Academic Management Platform

Delaware State University
Request for Proposal
Academic Management Platform
Contract No. DSU260611-ACADEMICMG
Bid packets must be received by 3:00pm on June 09, 2026
Time listed above is the local time in the State of Delaware
E-mail: contracts@desu.edu
Note: Bidder bears the risk of bid's late delivery, non-delivery, or spam box
delivery. Bidder must have a system delivered e-mail return receipts request.
Point of Contact: Procurement Team
E-mail: contracts@desu.edu
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ALL VENDORS:
The enclosed packet contains a "REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL" for the contract listed on cover page. The proposal
consists of the following:
I. Purpose and Background
II. Scope of Work/ Services
III. Format For Proposal/ Required Information
IV. Professional Services RFP Administrative Information
V. Proposal Evaluation
VI. Pre-Bid Meeting
VII. Definitions and General Provisions
VIII. Proposal Reply Section - Response/ Bid Submission Form
Attachments:
1) Non-Collusion Statement
2) Exceptions
3) Confidentiality and Proprietary Information
4) Business References
5) Subcontractor Information Form
6) Bid/ Pricing Sheet/ Bid Quotation
7) Financial Responsibility
Appendix(s):
A. Scope of Work and Technical Requirements
B. Cyber Responsibilities, Liability and Insurance
Responses will be received electronically through email to contracts@desu.edu The email subject must have RFP
name and contract number. If you need to abbreviate the RFP name, you can do so. Electronic response should
have only one file in total. File name must start with vendor's name. Aggregate size of your response without
compressing the file must not be more than 5 megabytes. Response must be in pdf format, should not be
protected with any password and should be only one file instead of multiple files. Deviation from this limit will
be an automatic cause for rejection of your response. Do not send any unnecessary messages to this email address.
Otherwise, your emails will be marked as spam thus you will fully assume the risk/ liability of no response from the
University to your email messages.
Bidder bears the risk of incomplete response, late delivery or delivery at wrong email address of the University other
than specified in this RFP. Bidder must make sure they receive confirmation stating their bid has been received.
University is not responsible if bid goes into spam or is not delivered by the system whatsoever until University
confirms its receipt.
In order for your proposal to be considered, the Proposal Reply Section shall be executed completely and
correctly including but not limited to all attachments, bid submission form and W-9 form.
Please review and follow the information and instructions contained in the General Provisions and this Request for
Proposal (RFP).

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There will be NO mandatory pre-bid meeting.
Bid bond requirement for this RFP has been waived.
The term of the contract between the successful bidder and the University shall be Three (3) years. There is
an option to renew the contract for Two (2) one-year extensions by negotiation or a Five (5) year contract.
This RFP will use non-State funds.

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I. Overview/ Introduction
The Delaware State University (hereinafter "University") is seeking Proposals from qualified firms
("Proposers") to provide Academic Management Platform. This request for proposals ("RFP") is issued
pursuant to 29 Del. C. 6981 and 6982.
About Delaware State University
Delaware State University (DSU) is located in Dover, Delaware and has a long and proud history as one of
America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It has a blend of both long-standing
traditions and growing diversity. Founded in 1891 as the State College for Colored Students, DSU takes
pride in its heritage as one of the country's first land-grant educational institutions, rooted early on in
agriculture and education. Our current population includes a 65 percent African-American enrollment and an
increasing number of Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian and other international students.
With a changing world comes a changing campus, and DSU prepares its students for the global challenges
of the new millennium and beyond. The University is a welcome center for learning for people from many
cultural backgrounds who speak several different languages and dialects. DSU is a melting pot for education,
and after graduation-wherever life takes them-our students are truly "making their mark on the world."
DSU offers a unique blend of past, present and future. Walk through our 356-acre campus and you'll see
centuries-old buildings. At the same time, you'll find some of the country's most skilled researchers
discovering new innovations in the fields of medicine, military defense, agriculture and much more.
DSU currently offers 42 undergraduate degree options, an impressive number for a school our size. We also
offer 16 master's degree programs and five doctoral degree programs in areas such as interdisciplinary
applied mathematics/mathematical physics and educational leadership.
We welcome students from a variety of backgrounds. Our current enrollment stands at over 4,800, 93% of
whom are undergraduate students. Our ratio of male to female students is 36:64, and more than 80% of
our freshmen live on campus in one of our seven residence halls. Prospective vendors can visit
www.desu.edu to find out more general information about Delaware State University.
Schedule of Events
The following dates and milestones apply to this RFP and subsequent contract award. Vendors are advised that
these dates and milestones are not absolute and may change due to unplanned events during the bid proposal
and award process.
* Deadline to Receive Questions May13, 2026, at 10:00 AM
* Responses to Questions Posted by June 03, 2026
* Bid Opening June 09, 2026, at 3:00 PM
* Contractor Selection Date TBD
* Projected Contract Start Date August 01, 2026
* Each of the above date is subject to change. Local time means the State of Delaware local time.

