ATTACHMENT A
EDITORIAL SERVICES CONTRACT
PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

I. BACKGROUND								1
II. INTRODUCTION							1
III. SCOPE OF WORK							3
IV. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY					9

PHASE A: PLANNING AND PREPARATION					9
IV.A.1: Defining Project Procedures; Producing a Procedures 
Manual and a Quality Control Plan					9
IV.A.2: Participating In, and Providing, Training			10
IV.A.3: Installing and Testing Equipment to Ensure Successful Contract 
Operation								11
IV.A.4: Meeting Security Requirements					15

PHASE B: PRODUCTION							22
IV.B.1: Answering Control Correspondence				22
IV.B.2: Answering Non-Control Correspondence (Paper and Electronic Mail 
[E-Mail])								29
IV.B.3: Accessing the Contractor's Data Base(s) and E-Mail History	36
IV.B.4: Supplying Staff with Dictionaries and Writing/Style Guides	37
IV.B.5: Providing Courier Service					38
IV.B.6: Preparing Control and Non-Control Correspondence Reports and Other 
Reports									38
IV.B.7: Updating Standard Paragraphs, Form Letters, and Fact Sheets	39
IV.B.8: Preparing Correspondence Responses in Languages  Other Than 
English									41
IV.B.9: Translating into Spanish, and Preparing Layout for, Certain ED 
Publications								41
IV.B.10: Requesting Financial Aid Transcripts				42
IV.B.11: Updating the OSFAP Regulations Compilation			42
IV.B.12: Mailing Materials						43
IV.B.13 Updating the Procedures Manual and the Quality Control Plan	43
IV.B.14: Updating the Security Plan					43
IV.B.15: Updating and Implementing the Disaster Recovery 
Plan									44
IV.B.16: Updating Network Drawings					44
IV.B.17: Maintaining Access to Different Data Bases			44
IV.B.18: Maintaining Systems Security Safeguards			45
IV.B.19: Producing Labels						46
IV.B.20: Photocopying							46
IV.B.21: Shredding/Erasing Materials					46
IV.B.22: Participating In, and Providing, Training			47
IV.B.23: Participating in Conference Calls				48
IV.B.24: Assisting During Transition Period				48

I. BACKGROUND

For more than 20 years, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has used
contract services to prepare prompt and thorough responses to correspondence
from the general public concerning financial assistance programs for
postsecondary students. The general public either contacts ED directly or
contacts the White House and members of Congress, who forward the
correspondence to ED. In the past, ED's Public Inquiry Contract (PIC) has
prepared these responses in addition to performing other tasks, such as
answering telephone inquiries received through the toll-free telephone line
at ED's Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC). ED has decided to
separate part of the PIC's functions: The PIC will continue to answer
correspondence concerning defaulted student loans ED holds, handle telephone
lines at the FSAIC, and mail bulk orders of ED informational materials,
among other functions. The Editorial Services Contract (ESC) will prepare
the remainder of correspondence ED receives and will perform other editorial
tasks, as specified below.


II. INTRODUCTION

ED, through its Office of Student Financial Assistance Programs (OSFAP)
office, requires contract services to

* prepare detailed and accurate responses to a very high volume of
correspondence about the postsecondary student aid programs that the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended, has established (Title IV programs).

* provide twice daily courier service to pick up and deliver correspondence
and other materials ED will specify.

* prepare various reports, including weekly and monthly reports concerning
control and non-control correspondence.

* update ED's set of approximately 1,200 standard paragraphs, nearly 300
form letters, and approximately 10-12 fact sheets to ensure they provide
current information about ED's programs.

* translate correspondence into, and prepare responses in, languages other
than English. 

* translate into Spanish, and prepare in final form (using desktop
publishing), federal student aid materials. 

* provide information on financial aid transcripts to schools having
difficulty obtaining these documents from other schools.

* update annually the OSFAP regulations compilation.

* provide miscellaneous ancillary services such as mailing single copies of
ED informational materials, producing labels, and photocopying.

ED will use task orders for additional services ED might require over the
life of the contract. The Contracting Officer will issue task orders upon
the program office's request. Unless otherwise noted, the contractor shall
have 10 working days to prepare a proposal after receiving a Statement of
Work for a proposed task order. 

Task orders might involve 

(1)	tracking control correspondence by computer, which would involve
keeping electronic records of this correspondence (date received, name of
inquirer, status of correspondence, completion dates, etc.)

   (2)		electronically transmitting to, and receiving from, ED all
incoming    correspondence.

(3) mailing correspondence (stuffing envelopes, etc.)

(4) preparing additional reports similar to those required under IV.B.6. For
example, ED might require the contractor to record the amount of
correspondence received resulting from a press release or a news item. ED
might require the contractor to develop surveys and statistical information
and provide reports based on the survey and statistical information
findings. The contractor would have to collect, analyze, and assimilate data
in preparing these reports. ED also might suggest categories for data
collection and require the contractor to use charts and graphs to illustrate
and enhance the reports. 

(5) translating additional ED publications and materials into Spanish
(similar to those required under IV.B.9).

(6) creating electronic versions of ED documents in formats for access
through the Internet including, but not limited to, Hyper-Text Markup
Language (HTML).

(7) converting Encapsulated Postscript (EPS) graphics files into Graphics
Interchange Format (GIF) files and scanning images and converting them to
GIF files.

(8) preparing publications and providing desktop publishing services. For
example, ED might require the contractor to edit existing documents and to
prepare documents in final form from existing drafts. ED might require the
contractor to create new documents, such as general and technical
publications or brochures for the public. To prepare these documents, the
contractor might have to do research and write, edit, proofread, create
graphics, and prepare final layout using desktop publishing. ED would expect
the contractor to furnish these documents on disk and in hard copy. The
disk(s) would have to contain a copy of the document in a Portable Document
Format (PDF) file. ED most likely will require documents furnished in
Macintosh versions of software that ED will specify at the time ED requires
the contractor to prepare the publication(s). Text and layout programs ED
currently uses include, but are not limited to, Microsoft Word, PageMaker,
DeltaGraph, FreeHand, Photoshop, and Illustrator. ED also might require the
contractor to furnish documents in IBM-compatible format.

ED also will issue Work Orders for discrete activities costing $10,000 or
less. These Work Orders, which would relate to the task orders listed above,
do not require the Contracting Officer's approval. Upon receipt of a Work
Order Request from the COTR, the contractor shall submit to the COTR the
completed contractor section of the Work Order Request and shall propose a
fixed price within five working days from the date the contractor receives
the Work Order Request.


III. SCOPE OF WORK

The work performed under this contract is expected to be conducted in two
phases: Phase A, Planning and Preparation, and Phase B, Production. Phase A
begins on the date ED awards the contract. ED will exercise Phase B as an
option, based on whether the contractor demonstrates it can perform
successfully all aspects of Phase A and be completely ready for startup by
the end of Phase A. If ED exercises Phase B, that phase will begin
approximately three months after the start of Phase A. This contract will
consist of a Base Period and four Option Years.

The contractor shall be fully and successfully operational by the beginning
of Phase B and shall, therefore, complete by the end of Phase A all
preparatory activity: installing and testing equipment and internal
software, hiring and/or training critical staff, developing and testing
procedures, and meeting security requirements.

A. Supplemental Information 

1. Correspondence

i. Control Correspondence 

Control correspondence consists of inquiries that come directly from the
general public or inquiries the White House and members of Congress refer to
ED. ED currently tracks the progress of this correspondence by attaching a
correspondence tracking sheet to each control letter; the sheet indicates,
among other information, who wrote the letter, which ED office is
responsible for answering the letter, and when the response is due in ED's
Executive Secretariat office. Regardless of that due date, however, the
contractor must deliver completed responses to TPID within three working
days after the contractor receives the correspondence. If the response
requires the contractor to do casework (see section iv below), the
contractor generally must deliver completed responses to ED within six
working days after the contractor receives the correspondence. The
contractor will prepare responses by using ED's set of approximately 1,200
standard paragraphs, available on disk; enclosing relevant ED publications
and other materials, when appropriate; and/or using custom writing the
contractor must prepare according to ED-established style guidelines (see
IV.B.1.j).    

ii. Non-Control Correspondence

Non-control correspondence consists of public inquiries (including
electronic mail [e-mail]) that neither the White House nor members of
Congress have referred. In general, preparing non-control responses requires
less work than preparing control responses because the issues usually are
simpler and more straightforward, although the contractor occasionally will
have to do casework (see section iv below). ED does not officially track
non-control correspondence but will sample the responses. The contractor
must complete and send out responses within two working days after the
contractor receives the incoming correspondence. If the response requires
casework (see section iv below), the contractor generally must complete and
send out responses within five working days after the contractor receives
the correspondence. 

For non-control correspondence, the contractor will prepare responses using
ED's set of approximately 300 form letters (available on disk). To answer
the correspondence completely, however, the contractor will, in many cases,
have to modify the form letters with custom writing and/or with standard
paragraphs the contractor must add. When appropriate, the contractor also
must, for paper responses, enclose relevant ED publications and other
materials; for e-mail responses, the contractor must inform inquirers how to
obtain those materials.

iii. Correspondence Volume

Correspondence volume is very high. Section J makes available a monthly
breakdown of 1995, 1996, and 1997 correspondence volumes for control and
non-control mail. Responding adequately requires the contractor to answer a
voluminous amount of correspondence rapidly without sacrificing accuracy and
clarity.

iv. Nature of Correspondence

Some student financial aid correspondence is fairly straightforward: For
example, an inquirer might ask what federal student aid programs are
available. (In such cases, often standard paragraphs are sufficient
responses for control mail. For non-control mail, often form letter
responses are sufficient.) Preparing responses for other correspondence
requires a broader understanding of program issues: The inquirer might need
an explanation of ED's need analysis formula, for example, or might not
understand the school's role-and ED's guidelines-in developing satisfactory
academic progress standards, prorating an award, or calculating a refundpolicy for a student who withdraws. 

A substantial amount of correspondence requires casework; this type of
correspondence, which will usually (but not always) be control
correspondence, has increased significantly over recent years. Casework
requires the contractor to contact (usually by telephone) postsecondary
schools, lenders, guarantee agencies, and servicing organizations, for
example, to develop the information needed to respond. Casework responses
require extensive research. For instance, a large amount of correspondence
comes from federal student loan borrowers who have defaulted on their loans.
Borrowers might disagree about the amount they owe or the number of payments
they must make. Borrowers might complain about collection tactics agencies
use or the fact that their U.S. tax refunds are being withheld to pay for
the outstanding loan. The contractor must contact all appropriate entities
involved with the loan, incorporating the findings into the response. The
response generally must contain information including, but not limited to,
how many loans the borrower has; when those loans entered repayment; how
many payments were received and when they were received; and when the loans
went into default. If a borrower complains he or she was not contacted about
making loan payments, the contractor must include how many times the lender,
servicing agency, and/or guarantee agency contacted, or attempted to
contact, the borrower. Because these are not all-inclusive examples of what
the contractor must cover in a response, ED requires the contractor to
respond completely, accurately, and clearly to all issues in each piece of
correspondence. Given the nature of this correspondence, the contractor must
do an extensive amount of custom writing. In addition, preparing responses
to more complex letters often will require the contractor to access several
ED data bases (see IV.A.3.b).

ED's correspondence frequently relates to problems that began a number of
years ago-a loan has defaulted years earlier, for example, or a student and
school have a long-standing refund dispute. The contractor's staff must,
therefore, be completely knowledgeable about current and past Title IV
regulations and policies. The contractor is responsible for keeping abreast
of changing Title IV policies and procedures.

Meeting ED's standards for preparing control and non-control correspondence
means the contractor's staff must not only choose the correct standard
paragraphs, for example, but add to, or delete from, those paragraphs when
necessary to create a response that flows logically from one sentence to
another and from one paragraph to another. The contractor must tailor even
"standard" paragraphs and "form" letters to each piece of correspondence,
not repeating information the inquirer already knows, for example. In fact,
for many responses, the contractor must develop and incorporate custom
writing that responds to issues standard paragraph language or form letters
do not cover. Custom language must be accurate, grammatically correct,
logically linked, and completely responsive to the inquirer's individual
situation, answering all questions and addressing all issues. ED will
determine whether the contractor's language is accurate, grammatically
correct, logically linked, and completely responsive to the inquirer's
individual situation. 

v. Translating Correspondence into Languages Other than English

ED receives some correspondence from persons whose native language is not
English. Because the non-English correspondence the contractor will receive
usually will be in Spanish, ED already has a set of approximately 178
standard paragraphs and approximately 32 form letters translated into
Spanish and available for the contractor. 

For 1996, more than 80 form letters and approximately 178 responses using
contractor-developed text were sent in response to Spanish correspondence;
responses using contractor-developed text were expected to double for 1997.
For 1996, approximately 35 form letters were translated into other languages.

