Website Design Services

Arkansas State University Mountain Home

Purchasing Department

1600 S College Street

Mountain Home, AR 72653

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

SOLICITATION DOCUMENT

SOLICITATION INFORMATION
Bid Number:	RFP ASUMH 2026-02	Solicitation Issued:	November 19, 2025
Description:	Website Design Services
Agency:	Arkansas State University - Mountain Home

SUBMISSION DEADLINE
Bid Opening Date:	December 19, 2025	Bid Opening Time:	1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time
Deliver proposal submissions for this Request for Proposal must be delivered to Arkansas State University Mountain Home Purchasing Office on or before the submission deadline. Proposals received after the submission deadline shall be rejected as untimely.

DELIVERY OF RESPONSE DOCUMENTS
Delivery Address and Bid Opening Location:	Arkansas State University Mountain Home Purchasing Office 1600 S College St Mountain Home AR 72653 Delivery providers, USPS, UPS, and FedEx deliver mail to ASUMH’s street address on a schedule determined by each individual provider. These providers will deliver to ASUMH based solely on the street address. Prospective Contractors assume all risk for timely, properly submitted deliveries. Telephone, email, and/or FAX responses to this bid will not be accepted.
Bid’s Outer Packaging:	Seal outer packaging and properly mark with the following information. If outer packaging of bid submission is not properly marked, the package may be opened for bid identification purposes. • Bid number • Date and time of bid opening • Prospective Contractor's name and return address

ASUMH CONTACT INFORMATION
ASUMH Buyer	Christy Schaufler	Phone Number:	870-508-6126
Email Address:	purchasing@asumh.edu	ASUMH Website:	http://www.asumh.edu

Section 1 – INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued by Arkansas State University-Mountain Home (ASUMH) to obtain pricing and a contract(s) for the redesign of ASUMH’s website, content management system development, custom application development, site maintenance, and server hosting by the vendor for www.asumh.edu . ASUMH seeks individuals or agencies who will collaborate with the College to assist in completing web work to include training of college personnel in navigating the CMS.

Direct all communications regarding this solicitation to Arkansas State University-Mountain Home, Purchasing Department.

Under no circumstances are firms, including third party firms or their staffs, to contact other College staff, faculty or any related constituency for purposes associated with the RFP, including but not limited to, obtaining or providing information. Firms failing to comply with this requirement may be disqualified

1.2 BID OPENING

A. The bid opening will be in the ASUMH Purchasing Office at the date and time specified in this solicitation document. All proposals shall be guaranteed and binding for a period of not less than sixty (60) days past the proposal opening date.

B. Proposal openings will be open to any interested proposing party and to the public. However, openings will serve only to open, read and record the receipt of each proposal. No discussion will be entered into with any vendor as to quality or provisions.

1.3 OBJECTIVE AND GOALS

Arkansas State University-Mountain Home is seeking bids from qualified vendors to redesign the College’s website, content management system development, custom application development, site maintenance, and server hosting by the vendor for www.asumh.edu .

1.4 BACKGROUND AND CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

The current website (www.asumh.edu) was created approximately 6 years ago with a contracted vendor and serves as one of the College’s primary communications vehicles. Marketing and Public Relations staff are the primary employees who enter data in the CMS with support from the Information Technology Services Staff. Individual departments are responsible for supplying their content to the designated staff for publication on the website.

1.5 TYPE OF CONTRACT

A. As a result of this RFP, the Department intends to award a contract to a single Contractor.

B. The anticipated starting date for any resulting contract is July 1, 2022, except that the actual contract start date may be adjusted unilaterally by the State for up to three (3) calendar months. By submitting a signed proposal in response to the RFP, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants that it will honor its proposal as being held open as irrevocable for this period.

C. The initial term of a resulting contract will be for one (1) year. Upon mutual agreement by the Contractor and Department, the contract may be renewed by ASU-Beebe for up to six (6) additional one-year terms or portions thereof, not to exceed a total aggregate contract term of seven (7) consecutive years.

1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS

D. Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms defined in Arkansas Procurement Law have the same meanings herein.