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Note: All questions shall be in writing (in MS Word format, written in a paragraph form and numbered.) No
table or Ms. Excel spreadsheet, etc. should be inserted. These questions should be submitted via email to
contracts@desu.edu Questions must be submitted in the following format. Deviations from this format will not
be accepted and entertained.
Section number___, Paragraph number___, Page number___, Text of passage being questioned____,
Question: _________________________________________.
Each proposal must be accompanied by a transmittal letter which briefly summarizes the proposing firm's
interest in providing the required professional services. The transmittal letter must also clearly state and
justify any exceptions to the requirements of the RFP which the applicant may have taken in presenting the
proposal. (Applicant exceptions must also be recorded on Attachment 2). The proposal must be submitted
electronically to contracts@desu.edu
The Delaware State University reserves the right to deny any and all exceptions taken to the RFP
requirements.
II. Scope of Work/ Services
The Vendor(s) shall provide all equipment, materials, software, and labor to supplement the University's need
for this contract as described herein in Appendix A. The contract will require the Vendor(s) to cooperate with the
University to insure the University receives the most current state-of-the-art material and/or services.
III. Format for Proposal/ Required Information
The following information shall be provided in each proposal in the order listed below. Failure to respond to
any request for information within this proposal may result in rejection of the proposal at the sole discretion
of the University.
A. Minimum Requirements
1. Provide Delaware license(s) and/or certification(s) necessary to perform services as identified in
the scope of work.
2. Vendor shall provide responses to the Request for Proposal (RFP) scope of work and clearly identify
capabilities as presented in the General Evaluation Requirements below.
3. Complete all appropriate attachments and forms as identified within the RFP.
4. Proof of Errors and Omissions insurance and amount of insurance shall be furnished to the Delaware
State University prior to the start of the contract period and shall be no less than as identified in the
bid solicitation, insurance section.
B. General Evaluation Requirements
The Evaluation Committee will judge the merits of proposals received in accordance with the criteria
described. The objective of the Evaluation Committee will be to recommend the bidder who is most
responsive to the needs of Delaware State University. The specifications within this RFP represent the

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minimum performance necessary for response. The evaluation committee will forward a
recommendation to the Procurement Team for approval and issuance of a Notice of Intent to Award.
PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT
Proposal Information and Criteria
The following specific items must be addressed in the proposal along with all attachments listed of this
proposal. Vendors should read carefully and address completely in order listed to facilitate the University's
review committee of the proposals.
Proposals shall be organized into the sections identified below. The content of each section is detailed in the
following pages. It is strongly suggested that Offerors use the same numbers for the following content as are
used in the RFP.
* Transmittal Letter
* Executive Summary and Proposal Overview
* Signed Authentication of the Proposal including attachments, bid submission form, etc.
* Items listed in the following table in the evaluation criteria and scope of work.
Transmittal Letter
The Transmittal Letter accompanying the RFP shall be in the form of a standard business letter and shall be
signed by an individual authorized to legally bind the Offeror. It shall include:
a. A statement referencing all addenda and written questions, the answers and any clarifications
to this RFP issued by the University and received by the Offeror. If no addenda have been
received, a statement to that effect should be included.
b. A statement that the Offeror's proposal shall remain valid for six (6) months after the closing
date of the receipt of the proposals.
c. A statement that the Offeror will accept financial responsibility for all travel expenses incurred
for oral presentations (if required).
Executive Summary and Proposal Overview
The Executive Summary and Proposal Overview shall condense and highlight the contents of the proposal
in such a way as to provide the evaluation committee with a broad understanding of the entire proposal.
Signed Authentication of Proposal and Attachments
The Offeror will sign and return the proposal cover sheet and print or type her/his name, firm, address,
telephone number and date. The person signing the offer must initial erasures or other changes. An offer
signed by an agent is to be accompanied by evidence of his/her authority unless such evidence has been
previously furnished to the Purchasing Agency. The signer shall further certify that the proposal is made
without collusion with any other person, persons, company or parties submitting a proposal; that it is in all
respects fair and in good faith without collusion or fraud, and that the signer is authorized to bind the principal
Offeror. The proposer must submit all attachments duly filled in where necessary.

