regulatory and legislative activity with regard to the licensing board during the term of the contract so that the Contractor is prepared for potential changes. The Contractor must submit a task plan within 30 days of any regulatory or legislative changes. The task plan should include a timeline for updates based on statutory or regulatory changes. The task plan must be approved by the Board.
a. The Contractor shall perform examination item analyses as necessary, but at least once during the contract term, to maintain the validity, reliability and legal defensibility of the examinations. The Contractor shall use Subject Matter Experts chosen with the approval of the Board.
b. The Contractor shall review the item bank of each examination with the Board annually in Harrisburg or another agreed-upon location. Such review shall be coordinated with the Board Administrator, and the Contractor shall pay any and all expenses related to the annual item bank review.
2. In its proposal, the Offeror shall describe procedures and policies for ensuring that the Board and candidates have sufficient notice prior to the effective date of any changes in the content or administration of the examinations.
C. Examination Administration
1. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe its examination administration policies and procedures, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following subjects: the handling of candidate complaints at examination locations; examination irregularities and emergencies; examination security; the responsibilities of examination administration supervisors and other administration personnel; and the cancellation and rescheduling of examination administrations in the event of inclement weather and similar emergencies.
2. The Contractor shall administer the theory portion of the examination seven days a week on a daily basis, and at a minimum on a monthly basis for performance examinations, in each of the following metropolitan areas: Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The Contractor shall administer the examinations more frequently and at additional locations approved by the Board if candidate volume so warrants. The Board will entertain proposals for a more expansive examination schedule. If the Offeror wishes to submit more than one proposal containing separate examination schedules, each proposal shall include a proposed schedule for the administration of examinations, and shall specifically describe procedures and time frames for each step in the administration process.
3. Examinations at the men’s correctional institutions at Camp Hill and Pittsburgh must be given one day per week as determined by the Department of Corrections. Currently, the examination at these locations is held on Wednesdays.
4. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe its policies and procedures regarding examination cancellation and the refund of examination fees to candidates.
5. The Contractor shall prepare and distribute (subject to the Board’s approval) examination application forms and licensure application forms to all candidates. Supplies must also be provided to schools and the Board offices upon request.
6. Candidate Eligibility
a. The Contractor shall develop an application for examination that is approved by the Board.
b. The Contractor shall process examination applications (which includes the collection of authorized examination and license fees) for all candidates including the preparation and mailing of discrepancy letters when candidates do not meet eligibility requirements. The license fees are set by regulation for all the licensing classes. The Contractor shall submit a check for the amount of initial fee revenue due each board on a monthly basis.
c. Eligibility requirements for candidates to qualify for the examination are set forth in statute and regulation. The Contractor will determine the candidate eligibility of applicants pursuant to the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements of the Board.
d. With the prior approval of the Board, the Contractor shall prepare and distribute to the appropriate staff an Examination Eligibility Manual containing instructions for the evaluation of candidate eligibility. The Contractor shall review and revise the Manual’s content as necessary. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the Manual to the Bureau and the Board if requested. The Contractor shall obtain Board approval of any revisions prior to distribution.
e. The Contractor shall provide to the Board a daily list of candidates whose examination applications were approved and who have requested a temporary license pursuant to the Barbers’ License Law (63 P.S. §§ 551-567). Currently, the vendor uses a SFTP site to upload exam scores and the Department retrieves the file for import into our system. The Department may need to update the import process in the future. If such a change is required it will be communicated in writing to the vendor.
7. The Offeror shall describe its procedure for admitting candidates to the facilities and verifying the identity of each candidate. At a minimum, the Contractor shall:
a. Require the candidate to provide two forms of ID, one of which is photo identification, prior to being admitted into the examination location and,
b. Photograph candidates at the examination location.
In the event that a candidate does not have photo identification because the candidate objects to being photographed for legitimate religious reasons, the Contractor shall implement a reasonable accommodation with the approval of the Board.
8. The Contractor shall schedule approved candidates for examinations.
9. The Contractor shall prepare and distribute to the appropriate staff an Examination Administration Manual that contains instructions for the secure and uniform administration of the examinations. The Contractor shall review and revise the Manual’s content as necessary. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the Manual and any Manual revisions to the Bureau as requested.