2. Financial Aid Transcripts

If a student aid applicant/recipient transfers from one school to another or
reenrolls in a school different from the one(s) previously attended, ED
requires the student's new school to request financial aid transcripts from
all schools the student previously attended. The new school checks these
transcripts (records of all federal student aid the student has received) to
ensure the student does not receive more federal financial aid than he or
she should. (ED's student aid programs have annual and aggregate limits that
cannot be exceeded.) Occasionally, schools have difficulty receiving
transcripts and contact ED for assistance. In the past, ED's contractor has
checked into these situations and reported back to the inquiring schools.
(Often, the contractor discovers that the school[s] the student previously
attended has closed or no longer participates in Title IV programs. In
either case, ED does not require financial aid transcripts.) 

For 1996, ED received nearly 60,500 requests for financial aid transcripts;
however, ED anticipates this number will drop significantly beginning in
1998-99: ED expects all postsecondary schools to access ED's National
Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) to receive federal financial aid
information for students. It is possible, however, that the ESC will still
need to handle some of these requests.

B. Personnel Requirements for Contractor Staff

1. Default Record

No member of the contractor staff shall be in default on any Title IV loan,
including, but not limited to, Federal Family Education Loans (comprising
Federal Stafford Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, and Federal Consolidation
Loans); Federal Perkins Loans (including National Direct Student Loans and
National Defense Student Loans); and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans
(comprising Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized
Stafford/Ford Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal Direct
Consolidation Loans).

2. ED will approve all subcontractors the Editorial Services contractor
hires.

3. All contractor personnel shall be located off site.

4. Minimum Qualifications 

i. Project Director

The contractor's Project Director shall have at least five years'
supervisory experience successfully managing a variety of work projects,
some of which had simultaneous deadlines. The Project Director shall
demonstrate successful experience in determining priorities, achieving
goals, and accomplishing tasks on time; maintaining the highest standards of
quality in work produced; and allocating appropriate resources to respond to
large volumes of services provided. The Project Director shall demonstrate
successful experience in managing personnel to accomplish required tasks and
in addressing deficiencies and problems in a timely and effective manner.
The Project Director also shall have a baccalaureate degree. The Project
Director shall devote an adequate amount of time to this contract (at least
60 percent FTE). 

The initial Project Director and all future Project Directors the contractor
hires or assigns to this contract each shall provide a rsum demonstrating
clearly that he or she meets the requirements discussed in the preceding
paragraph. Each rsum also shall demonstrate clearly that each Project
Director's experience and duties relate directly to this SOW's tasks. 

ii. Mid-Level Supervisors

a. At least one mid-level supervisor shall have a baccalaureate degree and
shall be thoroughly knowledgeable about federal student aid programs under
Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. The supervisor(s)
also shall have at least two years' experience answering a variety of highly
technical questions about Title IV programs. 

Each such supervisor and each such future supervisor the contractor hires or
assigns to this contract shall provide a rsum demonstrating clearly that
he or she meets the requirements discussed in the preceding paragraph. Each
rsum also shall demonstrate clearly that each such supervisor's experience
and duties relate directly to this SOW's tasks. 

b. At least one mid-level supervisor shall have a baccalaureate degree; at
least two years' experience as a successful professional technical writer;
the writing skills to produce written materials that are clear, accurate,
grammatically correct, well-organized, and with logically linked sentences
and paragraphs; and the ability to monitor and improve the writing and
editing skills of subordinate staff. 

Each such supervisor and each such future supervisor the contractor hires or
assigns to this contract shall provide a rsum demonstrating clearly that
he or meets the requirements in the preceding paragraph. Each rsum also
shall demonstrate clearly that each such supervisor's experience and duties
relate directly to this SOW's tasks. Each such supervisor shall attach to
the rsum at least three samples of his or her original technical writing.
Each sample shall be at least 1,000 words long. The contractor shall give
these samples to ED for review when ED directs.

iii. Minimum Project Staff 

Each writer on the project staff shall have a baccalaureate degree and at
least one year's experience as a successful professional technical writer.
Each writer the contractor hires or assigns to this contract shall provide a
rsum that demonstrates clearly that he or she meets the requirements just
mentioned and that he or she has the writing skills to produce written
materials that are clear, accurate, grammatically correct, well-organized,
and with logically linked sentences and paragraphs. The rsum also shall
demonstrate clearly that each writer's experience and duties relate directly
to this SOW's tasks. Each writer shall attach to the rsum at least three
samples of his or her original technical writing. Each sample shall be at
least 1,000 words long. The contractor shall give these samples to ED for
review when ED directs.

In addition to this staff, the contractor shall be able to obtain personnel
with diverse qualifications on an as-needed basis.

The contractor's Project Director and mid-level supervisors are key
personnel.

C. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QUASP)

ED will use a QUASP to monitor the contractor's performance. ED will prepare
the QUASP and will update it periodically if ED determines it necessary.
(See the QUASP found elsewhere in this contract.)	 	



IV. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

PHASE A: PLANNING AND PREPARATION


IV.A.1: Defining Project Procedures; Producing a Procedures Manual and a
Quality Control Plan

The contractor shall

a. upon contract award, ensure that the contractor's Project Director shall
review with the COTR all procedures related to the tasks this Statement of
Work specifies. 

b. develop, and submit to ED, a complete Procedures Manual (Manual) the
contractor shall use in achieving the contract's objectives. ED will review
and approve the Manual before the contractor's staff shall use it. Once ED
has approved the Manual, the contractor shall implement it. The Plan's
supplements and revisions become ED's property. The contractor shall prepare
the Manual in loose-leaf format to fit into a ringed binder.

c. produce a final version of the Quality Control Plan (Plan) the contractor
produced as part of its proposal. The contractor shall prepare the Plan in
loose-leaf format to fit into a ringed binder. The final Plan shall ensure
that quality control procedures are in place throughout the life of the
contract. Once ED has approved the Plan, the contractor shall implement it.

The contractor's plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. an inspection system covering all contract services. This system shall
specify contract services the contractor shall inspect on scheduled and
unscheduled bases and shall specify the individuals who shall do the
inspections. The inspection system shall cover all equipment, all processes,
and all products and shall describe how the contractor shall remedy problems.

2. a description of the relationship between overall work flow and quality
control activities. The Plan shall identify quality control stations-points
in the work flow where the contractor performs quality control activities
and measurements-and shall identify those who shall perform the quality
control activities and measurements. The Plan also shall describe how the
contractor performs quality control activities at the various stations. 

3. a description of how the contractor collects quality control performance
data. The Plan also shall describe internal reporting procedures and
procedures for reporting to ED on quality control.

4. a method of identifying deficiencies in the quality of services before
the level of performance becomes unacceptable. The Plan shall include the
provision that the contractor shall assign to other tasks those staff
members falling short of standards this contract prescribes. The contractor
shall give this staff additional training until the staff can meet contract
standards. The Plan also shall ensure the contractor provides properly
trained and fully successful replacement staff.


IV.A.2: Participating In, and Providing, Training

The contractor shall

a. participate in training that ED and/or ED-provided trainers will conduct
concerning the contract's provisions. The training shall include, but not be
limited to, one session of approximately five working days. ED's topics for
training will include, but not be limited to, information about Title IV
student aid programs and ED data bases, high quality correspondence
responses, and control mail response packages. ED will designate resource
persons to assist the contractor in understanding OSFAP procedures. The
contractor shall bill ED only for staff labor hours (at labor rates this
contract specifies) for participating in training that ED and/or ED-provided
trainers conduct. The contractor also shall bill for the cost of preparing
ED information to disseminate to contractor staff unable to receive ED
training, but only if ED and/or ED-provided trainers do not prepare such
information.

b. ensure its project staff and mid-level supervisory staff are well-versed
in the Title IV student aid programs by the start of Phase B. The contractor
shall ensure that its staff absorbs ED materials listed in Section J and all
other materials ED might provide during Phase A that supplement, or update,
materials Section J lists. The contractor shall measure the effectiveness of
its Title IV training by administering to the contractor's project staff and
mid-level supervisory staff pre- and post-tests the contractor shall develop
and score. The COTR will approve these tests before the contractor shall
administer them. The COTR also will review the test results. The
contractor's Project Director shall review the test results to ascertain the
need for additional training and testing. 

c. read sample correspondence ED will supply from correspondence files and
prepare complete, accurate, and clear responses to those samples as practice
for Phase B. In preparing responses, the contractor shall use ED's current
standard paragraphs and form letters that ED will provide, as well as
original writing the contractor shall develop. ED will review the responses
and discuss the results with contractor staff. 

d. ensure that project staff and mid-level supervisory staff receive
training on the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 and are thoroughly
knowledgeable about the Privacy Act by the start of Phase B. The contractor
shall measure the training's effectiveness by administering to the
contractor's staff pre- and post-tests the contractor shall develop and
score. The COTR will approve these tests before the contractor shall
administer them. The COTR also will review the test results. The
contractor's Project Director shall review the test results to ascertain the
need for additional training and testing. 


IV.A.3: Installing and Testing Equipment to Ensure Successful Contract
Operation

The contractor shall

a. by the end of Phase A, have installed and completely tested all equipment
necessary to ensure the successful performance of this contract. Such
equipment shall include, but not be limited to, all necessary internal
software. 

b. identify the equipment the contractor needs for "read only" access to
ED's data bases. ED's current data bases are

1. Central Processing System (CPS). This system is ED's applicant data base
and contains information about students who have applied for Title IV aid
via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The contractor
shall use this system to answer questions about FAFSA data and student
eligibility.

2. Recipient and Financial Management System (RFMS). The contractor shall
use this system's data to answer inquiries about past and present Federal
Pell Grant awards made to students. 

3. Postsecondary Education Participants System (PEPS). This system is
OSFAP's management information system, containing data about postsecondary
institutions. The contractor shall use this data base to answer requests for
financial aid transcripts (see IV.B.10). The PEPS system has replaced the
Institutional Data System (IDS). It is possible, however, that one IDS
subsystem might still be operational at the beginning of Phase A; if so, the
contractor also shall access the Default Management (Federal Family
Education Loan [FFEL]) Subsystem, which provides the ability to identify
schools with unacceptable student loan default rates. (ED does not allow
schools to participate in Title IV programs if the student loan default rate
of students who have graduated exceeds certain rates.) The contractor shall
respond to inquiries about a school's eligibility to participate in Title IV
programs.

4. National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The NSLDS is a national data
base of information about individual federal student loans and about other
Title IV financial aid. ED uses NSLDS to pre-screen applications for Title
IV aid, to support a variety of research functions aimed at improving
program administration and student aid delivery, and to improve the
efficiency of some aspects of the Title IV Delivery System through the
application of automation and standardization. The contractor shall use this
system to obtain information about student eligibility and student loan
status.

5. Debt Management and Collection System (DCS)

i. Collections Subsystem. This subsystem consists of a series of on-line
screens (available to loan collectors and researchers) that display data for
use in communicating with debtors and updating collection activity on
accounts. The contractor shall use these screens to retrieve account-level
information for a specific debtor and determine the composition of debt
types included in the debtor's account. In this way, the contractor shall
ascertain whether an inquirer has a file on this subsystem, that is, whether
DCS holds the inquirer's loan; if so, the contractor shall return that
inquiry to ED. If ED does not hold the debtor's loan(s), the contractor
shall use this subsystem to obtain information about the debtor's account
and shall use that information in preparing responses. 

ii. IRS Offset Subsystem. This subsystem identifies defaulted accounts that
ED can certify, via magnetic tape, to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to
include in the IRS Federal Tax Refund Offset Program. Through this program,
ED provides certified debts that the IRS can collect by offsetting the
debtor's federal income tax refund, thereby reducing the outstanding balance
due ED. The contractor shall use this subsystem to verify that a loan is in
default and to determine who holds the loan-a guaranty agency or ED. The
contractor also shall use this subsystem to determine if a student loan
borrower's federal income tax has been offset.

This subsystem also receives data from guarantee agencies so that their
defaulted loans can be included in the certification process. Guarantee
agency data are merged with ED records for certification to IRS. Offset
information the IRS returns is then extracted and disseminated to the
appropriate guarantee agencies.

iii. Research Subsystem. The Research Subsystem provides access to
individual account and debt level information through online, menu-driven,
query functions. The screens included in this subsystem allow users to view
past, current, and projected financial information. The screens provide
information such as debts owed, payments and other financial transactions
applied to accounts, the method of applying these financial transactions,
addresses that have been updated, data related to the program history of
specific debts, account payoff amounts, and a history of collection agency
referrals. The contractor shall use this information to answer questions
about student loan accounts.

6. ED's Web Site. ED's web site (www.ed.gov) is an electronic source of
information including, but not limited to, OSFAP regulations, news
bulletins, Dear Colleague letters, other policy issuances, and other OSFAP
program information. The contractor shall use ED's web site to obtain
updated student aid information. (The direct address for updated information
is ifap.ed.gov.)

c. know what equipment ED will provide the contractor to connect with the
data bases IV.A.3.b describes.