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.
IV. Professional Services RFP Administrative Information
A. RFP Issuance
1. Public Notice
Public notice has been provided in accordance with 29 Del. C. 6981.
2. Obtaining Copies of the RFP
This RFP is available in electronic form through the State of Delaware Procurement website at
https://mmp.delaware.gov/Bids/ . Paper copies of this RFP will not be available.
3. Assistance to Vendors with a Disability
Vendors with a disability may receive accommodation regarding the means of communicating this
RFP or participating in the procurement process. For more information, contact the Designated
Contact no later than ten days prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals.
4. RFP Designated Contact
All requests, questions, or other communications about this RFP shall be made in writing to the
Delaware State University. Address all communications to the person listed below; communications
made to other Delaware State University personnel or attempting to ask questions by phone or in
person will not be allowed or recognized as valid and may disqualify the vendor. Vendors should
rely only on written statements issued by the RFP designated contact.
Attention: Procurement Team
Email: contracts@desu.edu
To ensure that written requests are received and answered in a timely manner, electronic mail (e-
mail) correspondence must be sent to contracts@desu.edu
5. Consultants and Legal Counsel
The Delaware State University may retain consultants or legal counsel to assist in the review and
evaluation of this RFP and the vendors' responses. Bidders shall not contact the University's
consultant or legal counsel on any matter related to the RFP.
6. Contact with University Employees
Direct contact with Delaware State University employees other than the Delaware State University
Designated Contact regarding this RFP is expressly prohibited without prior consent. Vendors
directly contacting Delaware State University employees risk elimination of their proposal from
further consideration. Exceptions exist only for organizations currently doing business with the
Delaware State University who require contact in the normal course of doing that business.
7. Organizations Ineligible to Bid
Any individual, business, organization, corporation, consortium, partnership, joint venture, or any other
entity including subcontractors currently debarred or suspended is ineligible to bid. Any entity ineligible
to conduct business in the State of Delaware for any reason is ineligible to respond to the RFP.
8. Exclusions
The Proposal Evaluation Team reserves the right to refuse to consider any proposal from a vendor
who:
1. Has been convicted for commission of a criminal offense as an incident to obtaining or
attempting to obtain a public or private contract or subcontract, or in the performance of the

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contract or subcontract:
2. Has been convicted under State or Federal statutes of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery,
falsification or destruction of records, receiving stolen property, or other offense indicating a lack
of business integrity or business honesty that currently and seriously affects responsibility as a
State contractor:
3. Has been convicted or has had a civil judgment entered for a violation under State or Federal
antitrust statutes:
4. Has violated contract provisions such as;
a. Knowing failure without good cause to perform in accordance with the
specifications or within the time limit provided in the contract; or
b. Failure to perform or unsatisfactory performance in accordance with terms of one or
more contracts;
5. Has violated ethical standards set out in law or regulation; and
6. Any other cause listed in regulations of the State of Delaware determined to be serious and
compelling as to affect responsibility as a State contractor, including suspension or debarment
by another governmental entity for a cause listed in the regulations.
B. RFP Submissions
1. Acknowledgement of Understanding of Terms
By submitting a bid, each vendor shall be deemed to acknowledge that it has carefully read all sections
of this RFP, including all forms, schedules and exhibits hereto, and has fully informed itself as to all
existing conditions and limitations.
2. Proposals
To be considered, all proposals must be submitted in writing and respond to the items outlined in this
RFP. The University reserves the right to reject any non-responsive or non-conforming proposals.
The proposal must be submitted electronically to contracts@desu.edu
Any proposal received after the Deadline for Receipt of Proposals date shall not be considered. Bidder
bears the risk of late delivery or delivery at wrong location of the University. The contents of any proposal
shall not be disclosed as to be made available to competing entities during the negotiation process.
Upon receipt of vendor proposals, each vendor shall be presumed to be thoroughly familiar with all
specifications and requirements of this RFP. The failure or omission to examine any form, instrument
or document shall in no way relieve vendors from any obligation in respect to this RFP.
3. Proposal Modifications
Any changes, amendments or modifications to a proposal must be made in writing, submitted in the
same manner as the original response and conspicuously labeled as a change, amendment or
modification to a previously submitted proposal. Changes, amendments or modifications to proposals
shall not be accepted or considered after the hour and date specified as the deadline for submission
of proposals.
4. Proposal Costs and Expenses
The Delaware State University will not pay any costs incurred by any Vendor associated with any
aspect of responding to this solicitation, including proposal preparation, printing or delivery,
attendance at vendor's conference, system demonstrations or negotiation process.
5. Proposal Expiration Date