10. The Contractor shall prepare and distribute a Candidate Information Bulletin (CIB) that describes the methods of examination and scoring, examination administration procedures, the content areas of the examinations, procedures and fee for obtaining a duplicate score report, procedures for investigating and resolving alleged examination irregularities or suspected cheating, and procedures for reporting and resolving candidate complaints. The CIB and any updates thereto are subject to Board approval prior to distribution.
a. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the CIB to each applicant upon submission of an examination application and to any approved education provider, college or university within ten (10) days of a request.
b. Upon request, the Contractor shall provide copies of the CIB to the
Board.
c. When a revision to the CIB is made, remaining paper copies of the prior version shall not be distributed and must be destroyed.
d. The Contractor shall ensure that a sufficient supply of the current CIB is available at all times. (Requests may exceed the number of candidates.)
e. The CIB shall also be posted on the Contractor's website and shall be updated and posted within 30 days of the revision.
11. All forms, applications, manuals, bulletins and other information provided by the Contractor must be up to date and available by electronic means. The Contractor shall not distribute any written information regarding this examination program unless the information is current.
12. The Contractor shall be available to provide customer service to candidates, at least Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern time. The Offeror shall describe in its proposal, the number of service representatives and the proposed service level for responding to candidate inquiries, complaints and comments. At a minimum, the Contractor shall respond within 24 hours or the next business day.
13. At each examination location, the Contractor shall maintain adequate examination facilities, which it shall describe in detail in its proposal.
a. At each examination location, the Contractor shall provide and maintain examination facilities that are safe and reasonably accessible to all candidates; that have adequate lighting, ventilation, electrical supply, climate and other environmental features appropriate and conducive to the taking of examinations; that are free of noise and other distractions; that are legally accessible to individuals with disabilities; and that have adequate restroom and parking facilities. Each of the Contractor’s facilities must also have on-site, limited-access security adequate to guarantee the integrity and confidentiality of the examinations and examination materials. At all its facilities, the Contractor shall provide adequate seating and workspace that is comfortable for adults and appropriate to the format of the examinations. The Offeror’s proposal shall explain how its proposed examination facilities, seating configurations and procedures for admitting candidates to the facilities comply with security requirements. The Contractor’s facilities at each of the examination locations must be reasonably comparable to each other.
b. The Contractor shall permit authorized Bureau staff or other persons with written authorization from the Bureau to observe any examination at any time, without advance notice and upon confirmation of identity. No persons other than approved candidates, the Contractor’s examination personnel, and Bureau staff or other persons authorized by the Bureau shall be admitted to an examination location.
14. The Contractor shall employ trained examination facility supervisors as well as a sufficient number of trained examination administration personnel at each facility to ensure fair, professional and secure examination administrations. The Contractor shall:
a. Describe in detail in its proposal the examination administration personnel/candidate ratio, and list the qualifications and experience of examination facility supervisors. The State Board of Barber Examiners requires a performance examiner/candidate ratio of 1 examiner for every 5 candidates, assuming the five candidates are taking the same examination portions. The board requires a ratio of 1:1 for the teacher examinations. Under no circumstances may a cosmetologist examine a barber candidate.
b. Provide copies of the policy, procedure and instructional manuals used for training examination administration personnel and facility supervisors.
c. Conduct an annual training program for its personnel administering the performance examinations.
d. Employ as personnel for administering the performance examinations only persons who shall meet all of the following qualifications:
• Barber managers and/or barber teachers who are currently licensed and in good standing with the Barber Board shall be employed as performance examination examiners. The Contractor shall employ barber teachers who are currently licensed and in good standing as examiners for the teacher performance examination.
• Examiners shall have a minimum of three years recent (within the last five years) shop or teaching experience, or a combination of both (satisfactory experience is defined as not less than 15 hours per week).
• Barber examiners who are presently actively involved in a school as a teacher, supervisor or school owner shall not rate their own students.
• Examiners agree to attend any required training sessions.
• Examiners agree to keep confidential all information obtained and not to disclose said information to or discuss said information with any persons except authorized personnel of the Contractor, Board, or Bureau.
• Examiners have not been subjected to disciplinary action against their license by the Board, and agree to notify the Contractor immediately of any such disciplinary action against any license issued by the Boards or the licensing Boards of another state or territory.
• The Contractor will, on a quarterly basis, verify all examiners’ license status by using the license verification website maintained by the Department of State.
• The Contractor shall immediately notify the Bureau in writing and shall terminate the employment of any examiner who has had a disciplinary action taken against their license by the Board or the licensing agency of another state or territory.