E. “Prospective Contractor” means a responsible offeror who submits a proposal in response to this Solicitation.

F. The terms “Request for Proposal,” “RFP,” and “Solicitation” are used synonymously in this document.

G. “Requirement” means a term, condition, provision, deliverable, Specification, or a combination thereof, that is obligated under the Solicitation, resulting contract, or both.

H. “Responsive Proposal” means a proposal submitted in response to this Solicitation that conforms in all material respects to this RFP.

I. “Shall” and “must” mean the imperative and are used to identify Requirements.

J. “Specification” means any technical or purchase description or other description of the physical or functional characteristics, or of the nature, of a commodity or service. “Specification” may include a description of any Requirement for inspecting, testing, or preparing a commodity or service for delivery.

K. “State” means the State of Arkansas. When the term “State” is used herein to reference any obligation of the State under a contract that results from this Solicitation, that obligation is limited to the Department using such a contract.

L. “ASUMH”, or “the College” refers to Arkansas State University Mountain Home.

1.7 SOLICITATION SCHEDULE

For informational purposes, a Solicitation Schedule is provided below; however, dates listed and noted with an asterisk (*) are anticipated dates only and are subject to change at the discretion of ASUMH. All times are listed in Central Time.

TABLE A: TENTATIVE SOLICITATION SCHEDULE

ACTIVITY	DATE
RFP Release to Prospective Contractors	November 21, 2025
Deadline for Prospective Contractor Questions	December 8, 2025 12:00 p.m. CST
Answers to Questions Posted to ASUMH Procurement & Purchasing	December 12, 2025
Proposal Due & Proposal Opening Date & Time	December 19, 2025 1:00 p.m. CTS
Oral Presentations/Demonstrations	January 13, 2026
Post Anticipation to Award*	January 20, 2026
Award Contract*	February 1, 2026

1.8 CLARIFICATION OF SOLICITATION

A. Submit questions requesting clarification of information contained in this Solicitation via email to Christy Schaufler purchasing@asumh.edu by the date and time listed in Table A.

1. For each question submitted, Prospective Contractor should reference the specific Solicitation item number to which the question refers.

2. Prospective Contractors’ written questions will be consolidated and answered by ASUMH as deemed appropriate. ASUMH’s written response will be posted to the ASUMH website and emailed to prospective bidders. If Prospective Contractor questions are unclear or non-substantive in nature, ASUMH may request clarification of question(s) or decline to answer.

B. The Prospective Contractor should notify the buyer of any term, condition, etc. that precludes the Prospective Contractor from submitting a compliant, responsive bid. Prospective Contractors should note that it is the responsibility of the Prospective Contractor to seek resolution of all such issues, including those relating to the terms and conditions of the contract, prior to the submission of a bid.

C. Prospective Contractors may contact the Buyer with non-substantive questions at any time prior to the proposal opening.

D. An oral statement by ASUMH will not be part of any contract resulting from this solicitation and may not reasonably be relied on by any Prospective Contractor as an aid to interpretation unless it is reduced to writing and expressly adopted by ASUMH.

E. Only an addendum written and authorized by ASUMH will modify the Solicitation.

1.9 RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

A. Original Bid Proposal Packet

1. Prospective Contractors shall utilize the Bid Proposal Packet to submit their responses.

2. The following items are proposal submission requirements and must be submitted as a hardcopy part of a Prospective Contractor’s proposal response.

a. Original signed Proposal Signature Page. Signature may be ink or digital.

b. One original hardcopy of the Bid Proposal response to the Information for Evaluation section included in the Bid Proposal Packet, which must be in the English language.

c. One original hardcopy of the completed Official Solicitation Price Sheet.

i. Pricing must be proposed in U.S. dollars and cents.

ii. State or local sales taxes should not be included in the price. Trade discounts should be deducted from the unit price, and the net price should be shown in the Pricing Response

• The Official Solicitation Price Sheet, including the hard copy and electronic copy, must be separately sealed from the Bid Proposal Packet and should be clearly marked as "Pricing." A Prospective Contractor shall not include any pricing in the hard copies or electronic copies of their Bid Proposal Packet.

d. Proposed Subcontractors Form

e. Copy of Prospective Contractor’s Equal Opportunity Policy.

i. Pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-60-104, OSP requires a Prospective Contractor bidding on a state contract to submit a copy of the Prospective Contractor’s Equal Opportunity (EO) Policy.

ii. Prospective Contractors not required by law to have an EO Policy must submit a written statement to that effect.