1. The primary means of communication with ED's data bases will be via the
Internet or remote dialin to ED's Virtual Data Center (VDC) in Meridan,
Connecticut. All electronic mail to and from ED will occur via the Internet.
Alternatively, ED might furnish the contractor with either a remote dialin
of sufficient bandwidth or with a WITS or FTS2000 data circuit. However, the
contractor would have to conduct a traffic/bandwidth analysis and provide it
to ED before ED would agree to provide a dedicated service of any type. 

If ED does provide a data circuit, it will connect into the contractor's
network with a 10/100 MB ethernet connection. All equipment ED provides will
be self-contained in a 19-inch rack mount cabinet; ED will be responsible
only for the 24 x 7 operations of the data path. (Again, ED will provide
this arrangement only if remote access via the Internet or remote dialin is
not sufficient.) Due to security concerns, the contractor shall have its
connections to the Internet secured with the use of an active "firewall"
product (see IV.B.4 for more information about security requirements).   

2. The network standard protocol ED uses is TCP/IP. Connections to mainframes
use TN3270/TN3270E. For routing TCP/IP, ED's standard routers are Cisco
routers. Office automation servers are Windows NT. All data passed to and from ED's computer systems will use TIV WAN standard data compression software, COM-PRESS. All systems connecting with ED's computer resources shall be Year 2000 compliant. Desktop workstations' client software and operating systems shall be Microsoft clients that are Year 2000 compliant also. ED will not use or support Microsoft Disk Operating System (DOS), Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11, or Windows for Workgroups.

3. ED's Postsecondary Education Participants System (PEPS) uses a remote
connectivity software called "REACHOUT" (by Stac Electronics) to communicate
with a remote client. Through the remote client, the user may gain access
via the Oracle Forms and Oracle Reports application. Currently, ED provides
only remote dialup access; ED does not provide toll free numbers.   

d. ensure it uses, at a minimum, the following software to connect to ED's
data bases:


1. a TN3270 emulator like Attachmate's Extra! for Windows to communicate
with all of ED's "legacy" systems with which the contractor shall be
concerned (that is, with the Central Processing System, Recipient and
Financial Management System, National Student Loan Data System, and Debt
Management and Collection System). 


2. a remote connectivity software called "REACHOUT" (by Stac Electronics) to
communicate with ED's Postsecondary Education Participants System. 


e. upon contract award, specify in writing the data circuit requirements to
connect its office into ED's Frame Relay network. 


f. provide a network drawing of the contractor's existing network
connections, depicting clearly the contractor's existing network layout and
showing all external connections, routers/bridges and internal servers
connected to the contractor's network. The contractor shall identify TCP/IP
addresses with each network device. 


g. be responsible for its own internal connections, connections to any of
its subcontractors, and Internet connections. 


h. specify in writing router port requirements. 


i. have in place a firewall for Internet access and shall employ, for its
connection to ED, a firewall the National Computer Security Association has
certified.


j. to access ED's web site, have Internet access through an Internet Service
Provider and a standard web browser. (ED's current external Internet browser
standard is Netscape 3.01 with the strong encryption key [128 bit]).


k. use basic office equipment to carry out this contract's functions
including, but not limited to


1. computers and printers sufficient to handle the correspondence and
editorial support tasks this contract requires. The contractor shall be able
to furnish documents in Macintosh versions of software that ED will specify.
At the time ED gives an assignment to the contractor, ED might specify that
the contractor shall produce a document involving a specific type of
software. Also, ED reserves the right to require the contractor to create
products involving as-yet-undeveloped software. Text and layout programs ED
currently uses include, but are not limited to, Microsoft Word, PageMaker,
DeltaGraph, FreeHand, Photoshop, and Illustrator. 


2. at least one microfiche reader with printing capability for use as needed
to handle inquiries that require examining individual applicant records. The
microfiche reader(s) shall be capable of handling microfiche measuring
approximately 4 1/2 inches x 5 3/4 inches or the metric equivalent.


3. at least one image workstation to access images of the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), that is, to read actual completed FAFSAs
that federal student aid applicants have submitted to ED. 


4. at least one photocopying machine necessary to perform this contract's
work.


5. at least one paper shredder to destroy confidential information. 


6. at least one facsimile machine.


7. at least one date-stamp machine.


IV.A.4: Meeting Security Requirements

The contractor shall 

a. ensure that the local network used for this contract complies with the
security requirements in ED's Information Technology Security Program (ITSP)
Manual and, where applicable, ED's Information Technology Security Manual.
The contractor also shall comply with procedures in the following documents:

1. U. S. Department of Education Standards

* "U.S. Department of Education Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Technical
Control Handbook"

* "U.S. Department of Education Regulation 34"

* "U.S. Department of Education Personnel Security-Suitability Program,
	 	Handbook #11" 

2. Congressional Laws

* The "Privacy Act of 1974" (Public Law [PL] 93-579) 

* The "Freedom of Information Act of 1974" (PL 93-502)

* The "Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1983" (PL 97-255)

* The "Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986" (PL 99-474)

* The "Computer Security Act of 1987" (PL 100-235)

3. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars

* OMB Circular No. A-130, Appendix III, "Security of Federal Automated 
	Information Systems"	

* OMB Circular No. 90-08, "Guidance for Preparation of Security Plans for
	 	Federal Computer Systems that Contain Sensitive Information"

4. Federal Information Processing Publications (FIPS PUBS)

* FIPS PUB 41, "Computer Security Guidelines for Implementing the Privacy
Act of 1974"

* FIPS PUB 83, "Guidelines on User Authentication Techniques for Computer 
Network Access Control"

* FIPS PUB 87, "Guidelines for ADP Contingency Planning"

* FIPS PUB 112, "Password Usage"

* FIPS PUB 113, "Computer Data Authentication"

b. ensure that its systems security safeguards contain measures concerning

1. telecommunications, encryption, and firewalls-the contractor shall
provide effective security measures to protect from unauthorized access the
contracting local system used to access ED data bases. The contractor shall
encrypt telecommunication lines that transmit sensitive data.

2. identification and authorization-the contractor shall ensure that the
contracting local security system used to access ED data bases provides
adequate user identification and authorization functionality. Identification
shall be unique to each user, and the security contracting local system used
 to access ED data bases shall limit users to only those classes of
information or system access the users need to do their jobs. 

3. passwords-in accordance with FIPS PUB 112, "Password Usage," the
following password parameters shall apply for the contracting local system
used to access ED data bases:

i. The security management process the contractor shall use shall be capable
of managing passwords of at least six alphanumeric characters and shall
include at least one numeric value in the character string. The contractor
shall ensure that the password's length and makeup shall not show directly
or indirectly on the log-in device. The contractor shall encrypt all
passwords. The contractor shall be able to change the passwords at least
once every 30 days. If such a change is not possible, the contractor shall
explain why and shall request a waiver of the 30-day requirement. 

ii. The security contracting local system shall notify the user
automatically that his or her password has expired and shall specify the
actions required to obtain a new password. The security contracting local
system shall not allow users to reuse at least three previous passwords.
Once a password expires, the security contracting local system shall lock
the user's account; only the security administrator of the contracting local
system shall be able to reinstate access to the system.

4. sensitive data-the contractor shall ensure that it shall shred sensitive
data in hard copy format when the data are no longer needed. (See IV.B.18.)
When the contractor accesses or produces sensitive data from electronic
media including, but not limited to, ED's data bases, the contractor shall
erase the data to prevent reuse or retrieval once data are no longer needed.
In addition, the contractor shall ensure it prints sensitive data in a
controlled area and shall ensure that persons in the controlled area shall
be authorized to have access to the data being printed. Further, the
contractor shall store all correspondence responses in an archive server,
not on individual work stations, and shall ensure limited access to the
archive server.

5. audit-the contractor shall provide an operating contracting local system
(used to access ED data bases) that supports a security management audit
trail. The system shall record, at a minimum, log-on attempts and failures
and applicable commands or other related user activity. The contractor shall
store the audit trail in the contracting local system used to access ED data
bases or on tape. The contractor shall protect the audit trail from
unauthorized access, modification, and destruction. The audit trail shall be
completely recoverable without data loss.

c. implement effective physical security safeguards to ensure the protection
of ED assets including, but not limited to, computer facilities, equipment,
data, and personnel. The contractor shall provide security 24 hours a day.
The contractor shall ensure that a controlled, limited-access environment
exists in all areas where government data are maintained including, but not
limited to, off-site storage facilities. 

The contractor shall comply with the facility security requirements in the
ITSP Manual. 

d. ensure it complies with ED's clearance requirements and procedures (as
explained below) for all contractor and subcontractor personnel
participating in designing, operating, and maintaining this contract. This
compliance requirement applies to contractor and subcontractor personnel
having access to facilities where ED data are serviced or stored.
Requirements for personnel checks that these policies impose vary with the
sensitivity of the data each employee handles and with the risk and
magnitude of loss or harm associated with the type of position and access
each employee has.

1. Personnel Clearance Requirements

i. The COTR is responsible for identifying by name all contract personnel
and the contract labor categories of those contract personnel requiring
access to ED systems. The COTR will ensure required paperwork is properly
completed, reviewed for accuracy, and submitted to ED promptly before any
contract employee works on sensitive parts of the contract.

ii. Contract personnel assigned to duties under this contract might be
subject to ED investigation. ED's investigation might include, but not be
limited to, the following:

* Investigation of criminal record
* Checking references on previous employment

* Checking for defaulted student loans
* Previous security clearances

iii. After reviewing the position duties for this contract and related
system access, if any, ED will assign the appropriate clearance levels for
contractor personnel. Each security level has limitations on when a person
may begin contract tasks after submitting the proper clearance packages.

2. Clearance Procedures

i. Contractor and subcontractor personnel shall complete and submit the
required government forms based on level of clearance and job performed. A
definition of the security levels follows:

a) High Risk (Level 6C)-High risk positions are those having potential for
exceptionally serious impact because they involve duties especially critical
to ED (for example, Project Director and security administrator).

b) Moderate Risk (Level 5C)-Moderate risk positions are those having the
potential for moderate to serious impact (for example, persons who are
responsible for directing, planning, designing, operating, or maintaining
computer systems). 

c) Low Risk (Level 1C)-Low-risk positions are those requiring access to
computer systems (for example, application programmers).

d) Non-Disclosure Statement Positions (NS)-Depending on job responsibility
and related limited systems access, signed copies of the "Privacy Act
Statement" and "Declaration for Federal Employment" (OF-306) might be the
only forms required. Individuals in this category perform duties that are
closely monitored and supervised to ensure risk is limited (for example,
data entry and documentation specialist).

ii. Should ED not require a contractor or subcontractor employee to undergo
a background security screening, the following events shall occur:

a) ED must be confident that the contractor has adequate administrative and
internal security controls in place to protect ED assets and information.

(1) Internal System Controls: In the process of defining positions
personnel, the contractor shall establish controls such as "least
privilege," "separation of duties," and "individual accountability." "Least
privilege" refers to granting contractor employees only the access to
facilities and to ED systems needed to perform official duties. "Separation
of duties" refers to dividing roles and responsibilities so that a single
individual cannot subvert or control critical processes. "Individual
accountability" refers to holding individual users responsible for their
actions. Behavior on all the systems shall be according to established rules.

(2) Internal system controls shall address the requirements indicated in the
ITSP Manual and OMB Circular A-130, Appendix III. The contractor shall
identify in its Security Plan these controls and their functionality.

iii. The contractor shall complete the required clearance forms, as follows:

Form Title Copies High  (6C) Moderate (5C) Low  (1C) NS OF- 306 Declaration
for Federal Employment

2*

X

X

X

X
NS
Non-Disclosure/Privacy Act Statement

1

X

X

X

X
SF-85P
Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions

2*

X

X


SF-85
Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions

2*



X

FD-258
Fingerprint Card
1
X
X
X


* Original and one copy
 
iv. The following steps are required for submitting employee clearance
documents, once clearance levels are established for the various contract
positions and the COTR has approved them.

a) The contractor's employees without previous clearance shall complete the
required forms, as shown in the above table, based on the defined labor
categories. (Note: Every employee must complete the Non-Disclosure/Privacy
Act Statement and the OF 306.)

(1) The contractor shall describe each applicant's various labor categories
in sufficient detail to allow the COTR to decide which categories of
employees need authorization for system access and, once employees have
access, which would have the need or ability to bypass specific security
controls. The ability and capability to bypass specific security controls is
a major factor in determining any security clearance level.

(2) The COTR will require applicants for system access to fill out a
Non-Disclosure/Privacy Act Statement and an OF 306. 