• Examiners agree not to accept any other employment in the capacity of a test examiner during the duration of employment by the Contractor.
15. The Contractor shall receive from candidates with disabilities all requests for reasonable accommodations and supporting documentation. The Contractor shall make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities as required for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“the Act”). No person with a disability shall, on the basis of such disability, be excluded from receiving or participating in the services provided by the Contractor under the terms of any contract resulting from this RFP. As a condition of accepting and executing any such contract, the Contractor shall comply with all applicable regulations promulgated under Title II of the Act. At its sole expense, the Contractor shall make reasonable accommodations as required by the Act, including examination facility modifications and the provision of auxiliary aids, subject to the prior review and approval of such reasonable accommodations by the Board. In the event that a candidate is not satisfied with the Contractor’s determination under the ADA, the candidate shall have a right to appeal to the Board. The Contractor shall provide adequate notice of the appeal right to the candidate. The Board will hear all appeals and determine whether to grant or deny the request for accommodations
16. The Contractor shall describe the form and method to be used to obtain a written critique of the examination process from each candidate. This process shall include a procedure for direct submission of the candidate critiques to the Bureau.
17. The Contractor shall establish a written procedure for investigating candidate complaints and examination irregularities. The Contractor shall have a qualified psychometrician available to respond to candidate critiques of the examinations. The Contractor shall inform candidates in its Candidate Information Bulletin and at examination locations that any examination complaints are to be directed in writing to the Contractor. The Contractor’s proposal shall identify the persons who will investigate candidate complaints and examination irregularities and describe their training and experience.
18. The Contractor shall respond to candidate complaints as follows:
a. As to complaints received by the Contractor via a candidate’s written examination critique or other writing, the Contractor shall conduct a full and complete investigation and respond to the candidate in writing within ten (10) business days of the Contractor’s receipt of the complaint. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the response to the Board, and attach copies of the complaint, record of investigation, and findings by the Contractor. In the event that the Board receives a candidate’s written complaint, they shall forward the complaint to the Contractor, and the Contractor shall thereupon investigate, respond and provide a copy to the Board as set forth above. If the Board finds it necessary, appropriate action may be taken against the Contractor.
b. As to complaints or comments received by the Contractor orally or via telephone, the Contractor shall respond to the candidate within forty-eight (48) hours (holiday and weekend hours excepted), and said response may be made via telephone. If the complaint or comment relates to a major problem or irregularity in the examination program, or if an appropriate response requires the Contractor to conduct an investigation that cannot be completed within the aforementioned forty-eight (48) hour period, the Contractor shall respond to the complaint or comment in accordance with the preceding subparagraph 17(a).
19. The Contractor shall employ a sufficient number of trained personnel, including proctors, to ensure professional and secure examination administrations. The Contractor shall:
a. Describe in detail in its proposal the examination administration personnel/candidate ratio and list the qualifications and experience of examination facility supervisors.
b. Provide, if requested, copies of the policy, procedure and instructional manuals used for training examination administration personnel and facility supervisors.
c. Describe the plans to address proctor tardiness or absences (including last minute notification) to scheduled candidates and the Board. At a minimum, the Contractor shall attempt to make contact with scheduled candidates as soon as the Contractor is aware that a proctor will be tardy or absent.
D. Examination Scoring
1. The Contractor shall score all examinations in a valid, reliable and legally defensible manner. The Contractor’s determinations as to correct examination answers and the number of correct answers on each examination shall not be altered or amended without the express written consent of the Board.
a. The Offeror’s proposal shall fully describe scoring policies and procedures for examinations that shall be in accordance with recognized professional standards.
b. The Contractor shall set a minimum passing score for each examination (“cut score”). The Contractor shall set each cut score in accordance with recognized professional standards to distinguish candidates who are minimally competent to practice safely and independently from candidates who are not competent to practice safely and independently. The Contractor shall review cut scores as necessary to address examination item revisions. In setting a cut score, the Contractor shall give due consideration to the reciprocal licensing requirements of other jurisdictions.
c. The Contractor shall report all examination scores to candidates and the Board as scaled scores. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe the method proposed to convert raw examination scores to scaled scores.
d. The Contractor shall use item analysis statistics to evaluate the adequacy of all examination items before the release of score reports. The Offeror’s proposal shall describe policies for identifying and handling flawed or defective examination items.
e. The Contractor shall send to the Board on a daily basis a score roster of passing candidates in an electronic format compatible with the Department’s data processing system. Currently, the vendor uses a SFTP site to upload exam scores and the Department retrieves the file for import into our system. The Department may need to update the import process in the future. If such a change is required it will be communicated in writing to the vendor.