3. The following items, which must be submitted prior to a contract award to the Prospective Contractor, may also be included with the Prospective Contractor’s proposal:

a. EO 98-04: Contract and Grant Disclosure Form.

b. Voluntary Product Accessibility Template ( VPAT ), if applicable.

4. Prospective Contractors should not include any other documents or ancillary information, such as a cover letter or promotional/marketing information.

B. Additional copies

1. In addition to the original Bid Proposal Packet, the following items should be submitted:

a. One (1) Electronic copy of Bid Proposal Packet.

2. Electronic copies should be submitted on flash drives and in PDF format.

3. All additional hardcopies and electronic copies must be identical to the original hardcopy.

a. In case of discrepancy, the original hardcopy governs.

4. If ASUMH requests additional copies of the proposal, the copies must be delivered within the timeframe specified in the request.

C. Prospective Contractors should not alter language in Solicitation document(s) or Official Proposal Price Sheet provided in the response package.

D. Prospective Contractor’s proposals cannot be altered or amended after the proposal opening except as permitted by law or rule.

E. Prospective Contractors may submit multiple proposals.

1.10 STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITION

• Non-Discrimination

ASUMH does not discriminate against any entity, company, employee, applicant for employment or any person participating in any aspect of any project based on race, creed, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or physical or mental disability.

• MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESS POLICY

The State of Arkansas encourages all minority businesses to compete for, win and receive contracts for goods, services and construction. The state also encourages all companies to sub-contract portions and any state contract to minority business enterprises.

• EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICY

Act 215 (SB#1123) of 2005 requires that each entity or person interested in ASUMH must include with its proposal response a copy of the company’s EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICY.

• CERTIFICATION OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Pursuant to Act 157 of 2007, the successful proposer must certify prior to award of the contract that they do not employ or contract with any illegal immigrants.

• RESTRICTION OF BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL

Pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-1-503, a public entity shall not enter into a contract with a company unless the contract includes a written certification that the person or company is not currently engaged in and agrees for the duration of the contract not to engage in, a boycott of Israel.

• CONTRACT DISCLOSURE OVER $10,000 – GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDER 98-04

No contract for commodities or services over $10,000, and no discretionary grant greater than $10,000 shall be awarded, extended, amended or renewed by an agency to any bidder who has not complied with Governor’s Executive Order 98-04, as required in this proposal.

Failure to make any disclosure required by Governor’s Executive Order 98-04, or the violation of any rule, regulation, or policy adopted pursuant to the Order, shall be a material breach of the terms of this RFP. Any bidder who fails to make the required disclosure, or who violates any rule, regulation, or policy, shall be subject to all legal remedies available to the agency.

• PAST PERFORMANCE

In accordance with provisions of State procurement law, specifically OSP Rule R5:19-11-230 (b) (1), a Prospective Contractor’s past performance with the State may be used to determine if the Prospective Contractor is “responsible.” Proposals submitted by Prospective Contractors determined to be non- responsible will be disqualified.

• RESERVATION

This RFP does not commit the College to award a contract or to pay costs incurred in the preparation of a bid in response to this request.

• CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT

Observe and comply with federal and State of Arkansas laws, local laws, ordinances, orders, and regulations existing at the time of, or enacted subsequent to, the execution of a resulting contract which in any manner affects the completion of the work.

Indemnify and save harmless the College and all its officers, representatives, agents, and employees against any claim or liability arising from or based upon the violation of any such law, ordinance, regulation, order, or decree by an employee, representative, or subcontractor of the Contractor.

1.11 ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This RFP incorporates all of the Solicitation Terms and Conditions located on the State of Arkansas TSS OSP website here (Agencies – Forms and Reporting – Solicitation Templates):

A. https://www.transform.ar.gov/procurement/agencies/forms-and-reporting/

B. Any special terms and conditions included in this solicitation shall override the Solicitation Terms and Conditions.

C. Unless a Prospective Contractor expressly and conspicuously identifies any exception or exceptions to any of the terms in this bid document by listing them on the Exceptions Form (See Bid Response Packet), Prospective Contractor agrees and shall adhere to all terms if selected as the successful Contractor. Items identified as non- negotiable may only be modified if the legal requirement is satisfied and approved by the College.

