ED RFP: Title IV Financial Aid Origination and Disbursement (TIVOD) System & Customer Services Transition Services, Phase I

Notice ID:  91003124R0005

Related Notice:  91003124R0005

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid, is conducting a two-phase solicitation in accordance with the Department of Education Acquisition Regulation (EDAR) 3415.302-70. This solicitation is for Phase I of the two-phase process. Selection in Phase I does not constitute, nor guarantee, a contract award as a result of this Phase I solicitation.

The objectives of the Program are to deliver and manage Title IV program aid in alignment with current laws, regulations, and directives (see section 1.10) by having the contractor:

• perform tasks in an enterprise cloud environment, providing consistent and accessible systems.
• provide a unified partner experience by centralizing operations, enabling self-service, analytics, and compliance; and
• build systems more adept to change, less costly, and more efficient.

To accomplish the objectives of the Program the Contractor shall:

• Optimize efficiency and effectiveness while working with schools, other government agencies, software developers, interfacing systems, and other partners to deliver on FSA’s mission.
• Leverage existing cloud infrastructure.
• Enable DevSecOps integrating security as a shared responsibility throughout the entire IT lifecycle.
• Ensure compliance with memorandum M-22-09 setting forth a Federal zero trust architecture (ZTA) strategy.
• Plan and utilize an AGILE software development approach.
• Integrate with FSA’s authentication and access control solutions (Person Authentication System (PAS) and Access and Identity Management System (AIMS))
• Plan and utilize a Requirements & Document management tool.
• Leverage Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) products to realize a low- to no-code environment.
• Improve the quality and accessibility of student financial aid data.
• Reduce the administrative burden of Title IV aid.
• Minimize abuse within aid programs by accurately tracking funds awarded to assist postsecondary students.
• Address Federal, Department of Education, and FSA Cybersecurity requirements – EO 14028; requiring agencies to meet specific cybersecurity standards and objectives by the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024

The scope of the Contractor’s work under this Program includes primarily O&M and incremental improvements of the Common Origination & Disbursement system (COD), the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), the Enterprise Data Warehouse & Analytics (EDWA) & Enterprise Data Management and Analytics Platform Services (EDMAPS), the Federal Tax Information Datamart systems (FTI DM), and customer service for FSA partners. O&M also includes the ability to provide and maintain high volume, complex, transaction processing.

The contractor will work to ensure the above-referenced systems and applications meet the applicable IT and business standards referenced in section 1.10 and in the relative system MITCR.  They must be ready to adopt to change when FSA is ready to implement enterprise-wide strategies in accordance with the to be determined transition schedule/plan. The goals of the Program include:

• Modernize and secure platforms and business processes to become more flexible and technically agile. Adopt a software development methodology focused on planning and coordination between business units and rapid adaptation to change
• Owning and managing the environments, infrastructure, and documentation within the TIVOD systems necessary for promoting transparency.
• Move to a unified cloud platform providing consolidated services.
• Integrate the approved FSA Enterprise Architecture API management solution and platform automation services within the FSA enterprise.
• Replace inefficient processes with modern, cost – effective, secure systems aligned to support the existing digital front door for Partners …

This work shall improve transparency and centralize project management tools, code repositories, and common development tools, providing standardization across teams and projects.

FSA anticipates awarding a single contract with a COD period of performance of  one (1), oneyear base period and five (5) one-year option periods, and a period of performance of one (1) one-year base period and three (3) one-year option periods for NSLDS, EDMAPS Infrastructure, pMDM, FTI DM, EDWA, Enterprise Document Repository, and a period of performance of one (1) one-year base period and three (3) one-year option periods for Customer Service – Partner.

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