2. The Contractor shall prepare and submit to the Board a sample score report that includes information such as: the candidate score (expressed as a scaled score) and the examination cut score and performance feedback for failed candidates. The Contractor’s score report form shall be approved in advance by the Board. A sample score report must be submitted with the Offeror’s proposal.
3. The Offeror shall describe in detail its’ plan for releasing scores to candidates including how to handle separate parts and the time frame for releasing scores.
4. Upon request and the presentation of identification, the Contractor shall provide to authorized Bureau personnel written or verbal confirmation of any candidate’s examination score.
5. Except as provided for herein, the Contractor shall not disclose examination scores verbally, electronically (including via telephone and facsimile transmission), or in writing. The Contractor shall not disclose an examination score to or discuss an examination score with any person other than the candidate or personnel authorized by the Bureau.
6. Upon request, the Contractor shall immediately and at no additional cost provide a duplicate score report to any candidate who does not timely receive a score report. The Contractor may establish a fee, to be paid by candidates, for all other candidate requests for a duplicate score report. The Contractor’s fee for duplicate score reports shall be stated only in its sealed, separately bound, Cost Proposal (see Part II-10). The Contractor shall include a duplicate score report request form in the Candidate Information Bulletin.
E. Record Retention
1. The Contractor shall maintain the candidate record for all candidates for the duration of the contract. The candidate record shall include the following information for each examination administration date: the name of each candidate examined; the name of each examiner; the examination(s) administered to each candidate and the administration location(s); and the score report for each candidate and the original application form. At Contract termination, all candidate records shall be forwarded to the location designated by the Bureau.
2. The Contractor shall maintain examination questions and examination responses for each examination administration for the duration of this contract. The Contractor is required to maintain and store records from the previous contractor to ensure retention of records for a period of ten years for each licensee, to comply with the Commonwealth’s record retention requirements.
3. Copies of successful candidate application files shall be returned to the Boards’ offices in license type order, with all applications in alphabetical order within the license type and microfilm ready, on a monthly basis within 10 days of issuing the examination results to the Boards.
IV-5. REPORTS AND PROJECT CONTROL. Reporting tasks are set forth at Parts IV-4 C and IV-4 D, above. In addition, the Contractor shall prepare and provide the reports described below.
A. Task Plan. The Contractor shall prepare a work plan that identifies the work elements of each task required by Part IV above, the resources assigned to the task, the time allotted to each work element and the deliverable items to be produced. Where appropriate, a time line chart display should be used to show project, task and time relationship. The Offeror shall include a proposed Task Plan in its response to the RFP. The Contractor shall submit a final Task Plan, which has been approved by the Boards, in writing at the time any signed contract resulting from this RFP is signed by the Contractor.
B. Status Report. The Contractor shall submit to each Board a status report covering the Contractor’s progress, activities, problems, and recommendations for correction or improvement of the applicable examination administration program. The status report shall include all necessary supporting documentation (e.g., statistics, flow charts, forms, questionnaires, etc.), and provide a detailed schedule for implementing any recommended improvements or problem solutions. The status report should follow the work plan developed by the Contractor in its proposal, as amended or approved by the appropriate Board. The status report shall be submitted monthly during the first calendar year of the Contract and quarterly thereafter.
C. Problem Identification/Irregularity Reports. The Contractor shall submit to each Board an “as required” written report, identifying major problems or irregularities in the examination program. The Contractor shall notify the appropriate Board within twenty-four (24) hours (weekend and holiday hours excepted) by written report of any examination security breach or examination program interruption. Problem Identification/Irregularity Reports shall include the following: a description of the problem or irregularity; an assessment of the impact; possible courses of action (including the advantages and disadvantages of each); the Contractor’s recommendations; and any other information requested by the Bureau or either Board.
D. Post-Examination Reports. On a monthly basis, the Contractor shall submit a Post-Examination Report to each Board which shall include:
1. The number (expressed in total and as a percentage) of all candidates scheduled, tested, absent, passed and failed. These totals and percentages shall also be provided for each examination type, each examination location, and each Cosmetology or Barber school from which candidates graduated. The data in this section of the post-examination report shall be provided to Cosmetology and Barber schools quarterly by the Contractor. The school reports must also include the names and pass/fail status of all the school’s students taking the examination for that quarter. Copies of all school reports should also be provided upon request to the Board offices. Salon or barber shop trained student results shall be submitted in a separate report to the Boards.