(3) The COTR will check each applicant's name and Social Security Number for
defaulted student loans. If ED identifies the applicant as being in default,
the COTR will forward the information to the Debt Collection Service for
appropriate action. If ED identifies the applicant as suitable for system
access, ED then will determine the level of each applicant's access.

b) The contractor's managers with current (non-departmental) or previous
clearances (including departmental), who are required to obtain a clearance
for employment on this contract, shall complete a letter, on contractor
letterhead, that provides
	
Employee's full name			  Date and place of birth
Social Security Number		 	  Type and level of security clearance
Employer name (at time of investigation)  Date of investigation
Contract number				  Agency completing the investigation
		
c) Contractor employees with current or previous clearances who require
upgrades due to changes in labor categories or system access shall provide
additional paperwork, if necessary. The COTR will take the issue to the
Computer Security Officer (CSO) for a ruling and a decision on what, if any,
action is necessary.

d) If ED denies a required security clearance, the contractor employee shall
be ineligible for assignment on this contract.

v. When the contractor removes employees from contract positions for any
reason, the contractor shall

a) revoke all access authorizations and notify the COTR, within one working
day, of the removal date and termination date. If termination is for cause,
the contractor shall immediately revoke system access and follow up by
notifying the COTR. 	 b) retrieve all keys, card keys, and badges
allowing access to system facilities. 	 c) ensure terminated employees no
longer have access to sensitive areas.

d) review with the departing employee the obligation to protect system, and
ED Privacy Act, data and information.

e. submit a Security Plan (Plan) that meets all applicable ADP security
requirements outlined in the ITSP Manual. The contractor shall prepare the
Plan in loose-leaf format to fit into a ringed binder. The contractor shall
submit one copy of the Plan to the COTR and one copy to the Contracting
Officer.

The contractor shall implement the Plan, once ED has approved it, to ensure
that security and Privacy Act requirements are maintained. The Plan shall
include controls the contractor has established or must develop to maintain
information integrity, availability, and confidentiality, as these apply to
the contractor's system. 

The contractor shall prepare the Plan according to the ITSP Manual and OMB
Bulletin 90-08. 

1. The contractor's Plan shall have, at a minimum, the following sections:

* Introduction 
* Computer Security Overview  Computer Security Management
Approach
* Computer Operations
* Data Communication Operations
* Operating System Security
* Disaster Recovery Planning
* Contingency Planning
* Security Auditability

2. Additionally, the Plan shall incorporate facility layouts, drawings and
inspections, and procedures.

f. prepare a Disaster Recovery Plan (Plan) for ED's review and approval. The
contractor shall prepare the Plan in loose-leaf format to fit into a ringed
binder. The contractor shall give one copy of the final version of the Plan
to the Contracting Officer and one to the COTR. The contractor shall
implement the Plan, once ED has approved it, to ensure that services and
functions will continue even if a major disaster renders a key operational
facility unusable.

The contractor shall prepare the Plan according to the guidelines and
procedures in FIPS Pub 87, "Guidelines for ADP Contingency Planning."

1. Contingency Planning

i. The contractor shall include, at a minimum

a) procedures for responding to each type of disaster.

b) emergency response actions for the central site.

c) backup operations.

d) recovery operations-recovery operations shall include sufficient
information to assure ED that at least 25 percent of the services under the
ESC shall be restored within one working day, at least 50 percent of those
services shall be restored within three working days, and 100 percent of
those services shall be restored within five working days.       

ii. In addition, the plan shall fully document the following:

a) possible alternate-site location(s)

b) procedures to move to the alternate site

c) procedures to demonstrate successfully the possible alternate site(s) and 
the site's ability to support the ESC requirements

2. System Backup/Disaster Recovery

i. The contractor shall provide the hardware, software, and procedure for
reliable backup and restoration of data stored. Specific requirements for
data backup/recovery are as follows:

a) The backup system shall be able to fully back up/restore ESC data files
in less than one hour.

b) The backup system shall be able to restore single and multiple files.

c) Backup software shall provide extensive error correction and detection.
	 

ii. The contractor shall back up files incrementally on daily, weekly, and
monthly bases. The contractor shall keep daily backups for at least a week,
shall keep weekly backups for at least a month, and shall keep monthly
backups for at least a year. The contractor shall provide off-site storage
of all backup data.


PHASE B: PRODUCTION

IV.B.1: Answering Control Correspondence

The contractor shall

a. no sooner than two months after the date of Phase B startup, begin
reviewing all correspondence the contractor retrieves from the Training and
Program Information Division's (TPID's) correspondence pickup box-currently
located in Room 3013, Regional Office Building 3 (ROB-3), 7th and D Streets,
SW, Washington, DC-or from another location(s) ED might designate. 

1. The contractor shall determine whether the subject matter is appropriate
for TPID or whether the correspondence shall go to another ED office, ED
contractor, federal agency, or another entity for response. If the
contractor determines any entity other than TPID must respond, the
contractor shall return the correspondence to the COTR, adding a notation to
the correspondence indicating why the contractor is unable to respond.

2. The contractor shall forward, or return, original documents the
correspondence might contain. 

i. The contractor shall forward original FAFSAs and SARs to ED's Central
Processing System (to an address ED will provide), as long as ED's
processing deadline has not passed (that deadline is August 31 each year).
The contractor shall indicate in the response the contractor prepares that
the FAFSA and/or SAR has been forwarded. If the deadline has passed, the
contractor shall include, as part of the response package the contractor
prepares (see IV.B.1.o), the original FAFSAs and SARs and shall explain in
the response why the materials are being returned. 

ii. The contractor shall return to the COTR all other personal documents the
correspondence might contain. The contractor also shall return to the COTR
any correspondence containing checks, plus the checks themselves.

Although the contractor shall not begin screening correspondence sooner than
two months after the date of Phase B startup, the contractor shall begin
preparing responses to correspondence immediately on the date of Phase B
startup.

b. use a date-stamp machine to record, on the correspondence tracking sheet,
the date the contractor receives each piece of control correspondence. 

c. contact a congressional office (for congressional correspondence) or the
inquirer (when the correspondence is not from a member of Congress) when the
following circumstances occur simultaneously: The correspondence does not
contain, or is unclear about, information necessary to prepare a complete,
accurate response, and the situation is of sufficient urgency to warrant
contacting the appropriate party to obtain that information in the most
expeditious way possible (including, but not limited to, using the
telephone). Due to Privacy Act considerations, however, the contractor shall
not use electronic mail (e-mail) to obtain information.

1. Examples of necessary information the correspondence might not contain
include, but are not limited to, the inquirer's or-in the case of
correspondence from a member of Congress-the constituent's Social Security
Number, date of birth, loan type, and school attended. Another example is
congressional correspondence that does not contain a properly authorized
Privacy Act release form, allowing a Congressperson (or his or her
constituent) to receive information on a student's behalf. 

2. A situation of sufficient urgency includes, but is not limited to, an
inquirer who needs, by a certain date, information about student financial
aid or a resolution to a student financial aid problem. (For example, an aid
applicant might have a problem with his or her Student Aid Report [SAR], and
the SAR deadline is soon approaching; the inquirer needs to submit the SAR
by the deadline.) Another example of sufficient urgency is a politically
sensitive letter; in such a case, ED will direct the contractor to reply
quickly in a particular situation. 

3. If a congressional office sends ED the inquiry, the contractor shall
contact the congressional office to obtain the necessary information. If the
White House refers the inquiry, or if the inquirer writes ED directly, the
contractor shall contact the inquirer directly. If the contractor chooses to
use the telephone as the method of contact, and the inquirer does not
include his or her telephone number, the contractor shall call directory
assistance to obtain the inquirer's telephone number. If the contractor
cannot obtain the correct number from directory assistance, the contractor
shall reply to the inquirer in writing.

4. When the contractor makes a contact as described in this task, the
contractor shall prepare a summary of the information the contractor
obtained. The contractor shall include that summary as part of the
response's file box copy. (Section J makes available a sample file box
copy.) The contractor's summary shall contain legible, easily comprehensible
information including, but not limited to, the correspondence control
number; the date the contractor obtained the information; from whom the
contractor obtained the information; and a description of the information
the contractor gathered.

5. In cases such as, but not limited to, the SAR deadline situation
described in paragraph 2 above, the contractor shall respond by telephone in
place of a written response when a telephone response can answer the inquiry
completely. The contractor shall first check with the COTR to determine
whether a telephone response is sufficient. When the contractor responds by
telephone instead of by written response, the contractor shall summarize
information about the telephone conversation(s). The summary shall contain
legible, easily comprehensible information including, but not limited to,
the correspondence control number, the person(s) to whom the contractor's
staff spoke, the response the contractor's staff gave the inquirer, and the
date(s) the contractor's staff made the call(s). The contractor shall attach
the summary to the incoming correspondence and return both to ED.

d. access, when necessary, the Central Processing System (CPS) to determine
what information a student has reported on his or her Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The contractor also shall be able to access an
image of the FAFSA. The contractor shall access the CPS in situations that
include, but are not limited to, the inquirer's asking about a processing
delay or stating that his or her FAFSA has been processed incorrectly and
thus contains incorrect information. The contractor shall include in the
response the information the contractor found when accessing this data base. 

1. When answering correspondence from an inquirer questioning the amount of
federal student aid received (or why he or she received no aid), the
contractor shall include with the response's file box copy certain printouts
of the FAFSA transaction screen currently called, "Financial and
Miscellaneous Screen." The contractor shall include all such screen
printouts for all FAFSA transactions relevant to preparing a complete,
accurate response. The contractor shall include all appropriate FAFSA
transactions not only from the current award year but also from relevant
previous award years. The contractor shall continue this process if ED
renames the FAFSA transaction screen or provides the information in some
other electronic format.

2. Contractor staff who review a student aid applicant's record and discuss
it with anyone shall enter a notation on the data base telephone log line
describing to whom the staff spoke and what the staff discussed.

e. generate a request, through the CPS, to send a duplicate Student Aid
Report (SAR) to an inquirer who states he or she did not receive a SAR, but
shall do so only when the contractor can tell that at least four weeks have
passed since the inquirer submitted a FAFSA. 

f. when necessary to prepare complete, accurate responses, access one or
more of the other ED data bases IV.A.3.b describes. The contractor shall
include in its responses all relevant information the contractor finds when
accessing one or more of these data bases. 

g. calculate accurately a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) when
the inquirer (or inquirer's parent) does not understand why the inquirer is
not eligible for federal student financial assistance or believes the
assistance is not adequate. In preparing the calculation, the contractor
shall use worksheets ED will provide. The contractor shall include the
correct EFC calculation as part of the completed response. 

h. conduct research, when necessary, to answer completely and accurately all
issues and questions in correspondence including, but not limited to,
correspondence involving casework. (See Section III A 1 iv of this SOW for a
description of requirements for preparing casework responses; that section's
language is incorporated into this task by reference.) In evaluating its
research findings, the contractor shall determine accurately whether it
needs to do more research. If, in preparing any final response, the
contractor realizes it needs to do more research to prepare a complete,
accurate response, the contractor shall conduct all necessary followup
research before submitting any final response to ED. As part of the
response's file box copy, the contractor shall include legible and easily
comprehensible evidence of the research findings so that ED can compare the
facts the contractor has uncovered with the completed response.

The contractor shall use its best judgment to obtain complete, accurate
information in the most expeditious way possible including, but not limited
to, using the telephone, facsimile machine, the Internet, and all other
state-of-the-art technology.

i. summarize briefly and accurately in the response's first paragraph the
major issues the correspondence contains. 

j. prepare complete, accurate, and clear responses. A "complete" response
addresses each issue and each question in the current correspondence and,
when relevant, incorporates all information from appropriate prior
correspondence (see IV.B.1.v). An "accurate" response contains no
typographical and spelling errors and no errors of fact or omission. A
"clear" response links all sentences and all paragraphs so that the response
presents information logically and smoothly with no confusion and ambiguity.
The contractor shall ensure correct grammar and principles of clear writing
as specified in the most current college edition of The American Heritage
Dictionary (and other dictionaries ED might require the contractor to use in
the future), Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, The Chicago Manual of
Style (14th edition and any subsequent editions), Words Into Type (12th
edition and any subsequent editions), and other writing guides ED might
require the contractor to use including, but not limited to, ED-developed
style guides. (See IV.B.4.) Section III A 1 iv of this SOW provides
additional information about what ED expects in its responses; that
section's language is incorporated into this task by reference. In preparing
responses, the contractor also shall follow ED preferences, defined as
instructions UNIQUE TO ED that do NOT involve the good grammar principles,
good writing principles, and other instructions contained in all
dictionaries and guides ED might require the contractor to follow.

k. conduct quality control checks-before responses reach ED for review-to
ensure responses are complete, accurate, and clear, according to the
principles in paragraph j above. Mid-level supervisors shall ensure the
contractor's writing staff sees, and learns from, all changes resulting from
quality control checks.

l. prepare responses using the approved signature block of the correct ED
official (Secretary; Assistant Secretary; Chief Operating Officer; Director,
Training and Program Information Division [Division Director]); and the
approved signature block of other ED officials when ED directs. The tracking
sheet attached to the correspondence shows the title of the official for
whom the contractor shall prepare the response. The contractor shall store
and use the correct ED stationery that ED will supply. For Division Director
letters and, when ED directs, for letters for other officials, the
contractor shall use the correct scanned-in signature ED will provide. 

