Pennsylvania eMarketplace #6100066135

Pennsylvania Department of Education seeks vendor for secure central repository for student transcripts

This opportunity from the Pennsylvania Department of Education seeks a vendor to operate a secure, centralized repository for student transcripts from Private Licensed Schools and higher education institutions across Pennsylvania. - Government Buyer: - Pennsylvania Department of Education - Division of Postsecondary Proprietary Training - Division of Higher Education, Access, and Equity - OEMs and Vendors: - No specific OEMs or vendors are named in the solicitation - Products/Services Requested: - Central repository operation and management for student transcripts - Ingestion, storage, safeguarding, and servicing of approximately 940,000 existing transcripts - Anticipated addition of 300,000 historical transcripts and 65,000 new transcripts annually - Handling both paper and PDF records, including various templates and records lacking standard identifiers - Technical support for schools, students, third parties, and Department staff - Management of transcript and verification requests with secure identity and payment processes - Tracking record ingestion by school - Maintaining FERPA-compliant data security and disaster-recovery/transition plans - Semi-annual financial and service reporting - Support for Department staff access to records - Unique/Notable Requirements: - Repository must operate at no cost to the Commonwealth; expenses recovered through fees charged to students, schools, and third parties - Compliance with all federal and state privacy and data breach laws - Vendor must submit a five-year budget plan and hold prices fixed for the first two years - Transition plans required for contract start and end - Ability to ingest and manage records from both open and closed schools, including those without standard identifiers - Disaster-recovery and transition planning required - Regular reporting and fee change restrictions to ensure affordability - No specific OEMs or technology platforms are mandated; solution must be scalable, secure, and compliant with FERPA and other privacy laws.

Description

The Boards seek a vendor to operate a secure, long-term central repository for student transcripts from Private Licensed Schools and potentially institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania. The vendor must ingest, store, safeguard, and service both historical and current transcripts, including paper and digital records from open and closed schools. Services include establishing upload protocols, providing technical support, managing transcript and verification requests, ensuring secure identity and payment processes, tracking record ingestion for each school, maintaining FERPA-compliant data security, providing regular financial and service reporting, and supporting Department staff access to records. The vendor must maintain disaster-recovery and transition plans and operate at no cost to the Commonwealth, recovering expenses through fees charged to students, schools, and third parties.

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