2. The number of first-time and repeat candidates for each examination.
3. A list of candidate examination complaints received by the Contractor.
IV-6. Requirements.
A. Emergency Preparedness.
To support continuity of operations during an emergency, including a pandemic, the Commonwealth needs a strategy for maintaining operations for an extended period of time. One part of this strategy is to ensure that essential contracts that provide critical business services to the Commonwealth have planned for such an emergency and put contingencies in place to provide needed goods and services.
1. Describe how you anticipate such a crisis will impact your operations.
2. Describe your emergency response continuity of operations plan. Please attach a copy of your plan, or at a minimum, summarize how your plan addresses the following aspects of pandemic preparedness:
a) Employee training (describe your organization’s training plan, and how frequently your plan will be shared with employees)
b) Identified essential business functions and key employees (within your organization) necessary to carry them out
c) Contingency plans for:
i. How your organization will handle staffing issues when a portion of key employees are incapacitated due to illness.
ii. How employees in your organization will carry out the essential functions if contagion control measures prevent them from coming to the primary workplace.
d) How your organization will communicate with staff and suppliers when primary communications systems are overloaded or otherwise fail, including key contacts, chain of communications (including suppliers), etc.
e) How and when your emergency plan will be tested, and if the plan will be tested by a third-party.
IV-7. Contract Requirements—Disadvantaged Business Participation and Enterprise Zone Small Business Participation.
All contracts containing Small Diverse Business participation most also include a provision requiring the selected contractor to meet and maintain those commitments made to Small Diverse Businesses at the time of proposal submittal or contract negotiation, unless a change in the commitment is approved by the BDISBO. All contracts containing Small Diverse Business participation must include a provision requiring Small Diverse Business subcontractors to perform at least 50% of the subcontracted work.
The selected contractor’s commitments to Small Diverse Businesses made at the time of proposal submittal or contract negotiation shall, to the extent so provided in the commitment, be maintained throughout the term of the contract and through any renewal or extension of the contract. Any proposed change must be submitted to BDISBO, which will make a recommendation to the Contracting Officer regarding a course of action.
If a contract is assigned to another contractor, the new contractor must maintain the Small Diverse Business participation of the original contract.
The selected contractor shall complete the Prime Contractor’s Quarterly Utilization Report (or similar type document containing the same information) and submit it to the contracting officer of the Issuing Office and BDISBO within 10 workdays at the end of each quarter the contract is in force. This information will be used to determine the actual dollar amount paid to Small Diverse Business subcontractors and suppliers. Also, this information will serve as a record of fulfillment of the commitment the selected contractor made and for which it received Small Diverse Business participation points. If there was no activity during the quarter then the form must be completed by stating “No activity in this quarter.”
NOTE: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND CONTRACT COMPLIANCE STATEMENTS REFERRING TO COMPANY EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY POLICIES OR PAST CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PRACTICES DO NOT CONSTITUTE PROOF OF SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS STATUS OR ENTITLE AN OFFEROR TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS UTILIZATION.
APPENDIX A
STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
.
APPENDIX B - PROPOSAL COVER SHEET
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DOS-RFP-2015-2
Enclosed in three separately sealed submittals is the proposal of the Offeror identified below for the above-referenced RFP:
|Offeror Information: |
|Offeror Name | |
|Offeror Mailing Address | |
|Offeror Website | |
|Offeror Contact Person | |
|Contact Person’s Phone Number | |
|Contact Person’s Facsimile Number | |
|Contact Person’s E-Mail Address | |
|Offeror Federal ID Number | |
|Offeror SAP/SRM Vendor Number | |
|Submittals Enclosed and Separately Sealed: |
|( |Technical Submittal |
|( |Small Diverse Business Participation Submittal |
|( |Cost Submittal |
|Signature |
| |
| |
|Signature of an official authorized to bind the Offeror to the provisions contained in the Offeror’s proposal: |
| |
| |
|Printed Name |
| |
| |
|Title |
| |
| |
| |
| |
FAILURE TO COMPLETE, SIGN AND RETURN THIS FORM WITH THE OFFEROR’S PROPOSAL MAY RESULT IN THE REJECTION OF THE OFFEROR’S PROPOSAL
APPENDIX C
SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS
LETTER OF INTENT
[DATE]
[SDB Contact Name
Title
SDB Company Name
Address
City, State, Zip]
Dear [SDB Contact Name]:
This letter serves as confirmation of the intent of [Offeror] to utilize [Small Diverse Business (SDB)] on RFP [RFP number and Title] issued by the [Commonwealth agency name].