1.12 PAYMENT AND INVOICE PROVISIONS

A. All invoices shall be forwarded to the following location:

Arkansas State University Mountain Home

Accounts Payable

1600 S College St

Mountain Home AR 72653

B. Payment will be made in accordance with applicable State of Arkansas accounting procedures upon acceptance of commodity/commodities by the College. Invoices shall not be submitted in advance of delivery and acceptance. Payment will be made only after the Contractor has successfully satisfied the College as to the goods and/or services purchased.

C. Invoice should be itemized and include the Purchase Order number and/or contract number. In addition, ASUMH is not a tax-exempt institution, so apply any applicable taxes on the invoice.

D. Invoices are also accepted by email purchasing@asumh.edu.

SECTION 2 – REQUIREMENTS

2.1 PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

A. The Prospective Contractor shall be able to provide a website that is visually appealing and accessible to our community, as well as complying with all ADA web accessibility requirements. In addition to the visual feel of our new website, provide us the full ability to manage and update all aspects in-house, including updating and changing all images and content.

2.2 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Support

• Routine Telephone and Email Support, On-site support available within 24 hours

• The site hosted by the vendor will have a data center with 24/7 Monitored Servers with telephone and ticket system support

• A vendor must list the level of maintenance and support that it will provide including the number of hours and scope of services.

• Vendor must report to ASU-Mountain Home monthly for metrics for the website to include number of visitors to the website, traffic on each page, geographic location by zip code of website visitors, and how visitors arrived at the website.

Access

• Multi-level CMS access with admin to user level allocation

• Full domain control with Control Panel Access

• Hosted by the vendor with a dedicated, virtual private server with full shell access and will receive priority in a disaster recovery scenario

Security and Redundancy with Backup Plan

• Hosted by the vendor utilizing SSAE 18 certified datacenter

• Hosted by the vendor with redundant power and cooling to fully secured network facilities

• Hosted by the vendor with redundant network configuration with multiple Tier-1 providers

• Hosted by the vendor with full back up regimen on a daily basis

• Hosted by the vendor with backups up off-site (greater than 50 miles) multiple times daily at another SSAE 18 certified datacenter within the United States only.

• Hosted by the vendor the site files and databases can be restored individually, or each back-up instance can be used to create a "bare metal", global server restoration

• Hosted by the vendor the site will be monitored and protected by the latest software like ModSecurity and PHP SuExec

• The vendor hosting will maintain a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan which can be reviewed upon request

Site Design

• Content Management System with search engine friendly URL’s

• The vendor will design the main page, and templates for second- and third-tier pages.

• Content and photographs will be provided by Arkansas State University-Mountain Home.

• Successful vendors will move selected content on the current website to the new website as directed by ASU-Mountain Home.

• The site may be optionally hosted by a third-party vendor

• The site will meet Section 508 of ADA and Priority 1 Guidelines for Accessibility

• The site will be administered and maintained by the vendor; however, content management will be provided by college staff.

• The vendor will conduct usability testing.

• The vendor will ensure that the site is registered with major search engines. Significant pages will include appropriate meta-data, page titles, and keyword placements to improve visibility and listings through search engines.

• The vendor will ensure that all technical requirements (see below) are met.

• The vendor will work closely with the Admissions and Marketing departments to ensure that the site design is consistent with other marketing materials.

• The vendor will work closely with the Information Technology Services department to ensure technical requirements are addressed and understood by both parties.

• The site will be well organized with a clear navigation scheme; information should be easy to find with minimal click access.

• The vendor must allow the ability to upload PDF documents to the site.

• The vendor must provide detailed instructions for all modules and site maintenance in general.

• The vendor will allow for form embeds.

• The site must provide a secure environment for storing information.

Technical requirements

• The resulting Web system will be the property of ASU-Mountain Home and will not include any proprietary scripts/code that cannot be freely edited for future use at ASU-Mountain Home.

• Printer-friendly versions of pages should be available to users.

• The design should allow for a variety of connection speeds, including dial-up.

• The design will meet Section 508 of ADA and Priority 1 Guidelines for Accessibility.