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Prices quoted in the proposal shall remain fixed and binding on the bidder at least for one year from
the date of bid opening. The Delaware State University reserves the right to ask for an extension of
time if needed.
6. Late Proposals
Proposals received after the specified date and time will not be accepted or considered. To guard
against premature opening, proposals shall be submitted, plainly marked with the proposal title,
vendor name, and time and date of the proposal opening. Evaluation of the proposals is expected to
begin shortly after the proposal due date. To document compliance with the deadline, the proposal
will be date and time stamped upon receipt.
7. Proposal Opening
The Delaware State University will receive proposals until the date and time shown in this RFP.
Proposals will be opened in the presence of Delaware State University personnel.
8. Non-Conforming Proposals
Non-conforming proposals will not be considered. Non-conforming proposals are defined as those that
do not meet the requirements of this RFP. The determination of whether an RFP requirement is
substantive, or a mere formality shall reside solely within the Delaware State University.
9. Concise Proposals
The Delaware State University discourages overly lengthy and costly proposals. It is the desire that
proposals be prepared in a straightforward and concise manner. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures
or other promotional materials beyond those sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal
are not desired. The Delaware State University's interest is in the quality and responsiveness of the
proposal.
10. Realistic Proposals
It is the expectation of the Delaware State University that vendors can fully satisfy the obligations of
the proposal in the manner and timeframe defined within the proposal. Proposals must be realistic
and must represent the best estimate of time, materials and other costs including the impact of inflation
and any economic or other factors that are reasonably predictable.
The Delaware State University shall bear no responsibility or increase obligation for a vendor's failure
to accurately estimate the costs or resources required to meet the obligations defined in the proposal.
11. Confidentiality of Documents
Subject to applicable law or the order of a court of competent jurisdiction to the contrary, all documents
submitted as part of the vendor's proposal will be treated as confidential during the evaluation process.
As such, vendor proposals will not be available for review by anyone other than the Delaware State
University/Proposal Evaluation Team or its designated agents. There shall be no disclosure of any
vendor's information to a competing vendor prior to award of the contract unless such disclosure is
required by law or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Delaware State University wishes to create a business-friendly environment and procurement
process. As such, the University respects the vendor community's desire to protect its intellectual
property, trade secrets, and confidential business information (collectively referred to herein as
"confidential business information"). Proposals must contain sufficient information to be evaluated. If
a vendor feels that they cannot submit their proposal without including confidential business
information, they must adhere to the following procedure or their proposal may be deemed
unresponsive, may not be recommended for selection, and any applicable protection for the vendor's
confidential business information may be lost.

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In order to allow the University to assess its ability to protect a vendor's confidential business
information, vendors will be permitted to designate appropriate portions of their proposal as
confidential business information.
13. Price Not Confidential
Vendors shall be advised that as a publicly bid contract, no Vendor shall retain the right to declare
their pricing confidential.
13. Multi-Vendor Solutions (Joint Ventures)
Multi-vendor solutions (joint ventures) will be allowed only if one of the venture partners is designated
as the "prime contractor". The "prime contractor" must be the joint venture's contact point for the
Delaware State University and be responsible for the joint venture's performance under the contract,
including all project management, legal and financial responsibility for the implementation of all
vendor systems. If a joint venture is proposed, a copy of the joint venture agreement clearly
describing the responsibilities of the partners must be submitted with the proposal. Services specified
in the proposal shall not be subcontracted without prior written approval by the Delaware State
University, and approval of a request to subcontract shall not in any way relieve Vendor of
responsibility for the professional and technical accuracy and adequacy of the work. Further, vendor
shall be and remain liable for all damages to the Delaware State University caused by negligent
performance or non-performance of work by its subcontractor or its sub-subcontractor.
Multi-vendor proposals must be a consolidated response with all cost included in the cost summary.
Where necessary, RFP response pages are to be duplicated for each vendor.
a. Primary Vendor
The Delaware State University expects to negotiate and contract with only one "prime vendor". The
Delaware State University will not accept any proposals that reflect an equal teaming arrangement or
from vendors who are co-bidding on this RFP. The prime vendor will be responsible for the
management of all subcontractors.
Any contract that may result from this RFP shall specify that the prime vendor is solely responsible
for fulfillment of any contract with the University as a result of this procurement. The University will
make contract payments only to the awarded vendor. Payments to any-subcontractors are the sole
responsibility of the prime vendor (awarded vendor).
b. Sub-contracting
The vendor selected shall be solely responsible for contractual performance and management of
all subcontract relationships. This contract allows subcontracting assignments; however, vendors
assume all responsibility for work quality, delivery, installation, maintenance, and any supporting
services required by a subcontractor.
Use of subcontractors must be clearly explained in the proposal, and major subcontractors must
be identified by name. The prime vendor shall be wholly responsible for the entire contract
performance whether subcontractors are used. Any sub-contractors must be approved by
Delaware State University.
c. Multiple Proposals
A primary vendor may not participate in more than one proposal in any form. Sub- contracting
vendors may participate in multiple joint venture proposals.
14. Sub-Contracting
The vendor selected shall be solely responsible for contractual performance and management of all