m. enclose all information materials relevant to the issues and inquiries in
the correspondence. Information materials include, but are not limited to,
ED student aid publications, the FAFSA, ED fact sheets, and Title IV
regulations. The contractor shall include such materials whenever the
correspondence contains general questions about federal student aid
including, but not limited to, what types of federal student aid exist, how
to apply for federal student aid, why the inquirer did not receive federal
student aid (or why he or she did not receive sufficient aid), whether the
inquirer can receive deferments or forbearance on federal student loans, and
what options are available to repay defaulted federal student loans. The
contractor shall explain in the response what materials are enclosed. The
contractor shall bill ED for including materials with completed responses
only under this sub-task and shall not also bill under IV.B.12.

n. in the following cases, provide completed responses on PC-formatted disks
(in addition to hard copy) and in IBM-compatible format: when the contractor
prepares responses for the Secretary's signature and, when ED directs, when
the contractor prepares certain responses for the Assistant Secretary's
signature. 

o. prepare a response package, enclose all parts of that package in either a
red or a dark blue pocket folder (unless ED later approves different colors
or different methods of furnishing responses), and send each folder to ED.
The contractor shall forward to ED in red pocket folders all responses
prepared for signature above the Division Director level (that is, responses
prepared for the Secretary, Assistant Secretary, or Chief Operating
Officer). The contractor shall forward to ED in dark blue pocket folders (1)
responses prepared for the Division Director's signature (which will be the
vast majority of responses) and (2) responses prepared for other ED
officials when ED directs. The contractor shall supply all pocket folders. 
	 1. A response package shall consist of 

i. the written response to the inquirer prepared on the appropriate
ED-supplied stationery. 

ii. an 8 1/2 inch x 11 inch (or metric equivalent) clear, plastic cover
labeled "Executive Correspondence" (that ED will supply), placed over the
original response. 

iii. the correct number of copies of the response correctly marked with the
name of each copy's recipient in the upper right hand corner of page one of
the copy.

iv. correct information materials as described in IV. B.1.m.

v. an ED-franked envelope of a size suitable to the contents being mailed
(size 4 inches x 9 1/2 inches or 9 1/2 inches x 12 inches or their metric
equivalents). ED will supply all envelopes. The 4 inch x 9 1/2 inch envelope
will be a window envelope, and the inquirer's correct address shall be
completely and clearly visible through the window. The 9 1/2 inch x 12 inch
envelope shall show the inquirer's complete and correct address. 

The contractor shall assemble the response package properly (see Section J). 

2. The contractor shall place the following information on the front of each
response package folder: the last name of the member of Congress (if any)
who has sent the correspondence on behalf of a constituent, followed by the
last name of the constituent (or of the inquirer, if no member of Congress
is involved), followed by the correspondence control number, followed by the
due date from the correspondence tracking sheet. The contractor shall ensure
that all information is legible and contained in an area measuring no larger
than 3 inches x 2 inches (or the metric equivalent). 

p. forward to ED completed responses within three working days after the
contractor receives the correspondence. For example, if the contractor
receives correspondence on Monday, the contractor shall return the completed
response to ED no later than Thursday, assuming that all four days are work
days. (For responses prepared in languages other than English, see IV.B.8.) 

ED establishes the following exceptions to turnaround times when the
contractor conducts research to prepare responses:

1. If preparing a complete, accurate response requires the contractor to
conduct research (see IV.B.1.h), the contractor shall complete the response
and return it to ED within six working days after the contractor receives
the correspondence. If, according to the date on the correspondence tracking
sheet, the correspondence is already overdue when the contractor receives
it, the contractor shall first prepare an interim response for the inquirer,
acknowledging the delay, and shall deliver the interim to ED within one
working day after the contractor receives the overdue correspondence. The
final response shall contain, in the first paragraph, a reference to the
fact that the inquirer has already received an interim on this subject.

2. If the contractor cannot complete a response within six working days
after receiving the correspondence because the contractor cannot obtain all
the information necessary from sources within or outside ED, the contractor
shall inform the COTR (within the six-working-day period) about the steps
the contractor has taken to obtain the information and the reasons the
contractor has been unsuccessful. The contractor then shall prepare an
interim response for the inquirer, acknowledging the delay, and shall
deliver the interim to ED within one working day after discussing the
correspondence with the COTR. The contractor then shall have up to four
working days, in addition to the original six working days, to complete the
final response and return it to ED. The final response shall contain, in the
first paragraph, a reference to the fact that the inquirer has already
received an interim on this subject.

q. shall incorporate correctly all ED comments and corrections ED might
provide as the result of reviewing the contractor's responses. Mid-level
supervisors shall ensure the contractor's writing staff sees, and learns
from, the comments and corrections ED makes. If ED has to return
correspondence for the contractor to redo, ED will consider the lapsed time
a contractor-caused delay.   r. re-mail responses, without charging ED
mailing costs, if responses are returned to ED because the contractor erred
in preparing mailing addresses. 

s. return telephone calls from inquirers who have questions and concerns
about responses the contractor has prepared. The contractor shall provide
all appropriate additional information to inquirers. The contractor also
shall prepare and return to ED a legible, easily comprehensible summary of
the results of the contractor's call

t. in response to occasional "write-in" campaigns from the general public
about a particular issue, develop form letter responses with personalized
addresses when ED directs. 

u. prepare responses that require inserting referral data of, but not
restricted to, five lines of text that ED will provide. Examples of such
data include, but are not limited to, ED regional office addresses, ED's
Office of Inspector General address, foreign consulate addresses, and other
federal agencies' addresses. The contractor shall include the insertions in
an otherwise regular control response and shall make sufficient copies of
the response so that ED can send a copy to the referral address, if
appropriate. For some offices outside ED that ED will specify, the
contractor also shall include an envelope of a size suitable to the contents
being mailed; the envelope shall show the referral address. 

v. respond promptly to detailed questions from ED about individual pieces of
correspondence and shall, when ED directs, retrieve from the contractor's
files and forward to ED the complete files for any responses the contractor
has prepared in the preceding two calendar years. The complete file for a
response shall consist of a copy of the incoming correspondence; any related
documentation including, but not limited to, a research summary; and the
outgoing response. The contractor also shall retain in its files, for two
calendar years from the date of contractor receipt, all correspondence
(paper and electronic) the contractor has received from, or that relates to,
an inquirer, even if the contractor did not prepare a response to that
correspondence. 


IV.B.2: Answering Non-Control Correspondence (Paper and Electronic Mail
[E-Mail])

The contractor shall    a. no sooner than two months after the date of Phase
B startup, begin reviewing all correspondence the contractor retrieves from 

* ED's Post Office Box 84, Ben Franklin Station, 12th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

* the Training and Program Information Division's (TPID's) correspondence
pickup box, currently located in Room 3013, Regional Office Building 3
(ROB-3), 7th and D Streets, SW, Washington, DC.

* ED's SFA e-mail box.

* another location(s) ED might designate. 

1. The contractor shall determine whether the subject matter is appropriate
for TPID or whether the correspondence shall go to another ED office, ED
contractor, federal agency, or another entity for response. 

i. If the contractor determines any ED office other than TPID must respond, 

a) the contractor shall redirect paper correspondence by (1) addressing a
messenger envelope with the correct ED office name and room number and (2)
returning the correspondence to TPID via the contractor's courier. The
courier shall place the messenger envelope in TPID's outgoing mail tray in
Room 3013, ROB-3 (or in some future room ED might specify). 

b) the contractor shall redirect e-mails to the appropriate ED e-mail
addresses ED will provide.

ii. If the contractor determines any entity other than an ED office must
reply, the contractor shall return paper correspondence to the COTR and
shall redirect e-mails to ED's SFA e-mail box. The contractor shall add a
notation, to both paper and e-mail correspondence, indicating why the
contractor is unable to respond.

2. The contractor shall refer to the COTR all correspondence the contractor
is unable to answer or refer to another entity. Such correspondence
includes, but is not limited to

i. correspondence that must be converted to control correspondence (examples
include, but are not limited to, correspondence addressed to ED's Chief
Operating Officer or to TPID's Division Director and correspondence of a
politically sensitive nature).

ii. paper correspondence containing original personal documents including,
but not limited to, checks and personal identification materials.

ED might use the P.O. Box 84 address as a central point for receiving
certain correspondence from postsecondary schools or libraries, such as, but
not limited to, answers to ED questionnaires. The contractor also shall
forward such correspondence to the COTR. 

3. Privacy Act restrictions prohibit the contractor from providing certain
information to inquirers via e-mail, including, but not limited to,
applicant and borrower record information. In these cases, the contractor
shall not return such e-mail correspondence to ED but shall send an e-mail
to the inquirer, requesting him or her to resubmit to ED all issues in a
signed letter. 

4. The contractor shall forward original FAFSAs and SARs to ED's Central
Processing System (to an address ED will provide), as long as ED's
processing deadline has not passed (that deadline is August 31 each year).
The contractor shall indicate in the response the contractor prepares that
the FAFSA and/or SAR has been forwarded. If the deadline has passed, the
contractor shall return original FAFSAs and SARs to inquirers with an
appropriate form letter ED will specify.

Although the contractor shall not begin screening correspondence sooner than
two months after the date of Phase B startup, the contractor shall begin
preparing responses to correspondence immediately on the date of Phase B
startup.

b. use a date-stamp machine to record, on each piece of paper
correspondence, the date the contractor receives the correspondence. 

c. contact the inquirer, in certain cases involving paper correspondence
only, to obtain additional information before preparing a response.

1. The contractor shall contact the inquirer when the following
circumstances occur simultaneously: The correspondence does not contain, or
is unclear about, information necessary to prepare a complete, accurate
response, and the situation is of sufficient urgency to warrant contacting
the inquirer to obtain that information in the most expeditious way possible
(including, but not limited to, using the telephone). Due to Privacy Act
considerations, however, the contractor shall not use electronic mail
(e-mail) to obtain information.

i. Examples of necessary information the correspondence might not contain
include, but are not limited to, the inquirer's Social Security Number, date
of birth, loan type, and school attended. Another example is correspondence
that does not contain a properly authorized Privacy Act release form,
allowing an inquirer to receive information on a student's behalf. 

ii. A situation of sufficient urgency includes, but is not limited to, an
inquirer who needs, by a certain date, information about student financial
aid or a resolution to a student financial aid problem. (For example, an aid
applicant might have a problem with his or her Student Aid Report [SAR], and
the SAR deadline is soon approaching; the inquirer needs to submit the SAR
by the deadline.)  

iii. If the contractor chooses to use the telephone as the method of
contact, and the inquirer does not include his or her telephone number in
the correspondence, the contractor shall call directory assistance to obtain
the inquirer's telephone number. If the contractor cannot obtain the correct
number from directory assistance, the contractor shall reply to the inquirer
with a paper response.

2. When the contractor makes a contact as described in this task, the
contractor shall prepare a summary of the information the contractor
obtained. The contractor shall retain that summary as part of the response's
file. The contractor's summary shall contain legible, easily comprehensible
information including, but not limited to, the date the contractor obtained
the information; from whom the contractor obtained the information; and a
description of the information the contractor gathered.

3. In cases such as, but not limited to, the SAR deadline situation
described in paragraph ii above, the contractor shall respond by telephone
in place of a written response when a telephone response can answer the
inquiry completely. When the contractor responds by telephone instead of by
written response, the contractor shall summarize information about the
telephone conversation(s). The summary shall contain legible, easily
comprehensible information including, but not limited to, the person(s) to
whom the contractor's staff spoke, the response the contractor's staff gave
the inquirer, and the date(s) the contractor's staff made the call(s). The
contractor shall retain the summary, the incoming correspondence, and the
completed response in the contractor's non-control correspondence files.

d. access, when necessary, the Central Processing System (CPS) to determine
what information a student has reported on his or her Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The contractor also shall be able to access an
image of the FAFSA. The contractor shall access the CPS in situations that
include, but are not limited to, the inquirer's asking about a processing
delay or stating that his or her FAFSA has been processed incorrectly and
thus contains incorrect information. The contractor shall include in the
response the information the contractor found when accessing this data base. 

