The Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority ("RIHEAA"), as the state designated guarantor for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), is seeking to contract with a qualified vendor(s) to provide a student loan guarantor system and related services to assist RIHEAA in fulfilling its responsibilities to administer and manage the FFELP.
Currently, RIHEAA contracts for data processing and system support for guaranty services as the exclusive remote user of systems maintained by a provider. RIHEAA personnel are directly responsible for the processing of transactions, as well as updating and maintaining information on the system.
In addition to guaranty services support, RIHEAA contracts with the same provider to perform defaulted loan collection management services. Under this agreement, the provider places certain defaulted loans for collections with outside collections vendors and is responsible for oversight of the activities and performance of those collection vendors. RIHEAA also performs initial in-house collections activity using the provider's system.
Currently, RIHEAA also contracts directly with another vendor to provide default aversion services on delinquent student loans.
RIHEAA will consider comprehensive proposals to provide guarantor system and related services, school support services, outsourced collections management and default aversion services (or any combination thereof) from a single offeror, as well as proposals for any of the individual component services. Offerors who propose to provide both defaulted collections management and default aversion services from a single entity must be prepared to address conflict of interest issues in a manner that RIHEAA deems to be satisfactory and complies with relevant legal and/or regulatory requirements. RIHEAA reserves the right to select more than one vendor to provide these services.