If [Offeror] is the successful vendor, [SDB] shall provide [identify the specific work, goods or services the SDB will perform, and the specific timeframe during the term of the contract and any option/renewal periods when the work, goods or services will be performed or provided].
These services represent [identify fixed numerical percentage commitment] of the total cost in the [Offeror’s] cost submittal for the initial term of the contract. Dependent on final negotiated contract pricing and actual contract usage or volume, it is expected that [SDB] will receive an estimated [identify associated estimated dollar value that the fixed percentage commitment represents] during the initial contract term.
[SDB] represents that it meets the small diverse business requirements set forth in the RFP and all required documentation has been provided to [Offeror] for its SDB submission.
We look forward to the opportunity to serve the [Commonwealth agency name] on this project. If you have any questions concerning our small diverse business commitment, please feel free to contact me at the number below.
Sincerely, Acknowledged,
Offeror Name SDB Name
Title Title
Company Company
Phone number Phone number
APPENDIX D
DOMESTIC WORKFORCE UTILIZATION CERTIFICATION
To the extent permitted by the laws and treaties of the United States, each proposal will be scored for its commitment to use the domestic workforce in the fulfillment of the contract. Maximum consideration will be given to those offerors who will perform the contracted direct labor exclusively within the geographical boundaries of the United States or within the geographical boundaries of a country that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement. Those who propose to perform a portion of the direct labor outside of the United States and not within the geographical boundaries of a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement will receive a correspondingly smaller score for this criterion. In order to be eligible for any consideration for this criterion, offerors must complete and sign the following certification. This certification will be included as a contractual obligation when the contract is executed. Failure to complete and sign this certification will result in no consideration being given to the offeror for this criterion.
I, ______________________ [title] of ____________________________________ [name of Contractor] a _______________ [place of incorporation] corporation or other legal entity, (“Contractor”) located at _________________________________________________________ [address], having a Social Security or Federal Identification Number of ________________________, do hereby certify and represent to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ("Commonwealth") (Check one of the boxes below):
All of the direct labor performed within the scope of services under the contract will be performed exclusively within the geographical boundaries of the United States or one of the following countries that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement: Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
OR
________________ percent ( _____%) [Contractor must specify the percentage] of the direct labor performed within the scope of services under the contract will be performed within the geographical boundaries of the United States or within the geographical boundaries of one of the countries listed above that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement. Please identify the direct labor performed under the contract that will be performed outside the United States and not within the geographical boundaries of a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and identify the country where the direct labor will be performed: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
[Use additional sheets if necessary]
The Department of General Services [or other purchasing agency] shall treat any misstatement as fraudulent concealment of the true facts punishable under Section 4904 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, Title 18, of Pa. Consolidated Statutes.
Attest or Witness: ______________________________
Corporate or Legal Entity's Name
_____________________________ ______________________________
Signature/Date Signature/Date
_____________________________ ______________________________
Printed Name/Title Printed Name/Title
APPENDIX E
2014 ANNUAL VOLUME CHART
[pic]
APPENDIX F
COST PROPOSAL
DOS-RFP-2015-2
Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs
Cosmetology/Barber Examination Services
Cost Figures Shall Be Presented Per Applicant for Each Service Indicated
THESE PRICES SHALL BE IN EFFECT FOR THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT, FEBRUARY 29, 2016 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2021, PROVIDED REGULATORY APPROVAL HAS BEEN RECEIVED PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE CONTRACT.
Description of Per-Candidate Charges
Barber Theory Examination Fee: $
Barber Performance Examination Fee: $
Cosmetology Theory/Procedural Skills Fee: $
Duplicate Score Report Fee: $
Note: The Contractor agrees that this cost proposal will remain valid for at least 120 days from the date of the bid opening, or until the Contract is fully executed.
Contractor’s Business Name: ________________________________________________
Business Address: ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Business Telephone Number: _______________________________________________
Business Fax Number: _____________________________________________________
Business Email Address: ___________________________________________________
Contractor’s Federal Tax Id Number: _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
(Contactor/Authorized Rep. Signature) (Title)
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