All contractor staff who review a student aid applicant's record and discuss
it with anyone shall enter a notation on the data base telephone log line
describing to whom the staff spoke and what the staff discussed.

e. generate a request, through the CPS, to send a duplicate Student Aid
Report (SAR) to an inquirer who states he or she did not receive a SAR, but
shall do so only when the contractor can tell that at least four weeks have
passed since the inquirer submitted a FAFSA. 

f. when necessary to prepare complete, accurate responses, access one or
more of the other ED data bases IV.A.3.b describes. The contractor shall
include in its responses all relevant information the contractor finds when
accessing one or more of these data bases. 

g. calculate accurately a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) when
the inquirer (or inquirer's parent) does not understand why the inquirer is
not eligible for federal student financial assistance or believes the
assistance is not adequate. In preparing the calculation, the contractor
shall use worksheets ED will provide. The contractor shall include the
correct EFC calculation as part of the completed response, which shall be a
paper response. 

h. conduct research, when necessary, to answer completely and accurately all
issues and questions in correspondence including, but not limited to,
correspondence involving casework. (See Section III A 1 iv of this SOW for a
description of requirements for preparing casework responses; that section's
language is incorporated into this task by reference.) In evaluating its
research findings, the contractor shall determine accurately whether it
needs to do more research. If, in preparing any final response, the
contractor realizes it needs to do more research to prepare a complete,
accurate response, the contractor shall conduct all necessary followup
research before sending out any final response. As part of the response's
file, the contractor shall retain legible and easily comprehensible evidence
of the research findings so that ED may compare the facts the contractor has
uncovered with the completed response. 

The contractor shall use its best judgment to obtain complete, accurate
information in the most expeditious way possible including, but not limited
to, using the telephone, using the facsimile machine, the Internet, and all
other state-of-the-art technology.

i. summarize briefly and accurately in the response's first paragraph the
major issues the correspondence contains. 

j. prepare complete, accurate, and clear responses. A "complete" response
addresses each issue and each question in the current correspondence and,
when relevant, incorporates all information from appropriate prior
correspondence (see IV.B.2.s). An "accurate" response contains no
typographical and spelling errors and no errors of fact or omission. A
"clear" response links all sentences and all paragraphs so that the response
presents information logically and smoothly with no confusion and ambiguity.
The contractor shall decide correctly whether a form letter response answers
completely and accurately all issues and questions the correspondence
contains. If not, the contractor shall incorporate standard paragraphs
and/or shall include custom writing the contractor shall develop. The
contractor shall ensure correct grammar and principles of clear writing as
specified in the most current college edition of The American Heritage
Dictionary (and other dictionaries ED might require the contractor to use in
the future), Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, The Chicago Manual of
Style (14th edition and any subsequent editions), Words Into Type (12th
edition and any subsequent editions), and all other writing guides ED might
require the contractor to use including, but not limited to, ED-developed
style guides. (See IV.B.4.) Section III A 1 iv of this SOW provides
additional information about what ED expects in its responses; that
section's language is incorporated into this task by reference. In preparing
responses, the contractor also shall follow ED preferences, defined as
instructions UNIQUE TO ED that do NOT involve the good grammar principles,
good writing principles, and other instructions contained in all
dictionaries and guides ED might require the contractor to follow.

k. conduct quality control checks to ensure responses are complete,
accurate, and clear, according to the principles in paragraph j above. The
contractor shall ensure that it spot checks form letter responses and
reviews all responses containing (1) standard paragraphs the contractor has
incorporated and (2) custom writing the contractor has developed. Mid-level
supervisors shall ensure the contractor's writing staff sees, and learns
from, all changes resulting from quality control checks.

l. for paper correspondence, use the scanned signature of the Director,
Division of Training and Program Information and shall store and use the
correct ED stationery that ED will supply. For e-mail correspondence, the
contractor shall use a standard signature block ED will provide.

m. for paper responses, enclose all information materials relevant to the
issues and inquiries in the correspondence. Information materials include,
but are not limited to, ED student aid publications, the (FAFSA), ED fact
sheets, and Title IV regulations. The contractor shall include such
materials whenever the correspondence contains general questions about
federal student aid including, but not limited to, what types of federal
student aid exist, how to apply for federal student aid, why the inquirer
did not receive federal student aid (or why he or she did not receive
sufficient aid), whether the inquirer can receive deferments or forbearance
on federal student loans, and what options are available to repay defaulted
federal student loans. The contractor shall explain in the response what
materials are enclosed. The contractor shall bill ED for including materials
with completed responses only under this sub-task and shall not also bill
under IV.B.12.

In answering e-mail correspondence, when the contractor determines that ED
materials are necessary, the contractor shall instruct inquirers to obtain
those materials from, when possible, ED's web site (the contractor shall
include web address[es] ED will provide). If materials are not available on
ED's web site, the contractor shall provide the Federal Student Aid
Information Center's toll-free number in the response. 

n. send out completed responses within two working days after the contractor
receives the correspondence. For example, if the contractor receives
correspondence on Monday, the contractor shall send out the completed
response no later than Wednesday, assuming that all three days are work
days. (For responses prepared in languages other than English, see IV.B.8.)
The contractor shall not send preliminary, or interim, responses except in
cases involving research/casework responses for e-mail (see paragraph 1 i
below).

1. ED establishes the following exceptions to turnaround times when the
contractor conducts research to prepare responses:

i. If preparing a complete, accurate response requires the contractor to
conduct research (see IV.B.2.h), the contractor shall send out completed
responses to inquirers within five working days after the contractor
receives the correspondence. For e-mail only, the contractor shall send an
interim response to the inquirer within one working day after the contractor
receives the inquirer's e-mail, explaining that the contractor requires more
than two working days to respond because the contractor is conducting
research. The final e-mail response shall contain, in the first paragraph, a
reference to the fact that the inquirer has already received an interim on
this subject.

ii. If the contractor cannot complete a response within five working days
after receiving the correspondence because the contractor cannot obtain all
the information necessary from sources within or outside ED, the contractor
shall prepare an interim response for the inquirer, acknowledging the delay.
The contractor shall send the interim to the inquirer within one working day
after discovering the contractor needs additional time. The contractor then
shall have up to three working days, in addition to the original five
working days, to send out the final response. The final response shall
contain, in the first paragraph, a reference to the fact that the inquirer
has already received an interim on this subject.

2. For e-mail responses, the contractor shall, when ED directs, forward
electronic courtesy copies and/or blind copies to up to three ED staff
members.

o. for e-mail responses that come back to the contractor as undeliverable
(but solely because of factors the contractor cannot control), send the
response a second time. If the second response comes back to the contractor
as undeliverable, the contractor shall not attempt to send another e-mail
response. If the inquirer included a regular mailing address as part of the
e-mail correspondence, the contractor shall convert the e-mail response to a
paper response and shall mail it to the inquirer. The contractor also shall
keep a record in its files that it tried to send an e-mail response twice
and that both e-mails were undeliverable. 

p. shall prepare and send a revised response to an inquirer if ED discovers
an error of fact or omission when ED does its surveillance of completed
non-control responses. In such cases, the contractor's mid-level supervisors
shall ensure the contractor's writing staff sees, and learns from, the
corrections ED makes. If ED has to return correspondence for the contractor
to redo, ED will consider the lapsed time a contractor-caused delay.

q. re-send responses (and re-send paper responses without charging ED
mailing costs) if responses are returned to ED because the contractor erred
in preparing the mailing address. 

r. return telephone calls from inquirers who have questions and concerns
about responses the contractor has prepared. The contractor shall provide
all appropriate additional information to inquirers.

s. respond promptly to detailed questions from ED about individual pieces of
correspondence and shall, when ED directs, retrieve from the contractor's
files and forward to ED the complete file for any response the contractor
has prepared   1. in the preceding six months, for correspondence NOT
related to application processing concerns. Because the contractor cannot
provide e-mail responses related to application processing concerns (ED
requires a signed letter from the inquirer), the contractor shall retain all
e-mail correspondence for not more than six months.

2. in the preceding two calendar years, for correspondence related to
application processing concerns.

The complete file for a response shall consist of a copy of the incoming
correspondence and a notation of which form letter the contractor used to
respond, if the contractor used a form letter. If the response consisted of
a modified form letter, that is, the contractor incorporated standard
paragraphs and/or custom writing, the complete file shall consist of a copy
of the incoming correspondence; any related documentation including, but not
limited to, a research summary; and the outgoing response.

The contractor also shall retain in its files, for either six months or two
calendar years, as specified above, all correspondence (paper and
electronic) the contractor has received from, or that relates to, an
inquirer, even if the contractor did not prepare a response to that
correspondence. 


IV.B.3: Accessing the Contractor's Data Base(s) and E-Mail History 

The contractor shall

a. establish a data base(s) for all control and non-control correspondence
and ensure ED will access the data base(s) from TPID's site. ED will be able
to read and print out all correspondence and all responses the contractor
has prepared during, at a minimum, the previous six months. (See IV.B.2.s
for retention periods.) 

b. tag or label each non-control response in the data base(s) so that when
ED accesses the data base(s) from TPID's site, ED will distinguish the type
of non-control response the contractor has prepared. The types shall
include, but not be limited to, form letters, interims, custom letters
(involving standard paragraph selection and/or custom writing), and
casework-or research-responses.

c. ensure ED will obtain from the data base(s) all information necessary to
respond to questions on the status of all correspondence received between
the previous six months, at a minimum, and the preceding two calendar years,
at a maximum. (See IV.B.1.v and IV.B.2.s.) 

d. ensure ED will have access to the contractor's data base(s) from 6:00
a.m. through 8:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday-minus any down
time the contractor requires to perform basic maintenance and upgrades to
the contractor's data base(s) and/or network(s). 

e. bill ED for a one-time charge to connect TPID to the contractor's data
base(s) and shall bill ED thereafter only when the contractor corrects
problems and provides necessary upgrades that are solely related to TPID's
connection to the contractor's data base(s). The contractor shall not bill
ED for fixing, upgrading, and maintaining the data base(s) itself.

f. connect TPID to the contractor's data base(s) using the most expeditious
method.

g. ensure that both ED and the contractor have full access to ED's SFA
e-mail box. The contractor shall ensure, at a minimum, that ED staff can
observe, from TPID's site, the date e-mail from the public comes in to the
SFA e-mail box and the date the contractor sends out responses to those
e-mails or refers e-mails to another ED office. The contractor also shall
ensure that ED can read incoming e-mails and their corresponding responses.


IV.B.4: Supplying Staff with Dictionaries and Writing/Style Guides 

The contractor shall supply the following dictionary and writing/style
guides for its writing staff to use: the most current college edition of The
American Heritage Dictionary, (and other dictionaries ED might require in
the future), Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, The Chicago Manual of
Style (14th edition and any subsequent editions), Words Into Type (12th
edition and any subsequent editions), and all other writing guides ED might
require the contractor to use including, but not limited to, ED-developed
style guides. The contractor shall provide sufficient copies of all
dictionaries and guides to ensure a ratio of one set of dictionaries and
guides for every four writers, assuming the writing staff consisted of at
least four persons. The contractor shall bill ED directly for these
dictionaries and guides, except the contractor shall not bill for guides ED
develops for the contractor to use.



IV.B.5: Providing Courier Service 

The contractor shall

a. provide courier service between ED and the contractor's site twice daily,
except on federal holidays and except for other times when ED directs. The
courier service shall pick up from TPID incoming control and non-control
paper correspondence and shall deliver to TPID completed responses. The
courier service also shall deliver to TPID certain misdirected
correspondence (see IV.B.1.a and IV.B.2.a). The courier service also shall
pick up and deliver other materials ED will specify. The contractor shall
ensure that-each working day-the courier shall arrive at ED no later than
10:00 a.m. and shall arrive again between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Pickup and
delivery from TPID shall occur in Room 3013, Regional Office Building 3
(ROB-3), 7th and D Streets, SW, Washington, DC, or in another room ED might
designate in the future. 

b. also pick up non-control correspondence daily at Post Office Box 84, Ben
Franklin Station, 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. This pickup shall
occur either immediately before, or immediately after, the courier's morning
pickup at TPID. 

c. provide an additional courier delivery and pickup on days when ED
notifies the contractor before 1:00 p.m. that ED requires this service. 

d. ensure that all couriers understand completely the pickup and delivery
system and that couriers shall not require instructions from ED staff.


IV.B.6: Preparing Control and Non-Control Correspondence Reports and Other
Reports

The contractor shall

a. provide, on a weekly basis, complete and accurate verbal counts of
control and non-control correspondence answered during the previous week. 

b. provide accurate weekly written counts of all correspondence-control and
non-control-received, pending (including an explanation of why the
correspondence is pending), and completed. Within these broad categories,
the contractor shall provide counts on specific categories of correspondence
including, but not limited to, standard inquiries, e-mails, form letters,
casework, revised responses, P.O. Box 84 correspondence received, ROB-3
correspondence received, and misdirected correspondence. The contractor also
shall include information on correspondence by subject category including,
but not limited to, application processing questions, closed school issues,
defaulted loans, financial aid eligibility, and loan repayment questions. 

c. provide complete and accurate monthly written reports on the number and
types of interim responses prepared, including information such as, but not
limited to, the inquirer's name, the nature of the inquiry, and the reason
the contractor could not complete the responses within the time frames this
SOW specifies (see IV.B.1.p and IV.B.2.m).

d. provide complete monthly written reports about complaints the contractor
observes in correspondence including, but not limited to, complaints about
specific postsecondary institutions, guarantee and service agencies, and the
National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). 

e. provide a monthly report on the results of the contractor's ongoing
quality improvement efforts. Such reports shall include, but not be limited
to, quality improvement efforts in answering control and non-control
correspondence for the previous month. 

f. submit monthly an accurate written inventory of materials that ED is
responsible for providing including, but not limited to, ED materials used
as enclosures and ED materials mailed upon request. 

g. when ED directs, use charts and graphs to illustrate clearly, and
enhance, the reports the contractor prepares. 


