Contact Centre for StudentAid BC Program

Ministry name change as of December 7, 2023 from Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training to Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.
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The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills is requesting proposals from interested parties to provide contact centre services for StudentAid BC (SABC).  The SABC Contact Centre will be the first point of contact for Clients.

SABC is seeking a contact centre service provider to implement citizen-centred service delivery, to provide Clients with the information necessary to meet their requests.
The Ministry, through SABC, develops, implements, and administers student financial assistance programs for eligible students pursuing post-secondary education.  
SABC provides financial assistance to more than 70,000 students each year and over 200,000 Clients overall, predominantly between the ages of 18 and 24. SABC delivers more than 30 programs, in the form of grants, bursaries and loans.

SABC assesses eligibility and need for, grants, bursaries, scholarships and debt management programs that are designed to reduce debt load and to help borrowers in repaying their student loans.  SABC also provides aid under separate programs and criteria for students with disabilities, students upgrading to Grade 12 or equivalent, and former youth in care, in addition to specific scholarships and awards programs.

The Province intends to enter into a Contract on substantially the same terms and conditions as the form set out in Appendix A Contract Form, with the highest scoring Proponent.  The initial term of the Contract will be three years in duration and is anticipated to run from March 1, 2023 to February 27, 2026. The Province reserves the right, at its sole option, to renew the Contract for one additional one-year period, on the same terms and conditions. The maximum budget for the services is CAD$650,000.00 per year of the Contract, for a total of CAD$1,950,000.00 for the initial term of the Contract, and CAD$650,000.00 for the renewal term, if any. 

For greater certainty, all pricing is based solely on a price per call model, and the Contractor will not be paid any fees for other services provided pursuant to the Contract, including the training and transition services provided at the start of the Contract and at the end of the Contract.
If call volume and price per call result in pricing in excess of CAD$650,000.00 in fees in a given year of the Contract, Contractor must continue to provide the services for that year but will not be paid more than CAD$650,000.00 for that year.

Further details as to the scope of this opportunity and the requirements can be found within this RFP.