• The content should be separate from the design—so the style and interactivity of the website can be changed in the future regardless of the content.

• The web applications and content shall be easily viewable on common screen resolutions and all major browsers (including Edge, Firefox, Chrome and Safari) with a minimum of required plug-ins and adequate load time on a lower-bandwidth computer.

• Technology should support the use of Podcasts, IM, chatbots, social media, streaming video, and other technologies that enhance the web experience for students and the community.

• Significant pages will include appropriate meta-data, page titles, and keyword placements to improve visibility and listing through search engines.

• End results should also be browser and platform independent.

• Text-only alternatives should be provided for every page. The vendor proposal should specify how this will be achieved and the associated costs.

• The site should incorporate technologies that allow for RSS feeds on specific sections of the site.

• The vendor will ensure that the underlying code is Microsoft Windows friendly.

• The site search capabilities must be extensive and include the searching of PDFs.

• The site must be compatible with mobile and tablet devices.

• The site will be on a platform that integrates well with other ASU-Mountain Home software. This includes, but is not limited to, Element 451 which is our CRM.

• As a two-year institution committed to accessibility, equity, and effective communication with our students, faculty, and community, we require a Content Management System (CMS) that is intuitive, sustainable, and compliant with accessibility standards. Preference will be given to solutions built on platforms such as WordPress or Omni CMS (OmniUpdate), which are widely used across higher education and allow non-technical staff to manage and update content with ease.

• All proposed CMS solutions must support full compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards at launch and throughout the life of the site. This includes the ability to create accessible content, apply consistent semantic structure, and integrate accessibility checks within the content editing workflow.

• Vendor-developed or proprietary CMS platforms (such as Rubix or similar systems) may be considered only if they fully meet the requirements for usability, accessibility, scalability, and long-term support. Proposals including proprietary systems must clearly detail any licensing fees, hosting limitations, administrative access levels, and content migration capabilities. Preference will be given to CMS solutions that follow open standards, support content portability, and do not require long-term dependency on a single vendor.

2.3 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

A. State law requires that qualifying contracts for services include Performance Standards for measuring the overall quality of services that a Contractor shall provide.

B. The College may be open to negotiations of Performance Standards prior to contract award, prior to the commencement of services, or at times throughout the contract duration. Table B: Performance Standards identifies expected deliverables, performance measures, or outcomes; and defines the acceptable standards.

C. Performance Standards shall not be amended unless they are agreed to in writing and signed by the parties.

D. Failure to meet the minimum Performance Standards as specified will result in the assessment of damages.

E. In the event a Performance Standard is not met, the Contractor will have the opportunity to defend or respond to the insufficiency. The State has the right to waive damages if it determines there were extenuating factors beyond the control of the Contractor that hindered the performance of services. In these instances, the State has final determination of the performance acceptability.

F. Should any compensation be owed to the College due to the assessment of damages, Contractor shall follow the direction of the College regarding the required compensation process.

TABLE B: PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Milestone Payment contracts
Standards	Remedies
Milestone deadlines are met	Vendor must provide an acceptable remediation plan
Work products are professional and comprehensive	Payment may be withheld in part or in whole until milestones are met or acceptable work products are produced
	Replacement resources acceptable to ASUMH may be required
	Contract may be cancelled

Time & Materials Contracts
Standards	Remedies
Services are provided in a timely and professional manner	Vendor must provide an acceptable remediation plan
Work products are professional, comprehensive and consistent with the contracted skill level	Payment may be withheld in part or in whole until acceptable work products are produced
	Replacement resources acceptable to ASUMH may be required

SECTION 3 – SELECTION

3.1 SELECTION PROCESS

A. Purchasing will review each Bid Proposal Packet to verify submission requirements have been met. Bid Proposals Packets that do not meet submission Requirements will be rejected and will not be evaluated.

B. A Department-appointed Evaluation Committee will evaluate and score qualifying Bid Proposals. Evaluation will be based on Prospective Contractor’s response to the Information for Evaluation section included in the Bid Proposal Packet.

1. Members of the Evaluation Committee (Evaluators) will individually review and evaluate proposals and complete an Individual Score Worksheet for each proposal. Individual scoring for each Evaluation Criteria will be based on the scoring description in Table C: Scoring Table.