IV.B.7: Updating Standard Paragraphs, Form Letters, and Fact Sheets

The contractor shall

a. update annually the existing set of standard paragraphs and fact sheets
used to respond to control and non-control correspondence. The contractor
shall keep current on legislative and policy changes to the Title IV
programs so the contractor can make annual changes easily and promptly.
Keeping current about Title IV program changes means the contractor shall
review materials including, but not limited to, applicable statutes,
regulations, and Dear Colleague letters, as these materials become
available. The contractor shall assimilate this material thoroughly to
revise standard paragraphs and fact sheets completely, accurately, and
clearly (see IV.1.j and IV.2.j). The contractor also shall update
program-specific material, including, but not limited to, year changes (such
as changing 1999-00 to 2000-01), addresses, and telephone numbers. 

b. when giving ED the annual update of standard paragraphs and fact sheets,
ensure ED receives a hard copy set of the updates, showing each paragraph's
and each fact sheet's layout as it shall appear in its final page layout
format. ED will review the standard paragraphs and fact sheets and send any
revisions to the contractor. The contractor shall make the revisions,
returning to ED the original marked-up version of ED's revisions plus a
clean, typed copy, again showing each paragraph's and each fact sheet's
layout as it shall appear in its final page layout format. When ED has
approved the final round of revisions, the contractor shall incorporate them
promptly into the permanent set of standard paragraphs and fact sheets. 

c. after revising standard paragraphs and fact sheets completely,
accurately, and clearly, update the form letters based on the standard
paragraph and fact sheet revisions. The contractor shall give ED a hard copy
set of the updated form letters, showing each form letter's layout as it
shall appear in its final format. ED will review the form letters and send
any revisions to the contractor. The contractor shall make the revisions,
returning to ED the original marked-up version of ED's revisions plus a
clean, typed copy, again showing each form letter's layout as it shall
appear in its final page layout format. When ED has approved the final round
of revisions, the contractor shall incorporate them promptly into the
permanent set of form letters. 

d. shall provide standard paragraphs, fact sheets, and form letters on disk
in Macintosh format at the time the contractor sends the initial annual
revisions and again when the contractor has completed the final set of
standard paragraphs, fact sheets, and form letters. 

e. prepare annually an index of standard paragraphs and form letters that
shall consist of a list of standard paragraphs and form letters deleted
since the previous year and a brief description of each current standard
paragraph and form letter. The description shall include, but not be limited
to, the old paragraph and old form letter numbers, the new paragraph and new
form letter numbers, and summaries of each current standard paragraph and
form letter by subject matter. (See Section J for information on a sample
index.)

f. prepare complete, accurate, and clear updates to individual standard
paragraphs, fact sheets, and form letters throughout the year to reflect
current program rules, regulations, and procedures, and all other necessary
changes (see paragraph a of this task). When submitting updates, the
contractor shall give ED a hard copy set of the updated standard paragraphs,
fact sheets, and form letters, showing each standard paragraph's, each fact
sheet's, and each form letter's layout as it shall appear in final copy. ED
will review the updates and send any revisions to the contractor. The
contractor shall make the revisions, returning to ED the original marked-up
version of ED's revisions plus a clean, typed copy, again showing the
standard paragraph's, fact sheet's, and form letter's layout as it shall
appear in its final page layout format. When ED has approved the final round
of revisions, the contractor shall incorporate them promptly into the
permanent set of standard paragraphs, fact sheets, and form letters. 

g. revise standard paragraphs, form letters, and fact sheets when ED
directs. The contractor shall incorporate ED revisions promptly into the
permanent set of standard paragraphs, form letters, and fact sheets. 

IV.B.8: Preparing Correspondence Responses in Languages Other Than English

The contractor shall 

a. prepare complete, accurate, and clear responses to correspondence the
contractor receives in Spanish. (See IV.B.1.j and IV.B.2.j for definitions
of "complete," "accurate," and "clear.") For control correspondence, the
contractor shall prepare responses in both Spanish and in English. For paper
non-control correspondence, the contractor shall prepare responses in
Spanish and, when ED directs, in English. If the contractor receives e-mails
prepared in Spanish, the contractor shall not reply by e-mail but shall
instead send a paper response in Spanish. (If the inquirer does not provide
a regular mailing address in the e-mail, the contractor shall prepare an
e-mail response in English and include a request for a mailing address in
Spanish. The contractor shall prepare this request in RTF format in Spanish
and send it as an attachment with the e-mail. When the contractor receives
the inquirer's regular mailing address, the contractor shall prepare a paper
response in Spanish.) The contractor shall meet the same quality standards
and same turnaround times required for preparing control and non-control
responses in English (see IV.B.1 and IV.B.2). 

b. prepare complete, accurate, and clear responses to correspondence the
contractor receives in languages other than English and Spanish. (See
IV.B.1.j and IV.B.2.j for definitions of "complete," "accurate," and
"clear.") For control correspondence, the contractor shall prepare responses
in the inquirer's language and in English. For paper non-control
correspondence, the contractor shall prepare the responses in the inquirer's
language and, when ED directs, in English. If the contractor receives
e-mails prepared in foreign languages other than Spanish, the contractor
shall not reply by e-mail but shall instead send a paper response in the
inquirer's language. (If the inquirer does not provide a regular mailing
address in the e-mail, the contractor shall prepare an e-mail response in
English and include a request for a mailing address in the inquirer's
language. The contractor shall prepare this request in RTF format in the
inquirer's language and send it as an attachment with the e-mail. When the
contractor receives the inquirer's regular mailing address, the contractor
shall prepare a paper response in the inquirer's language.) The contractor
shall meet the same quality standards required for preparing control and
non-control responses in English (see IV.B.1 and IV.B.2). The contractor
shall send out complete responses in foreign languages other than Spanish
within seven working days after the date the contractor receives the
correspondence.


IV.B.9: Translating into Spanish, and Preparing Layout for, Certain ED
Publications

The contractor shall translate into clear and accurate Spanish the
publications Funding Your Education and the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA). The contractor shall accurately proofread and edit the
publications the contractor translates. The contractor shall prepare correct
layout for the translated publications, using desktop publishing, and shall
forward the completed layout to ED for review. The contractor shall furnish
the layout in Macintosh format and shall prepare a hard copy version of
these publications when ED directs. The contractor shall make revisions when
ED directs. The contractor shall prepare a final camera ready version of the
publications and an electronic copy of the camera ready version in both
desktop publishing and Portable Document Format (PDF) formats. 


IV.B.10: Requesting Financial Aid Transcripts

The contractor shall

a. respond to requests from schools having difficulty receiving financial
aid transcripts from other schools. Because the other school(s) often has
closed, the contractor shall verify whether a school has closed by accessing
the Postsecondary Education Participants System (PEPS). 

b. for schools requesting financial aid transcripts, complete a "Financial
Aid Transcript Status" form that ED will provide (for a sample form, see
Section J). The contractor shall send this completed form to schools in
response to their inquiries. The contractor shall photocopy this form as
needed to maintain the contractor's supply. (The contractor shall bill for
this photocopying only under IV.B.20.) The contractor shall date-stamp this
form before sending it to a school requesting financial aid transcript
information. 

c. shall maintain copies of all incoming requests and outgoing "Financial
Aid Transcript Status" forms for six months from the date the contractor
mailed the completed forms to schools. 


IV.B.11: Updating the OSFAP Regulations Compilation

The contractor shall update annually the existing compilation of all OSFAP
student aid regulations. The contractor shall ensure it incorporates all
Title IV regulations correctly into the compilation. The contractor also
shall include, at the end of each regulation section, a notation showing
changes to the regulations and the effective dates of those changes. The
contractor also shall include appendices that list new regulations issued
and that summarize the changes those regulations make. The contractor shall
provide a hard copy and an electronic version of the compilation. ED will
specify the format for the electronic version. 






IV.B.12: Mailing Materials

The contractor shall

a. mail single copies of ED publications and other materials to individual
inquirers upon their request. ED will supply the contractor with appropriate
publications and other materials that the contractor shall store at the
contractor's site. The contractor shall include a form letter with each
mailing, listing what is included. The contractor also shall keep in its
files all incoming requests the contractor receives for ED publications and
other materials. The contractor shall date-stamp each request with the date
the contractor received the request and shall keep a copy of the form letter
that accompanied the mailing. The form letter shall show the date the
contractor mailed the materials. The contractor shall ensure that ED can
access the contractor's data base and determine what materials the
contractor has mailed within the previous two months.

b. ensure it addresses each envelope correctly. The contractor shall,
without charging ED mailing costs, re-mail materials returned because the
contractor did not address the envelope correctly. 


IV.B.13 Updating the Procedures Manual and the Quality Control Plan

The contractor shall 

a. when ED determines necessary, but not more frequently than every six
months during the life of the contract, supplement and revise the Procedures
Manual (Manual) and Quality Control Plan (Plan) the contractor prepared in
final in Phase A (see IV.A.1.b and IV.A.1.c). The supplements and revisions
shall reflect accurately new procedures the contractor shall henceforth
follow. Once ED has approved supplements and revisions, they become ED's
property. The contractor shall prepare updates in loose-leaf format to fit
into a ringed binder.

b. adhere to Manual and Plan changes the COTR will issue in the form of
memoranda to the contractor at times other than at a six-month updating
interval. The contractor shall treat these memoranda as amendments to the
Manual and/or Plan and shall incorporate the memoranda's instructions in the
Manual and/or Plan at the next occurring six-month interval.


IV.B.14: Updating the Security Plan

The contractor shall update the Security Plan it produced in Phase A (see
IV.A.4.e) whenever changes in government regulations systems occur. ED will
alert the contractor when ED discovers a change in government regulations
systems. The contractor shall prepare updates in loose-leaf format to fit
into a ringed binder. IV.B.15: Updating and Implementing the Disaster
Recovery Plan

The contractor shall

a. update the Disaster Recovery Plan (Plan) the contractor produced in final
in Phase A (see IV.A.4.f) at least annually, but only when the Plan requires
a major change including, but not limited to, a change in emergency
procedures, a change in the Disaster Recovery Center's (alternate work
site's) location, a change in the emergency contract services provider, a
significant change in business/computer processing, and a significant change
resulting from a simulated or "live" test at the Disaster Recovery Center
(see b and c below). The contractor shall prepare updates in loose-leaf
format to fit into a ringed binder.

b. conduct an annual test at the Disaster Recovery Center. The test shall
simulate all procedures necessary to transfer this contract's services and
functions to another fully operational site should a disaster occur at the
contractor's original site. ED will attend the simulated test; the
contractor shall establish a date and time for the test that is acceptable
to ED.   c. once during the first three years of the ESC, conduct a "live"
test at the Disaster Recovery Center. During the "live" test, the contractor
shall carry out, instead of simulating, all procedures necessary to transfer
this contract's services and functions to another fully operational site
should a disaster occur at the contractor's original site. ED will attend
the live test; the contractor shall establish a date and time for the test
that is acceptable to ED.

d. document, and report to ED, all test results and shall recommend changes,
if necessary, to correct problems the contractor encounters during the
simulated and live Disaster Recovery Center tests. The contractor shall
revise the Plan to incorporate those changes. The contractor shall bill for
all reports only under IV.B.6 and shall not also bill under this task. 


IV.B.16: Updating Network Drawings

The contractor shall update the network drawings of the contractor's network
connections whenever the contractor adds new devices or connections to the
network.


IV.B.17: Maintaining Access to Different Data Bases

If ED computer system contractors change during the ESC, the contractor
shall maintain access to two different data bases per ED computer system-for
all periods when different data bases exist-for as long as ED requires. The
overlap shall ensure the Editorial Services contractor shall respond to all
public inquiries without interruption.


IV.B.18: Maintaining Systems Security Safeguards

The contractor shall

a. immediately update authorization information for new users of the
contracting local security system used to access ED data bases. The
contractor shall prepare weekly reports showing all new users the contractor
has added during the week. The contractor shall bill for these reports only
under IV.B.6 and shall not also bill under this task.

b. update the contracting local security system used to access ED data bases
upon termination and reassignment of employees and changes in employees' job
responsibilities. The contractor shall prepare weekly reports showing all
employees the contractor has terminated and reassigned during the week. The
contractor shall bill for these reports only under IV.B.6 and shall not also
bill under this task.

c. ensure that its security contracting local system shall notify users
automatically that their passwords have expired and shall specify the
actions required to obtain new passwords. The contractor shall change users'
passwords at least once every 30 days or at the appropriate interval if ED
has granted the contractor a waiver (see IV.A.4.b.3.i). The contractor shall
ensure that its security contracting local system shall not allow users to
reuse at least three previous passwords. Once a password expires, the
contractor shall ensure that its security contracting local system shall
lock the user's account; only the security administrator of the contracting
local system shall be able to reinstate access to the system. The contractor
shall prepare monthly reports showing how many users on the contractor's
system have expired passwords, were unsuccessful logging on at any time, or
attempted to invoke commands or functions in the systems that are prohibited
by the users' assigned user profiles. The contractor shall bill for these
reports only under IV.B.6 and shall not also bill under this task.

d. print sensitive data in a controlled area and shall ensure that persons
in the controlled area shall be authorized to have access to the data being
printed. Further, the contractor shall store all correspondence responses in
an archive server, not on individual work stations, and shall ensure limited
access to the archive server.

e. ensure that when the contractor removes employees from contract positions
for any reason, the contractor shall

1. revoke all access authorizations and notify the COTR of employees'
removal dates and termination dates. If termination is for cause, the
contractor shall immediately revoke employees' system access and shall
follow up by notifying the COTR. 	 2. retrieve all keys, card keys,
badges, and all other means of allowing access to system facilities. 	 3.
ensure terminated employees no longer have access to sensitive areas.

4. review with departing employees the obligation to protect ED computer
system, and Privacy Act, data.

The contractor shall prepare weekly reports showing all employees whom the
contractor has removed (if any) during the week, their user IDs, and the
dates the contractor has removed the employees or, in cases of removal for
cause, the date the contractor decided to remove the employees. The
contractor shall bill for these reports only under IV.B.6 and shall not also
bill under this task.


IV.B.19: Producing Labels

The contractor shall, when ED directs, produce labels including, but not
limited to, address labels. For sets of address labels, ED will submit
addresses in handwritten, rough-typed draft or in computer printout format.
The contractor shall proofread the labels to ensure complete accuracy. 


IV.B.20: Photocopying

The contractor shall photocopy various materials including, but not limited
to, correspondence, responses to correspondence, student aid fact sheets,
worksheets, Dear Colleague letters, and charts. The contractor shall be
capable of segregating all photocopying the contractor does for the ESC from
all other photocopying the contractor does for all other clients.


IV.B.21: Shredding/Erasing Materials

The contractor shall shred or otherwise erase all appropriate materials
including, but not limited to, control correspondence files that are more
than two years old, non-control correspondence (NOT related to application
processing concerns) that is more than six months old, non-control
correspondence (related to application processing concerns) that is more
than two years old, and all sensitive data including, but not limited to,
Privacy Act-related data. When accessing or producing sensitive data from
electronic media including, but not limited to, ED's data bases, the
contractor shall erase the data to prevent reuse or retrieval once data are
no longer needed.  IV.B.22: Participating In, and Providing, Training

The contractor shall

a. participate in ED and/or ED-provided training when ED directs. Training
might involve ED and/or ED-provided trainers traveling to the contractor's
site to brief the contractor's staff. ED also might provide training through
means including, but not limited to, conference calls and written
instructions. ED's training will include, but not be limited to, providing
ED computer system updates, improving proofreading skills, selecting correct
standard paragraphs and form letters, and linking sentences and standard
paragraphs correctly. ED also might provide information on new laws,
regulations, policies, and other information ED deems important. ED or an
ED-provided trainer will give the contractor at least two weeks' notice
before arriving at the contractor's site to provide training. 

1. The contractor shall ensure that any staff not attending ED's training
receives ED's information in writing if ED and/or an ED-provided trainer
does not provide written materials. 

2. The contractor shall bill ED only for staff labor hours (at labor rates
this contract specifies) for participating in training ED and/or ED-provided
trainers conduct. The contractor also shall bill for the cost of preparing
ED information in writing to disseminate to contractor staff unable to
receive ED training, but only if ED and/or ED-provided trainers do not
prepare such information in writing.

b. train its staff throughout the life of the contract when the contractor
shall determine, and when ED directs, that any contractor staff needs
training. The contractor shall provide training on topics including, but not
limited to, improving editorial skills. This topic shall include, but not be
limited to, proofreading, selecting correct standard paragraphs and form
letters, linking sentences and standard paragraphs correctly, and improving
the contractor staff's custom writing. The contractor also shall provide
training on Title IV program information and procedures and on quality
control expectations. ED will provide suggestions for training when ED deems
appropriate. 

c. shall, when ED directs, ensure the contractor's staff understands and
retains all training by administering to its staff pre- and post-training
tests the contractor shall develop, administer, and score. The COTR will
approve these tests before the contractor shall administer them. The COTR
might monitor the administration and scoring of the pre-and post-tests and
will review the test results. The contractor's Project Director also shall
review the test results. 





IV.B.23: Participating in Conference Calls

Appropriate contractor staff including, but not limited to, the contractor's
Project Director shall participate in conference calls with the COTR and
other appropriate ED staff to discuss issues related to the ESC's operation.
ED will hold these conference calls at least weekly. The contractor shall
bill ED only for staff labor hours (at labor rates this contract specifies)
for participating in conference calls.


IV.B.24: Assisting During Transition Period

The contractor shall 

a. assist ED in making the transition to a successor contract. A transition
period shall begin 60 to 30 days before the production phase begins at the
successor contractor's site. The previous contractor shall perform certain
functions during the transition period including, but not limited to

1. working with ED staff and with the successor contractor's staff to ensure
a smooth and orderly transition. For example, the previous contractor shall
provide the successor contractor with materials including, but not limited
to, disks on which the previous contractor has stored standard paragraphs,
form letters, and procedural and training manuals. ED will return to the
previous contractor any contractor-owned materials on which government-owned
information was stored after the successor contractor has copied the
materials and information or converted them to the successor contractor's
type of storage. The previous contractor shall ensure it removes all
government-owned information from contractor-owned materials.

2. delivering to an ED site(s), that ED will determine, all materials used
in the performance of the previous Editorial Services Contract. These
materials include, but are not limited to, all equipment (except leased
equipment), computer files, computer programs and listings, control records,
reports, and other data. Materials the previous contractor collected in the
performance of the ESC shall be the  government's property; the contractor
shall not use these materials for purposes other than those described in
this contract. ED's contracting officer will notify the previous contractor
of disposal procedures for all government materials.

b. retain all correspondence files through the end of the transition period.



SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES


Description	Task	Quantity	When


Procedures Manual	IV.A.1. b	One	Within 15 working days 
		 after contract award

Quality Control Plan	IV.A.1.c	Two	Within 15 working days
(final)			 after contract award

Staff training pre- and 	IV.A.2. b	One each	Within 20 working days
post-tests-ED review 			after contract award
			 
Staff training pre- and	IV.A.2. b	One each	Within 30 working days
post-tests-first test		per staff 	after contract award; 				member	scores to ED within three
			working days after contractor
			administers first test

Staff training pre- and	IV.A.2.b	One each	Within three working days
post-tests-second test:		per staff 	after contractor administers
for staff not receiving		member	first test; scores to ED within 
at least 95 percent on			three working days after con-
first test			tractor administers second test
 
Staff training pre- and 	IV.A.2.b	One each	Within 10 working days
post-tests-third test:		per staff 	after contractor administers
for staff not receiving		member	second test; scores to ED within 
at least 95 percent on			three working days after con-
second test			tractor administers third test

Sample correspondence	IV.A.2. c	50	Within 40 working days
replies 			after contract award
			 			
Privacy act training pre- 	IV.A.2.d	One each	Within 45 working days
and post-tests-ED			after contract award		
review
		 	
Privacy Act training pre- 	IV.A.2.d	One each	Within 55 working days after 
and post-tests-first test		per staff	contract award; scores to ED 			member	within three working days
		 	after contractor administers				first test

Description	Task	Quantity	When


Privacy Act training pre- 	IV.A.2.d	One each	Within three working days
and post-tests-second 		per staff	after contractor administers
test: for staff not receiv-		member	first test; scores to ED within
ing at least 95 percent			three working days after
on first test			contractor administers second
			test

Privacy Act training pre- 	IV.A.2.d	One each	Within three working days
and post-tests-third test:		per staff	after contractor administers
for staff not receiving at		member	second test; scores to ED within
least 95 percent on second			three working days after
test			contractor administers third
			test

Installing equipment	IV.A.3.a	As needed	By the end of Phase A
necessary to operate 
contract

Supply data circuit 	IV.A.3.e	One set of	Within 20 working days after
requirements		require-	contract award
		ments

Network drawing of	IV.A.3.f	One set of	Within 20 working days after
contractor's existing		require-	contract award
network connections		ments

Router port requirements	IV.A.3.h	One set of	Within 20 working days after
		require-	contract award
		ments

Security Plan	IV.A.4.e	Two	Within 30 working days
			 after contract award

Disaster Recovery Plan	IV.A.4.f	Two	Within 30 working days
			 after contract award

Completed control	IV.B.1.p	Any	Within three working days 
responses-to ED			after receipt of correspondence

Interim for correspondence	IV.B.1.p	Any	Within one working day after
already overdue-to ED			receiving overdue correspon-				dence

Description	Task	Quantity	When

Completed responses	IV.B.1.p	Any	Within six working days
requiring research/			after receipt of correspondence;
casework-to ED			if contractor cannot obtain in-				formation, response is due 				within up to four additional 				working days after original six 				working days

Interim for correspondence	IV.B.1.p	Any	Within one working day         not completed within six 			after discussing correspondence 
working days-to ED			with COTR
 						
Revisions of control	IV.B.1.q	Any	Within two working days after
responses			receipt of ED's revisions 

Sending completed 	IV.B.2.n	Any	Within two working days 
non-control  			after receipt of correspondence
correspondence 
responses
			
For e-mail, interim to	IV.B.2.n	Any	Within one working day after inquirer for responses			receipt of inquirer's e-mail
not able to be completed
within two working days
because research is needed

Completed 	IV.B.2.n	Any	Within five working days
responses requiring			after receipt of correspondence;
research/casework-			if contractor cannot obtain in-
to inquirer			formation, response is due 				within eight working days af-				ter receipt of correspondence

Interim for correspondence	IV.B.2.n	Any	Within one working day after not completed within five			discovering additional time is
working days-to inquirer			required to respond

Courier service	IV.B.5	Daily	Twice daily in morning and  				afternoon, unless ED specifies
			otherwise 




Description	Task	Quantity	When


Correspondence	IV.B.6	At least	Written-no later than each
reports		two 	Tuesday; Verbal-each Friday;
		weekly; at 	Monthly/Interims-within
		least two 	three working days after end of 
		monthly	previous month; Monthly/
			Complaints-within three 				working days after end of 
			previous month; Monthly/
			Quality Control Report-
			within five working days after 
			end of previous month; 					Monthly/materials inven-				tory-within five working days 				after end of previous month

Updating standard	IV.B.7	Annually,	Annually-by February 1; 
paragraphs and fact 		as needed,	Once sets are final, changes will sheets		and when	be incorporated within 10 			ED	working days after ED's final 			directs	approval. As needed-within
			five working days after obtain-				ing updated information. 				When ED directs-within three 			working days after receiving 				ED's revisions.			
			 									 
Updating form letters	IV.B.8	Annually,	Annually-within seven 
		as needed,	working days after the date 
		and when	standard paragraphs and fact
		ED	sheets are final. Once set 				directs	is final, changes will be incor-				porated within 10 working 				days after ED's final approval.
			As needed-within five work-				ing days after obtaining           				updated information. When 				TPID directs-within three
			 working days after				 		receiving ED's revisions



Description	Task	Quantity	When

Annual index of	IV.B.7.e	Annually	Within 12 working days after 
standard paragraphs			form letters are in final
and form letters

Preparing 	IV.B.8.a	Any	Same turnaround times as 	
correspondence			specified for control and
responses in Spanish			non-control responses in
			English

Preparing 	IV.B.8.b	Any	Within seven working dayscorrespondence			after receipt of correspondence
responses in languages
other than English and
Spanish

Translating 	IV.B.9	Two	Within 20 working days after
publications into 			date contractor receives 
Spanish and preparing			publication to translate
layout

SFA regulations	IV.B.11	Annually	Draft by March 1; final by
compilation			April 1

Updates of Procedures	IV.B.13	As needed	Not more than every six Manual and Quality			months, when ED determines
Control Plan			necessary

Updates of Security	IV.B.14	As needed	When changes in government
Plan			regulations occur

Updating Disaster	IV.B.15.a	As needed	At least annually, but only 	
Recovery Plan			when major change occurs

Simulated test at	IV.B.15.b	Annually	Within 12-month period
Disaster Recovery
Center

Live test at	IV.B.15.c	One	During first three years of con-
Disaster Recovery			tract
Center

Reports of tests at	IV.B.15.d	One	Within 10 working days after 
Disaster Recovery		report	each test occurs
Center		per test
Description	Task	Quantity	When

Updating network	IV.B.16	As needed	When contractor adds new de-
drawings			vices or connections to network			
		



Editorial Services Statement of Work