TABLE C: SCORING TABLE

QUALITY RATING	QUALITY OF RESPONSE	DESCRIPTION	CONFIDENCE IN PROPOSED APPROACH
5	Excellent	When considered in relation to the RFP evaluation factor, the proposal squarely meets the requirement and exhibits outstanding knowledge, creativity, ability or other exceptional characteristics. Extremely good.	Very High
4	Good	When considered in relation to the RFP evaluation factor, the proposal squarely meets the requirement and is better than merely acceptable.	High
3	Acceptable	When considered in relation to the RFP evaluation factor, the proposal is of acceptable quality.	Moderate
2	Marginal	When considered in relation to the RFP evaluation factor, the proposal’s acceptability is doubtful.	Low
1	Poor	When considered in relation to the RFP evaluation factor, the proposal is inferior.	Very Low
0	Unacceptable	When considered in relation to the RFP evaluation factor, the proposal clearly does not meet the requirement. Either nothing in the proposal is responsive in relation to the evaluation factor or the proposal affirmatively shows that it is unacceptable in relation to the evaluation factor.	No Confidence

2. After initial individual evaluations are complete, the Evaluators will meet to discuss their individual ratings. At this consensus meeting, each Evaluator will be afforded an opportunity to discuss his or her rating for each evaluation criteria.

3. After Evaluators have had an opportunity to discuss their individual scores with the committee, the Evaluators will be given the opportunity to change their initial individual scores, if they feel that is appropriate.

4. The final individual scores of the Evaluators will be recorded on the Consensus Score Sheets and averaged to determine the group or consensus score and rank for each proposal.

5. Other agencies, consultants, and experts may also examine documents at the discretion of the Department.

3.2 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL SCORE

A. The Information for Evaluation section has been divided into subsections.

1. In each subsection, items/questions have been assigned a maximum point value of five (5) points. The total point value for each subsection is reflected in the table below as the Maximum Raw Points Possible.

2. The Department has assigned Weighted Percentages to each subsection according to its significance.

Information for Evaluation Subsections	Maximum Raw Points Possible		Subsection’s Weighted Percentage	* Maximum Weighted Score Possible
Experience (Years of successful support of clients, number and types of clients served, background with website development	25		33.3%	250
Quality of Websites and Designs Developed	25		33.3%	250
Personal & Support (Backgrounds, exposures & qualifications of staff, as well as projected partner firms; level support and maintenance that the vendor will provide to the college)	20		33.3%	200
Total Technical Score	70		100%	700

*Subsection’s Percentage Weight x Total Technical Maximum Weighted Score = Maximum Weighted Score Possible for the subsection.

B. The proposal’s weighted score for each subsection will be determined using the following formula:

(A/B)*C =D

A = Actual Raw Points received for subsection in evaluation B = Maximum Raw Points possible for subsection C = Maximum Weighted Score possible for subsection D = Weighted Score received for subsection

C. The proposal’s weighted scores for subsections will be added to determine the Total Technical Score for the proposal.

D. Technical proposals that do not receive a minimum of weighted score of 600 may not move forward in the solicitation process. The pricing for proposals which do not move forward will not be scored.

3.3 COST SCORE

A. When pricing is opened for scoring, the maximum amount of cost points will be given to the proposal with the lowest annual grand total as shown in Table One (1) on the Official Solicitation Price Sheet. (See Grand Total Score for maximum points possible for cost score.)

B. The amount of cost points given to the remaining proposals will be allocated by using the following formula:

A = Lowest Total Cost

B = Second (third, fourth, etc.) Lowest Total Cost

C = Maximum Points for Lowest Total Cost D = Total Cost Points Received

3.4 GRAND TOTAL SCORE

The Technical Score and Cost Score will be added together to determine the Grand Total Score for the proposal. The Prospective Contractor's proposal with the highest Grand Total Score will be selected as the apparent successful Contractor.

Prospective Contractors determined, based on the ranking of the proposals, to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award.

	Maximum Points Possible
Technical Proposal	700
Cost	300
Maximum Possible Grand Total Score	1,000

3.5 DISCUSSIONS

Arkansas Procurement Law allows for discussions with responsible offerors whose proposals have been determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award. ASUB reserves the discretion and the right to engage in discussions to the fullest extent permitted under Ark. Code Ann. S 19-11-230. After initial evaluation, ASUB may elect to request a best and final offer (BAFO) from a competitive range of responsible Prospective Contractors determined, based on the ranking of the proposals, to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award.

3.6 PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR ACCEPTANCE OF EVALUATION TECHNIQUE

The submission of a Technical Proposal Packet signifies the Prospective Contractor's understanding and agreement that some subjective value judgments will be made during the evaluation and scoring of the technical proposals.

3.7 ANTICIPATION TO AWARD

A. Once an anticipated Contractor has been determined, the anticipated award will be posted to the ASUMH’s website by the date and time listed in Table A.

1. It is the responsibility of Prospective Contractors to check ASUMH’s website for the posting of an anticipated award.

B. Anticipated awards will generally be posted for a period of fourteen (14) days prior to the issuance of a contract. These notices are anticipated awards only and are subject to protest.

C. A contract resulting from this Solicitation is subject to State review and approval processes prior to award, which may include Legislative review.

3.8 PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR ACCEPTANCE OF EVALUATION TECHNIQUE

The submission of a Bid Proposal Packet signifies the Prospective Contractor’s understanding and agreement that some subjective value judgments will be made during the evaluation and scoring of the Bid proposals.

SECTION 4 – SOLICITATON TERMS AND CONDITIONS

4.1 ACCEPTANCE OF REQUIREMENTS

A. A Prospective Contractor's past performance with the State may be used to determine if the Prospective Contractor is responsible (19 CAR § 1-401).

1. Proposals submitted by Prospective Contractors determined to be non-responsible will be rejected.

B. A single Prospective Contractor must be identified as the prime contractor.

1. The prime Contractor shall be responsible for the resulting contract and jointly and severally liable with any of its subcontractors, affiliates, or agents to the State for the performance thereof.

C. By submission of a proposal, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants:

1. That the prices in the proposal have been arrived at independently, without any collusion with another competing Prospective Contractor.

a. Collusion violates Arkansas Procurement Law and can lead to suspension, debarment, and can be referred to the Attorney General’s officer for investigation and appropriate legal action (Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-61-403 and 19-61-702).

2. That the Prospective Contractor has not retained a person to solicit or secure the resulting contract upon an agreement or understanding for a commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee, except for retention of bona fide employees or bona fide established commercial selling agencies maintained by the Prospective Contractor for the purpose of securing business.

D. Prospective Contractor should not discuss the Solicitation or proposal response, issue statements or comments, or provide interviews to public media during the Solicitation and award process.

E. Qualifications and services must meet or exceed the required Specifications as set forth in the Solicitation.

F. ASUMH will not pay costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal.

4.2 GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. Pursuant to Arkansas Procurement Law, the contractor shall certify:

1. They are not engaged in and shall not, during the aggregate term of the resulting contract, engage in a boycott of Israel (Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-1-503),

2. They are not engaged in and shall not, during the aggregate term of the resulting contract, engage in a boycott of an Energy, Fossil Fuel, Firearms, or Ammunition Industry (Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-1-1102).

B. Pursuant to Arkansas Procurement Law, the Contractor shall certify that the Contractor does not knowingly employ or contract with illegal immigrants and that the Contractor shall not knowingly employ or contract with illegal immigrants during the aggregate term of any contract with the State or any of its departments, institutions, or political subdivisions (Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-60-105).

C. Specifications, drawings, technical information, dies, cuts, negatives, positives, data, other such item furnished by the State to the Contractor, or a combination thereof hereunder or in contemplation hereof or developed by the Contractor for use hereunder shall:

1. Remain property of the ASUMH.

2. Be kept confidential as permitted or required by law.

3. Be used only as expressly authorized.

4. Be returned at the Contractor's expense to the F.O.B. destination point provided by the ASUMH, as requested by ASUMH.

a. The Contractor shall properly identify items being returned.

D. The Contractor shall invoice the ASUMH as required by the Department and should not invoice the State in advance of delivery and acceptance of any goods or services (Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-4-1206).

1. The Contractor should invoice the college by an itemized list of charges. ASUMH purchase order number and/or the contract number should be referenced on each invoice.

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