The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) provides an opportunity for applicants to request clarification and pose questions related to the FY 2008 RFP for Distance Learning Adult Basic Education Services.
This document is not intended to answer specific program-related questions or to provide advice or guidance regarding individual proposals. Questions will be sorted and posted in accordance with the layout of the RFP.
The RFP refers to a 48 week program year. What about the first year, which appears to be only 8 months long and yet if you exclude the three month planning period it would be only 5 months?
Answer: Applicants should budget for twelve months of service, including a maximum of 12 weeks start up period. The year one award for successful applicants will be negotiated prior to start up.
When the proposal describes how a program assesses and develops "metacognitive" and "executive" skills, is there a recommended strategy or instrument that ESE would prefer to be used to assess and measure these skills?
Answer: ACLS does not have a preferred instrument to assess metacognitive and executive skills.
The Guidelines specify a minimum score on BEST Plus to qualify students for ESOL with the EFA curriculum. Will ESE allow DL programs to administer the REEP test or report a REEP score to SMARTT for DL students?
Answer: ACLS will not allow the REEP for DL student assessment as the REEP is a classroom based assessment tool.
The overall "pot" of money for the current round of DL grants is $300,000. Does ESE have a projected number of grants it wishes to fund out of that "pot"? Does ESE have an estimate of the "maximum grant size" that would be reasonable for consideration?
Answer: ACLS anticipates funding at least two HUB agencies, but the actual number funded will depend on the selected proposals.
The RFP and the Guidelines specify that the grant should cover costs of "minimum 1.5 FTE". Does that include all staff needed for the program, namely instructors, counselors, administrators, support staff, technical staff, etc? Does "minimum 1.5 FTE mean that ESE money will only cover that minimum staff costs, or or does it mean that the ESE will not consider any proposal that does not include at least 1.5 FTE."
Answer: The applicant should budget for a minimum 1.5 FTE to operate the HUB and partner agencies.
Do you expect to serve 60 learners per month per HUB or 60 overall per month?
Answer: The HUB must maintain an average monthly enrollment of at least 60 learners. The learners may be referred from partner agencies and/or directly recruited by the HUB.
Are the required partnerships with 2 or more currently funded ACLS Community Adult Learning Centers limited to those currently in defined community planning areas or can partnerships be formed with Centers in the region?
Answer: Partnerships may be formed with any currently funded Community Adult Learning Centers and/or Primary Instruction by Volunteer Programs in Massachusetts.
Will MAPT and BEST+ be used as placement tools for the program?
Answer: The MAPT Test is not authorized as a placement tool for pre-GED and GED. The BEST Plus is authorized for placement of ESOL students. Programs are encouraged to use a variety of materials for the placement process rather than a single test. For more information on placement tools and suggestions on successful class placement, go to the Assessment web page of the ACLS website at http://www.doe.mass.edu/acls/assessment/. Also, you can find an annotated bibliography of helpful articles from Adventures in Assessment on goal setting and class placement; go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/acls/assessment/news/aia_biblio.html
- What is the maximum amount we can apply for?
Answer: As per the Bidders' Conference, the grant amount requested should reflect the scope of services to be provided.
- How many HUBs do you plan to fund?
Answer: As per the Bidders' Conference, ACLS anticipates funding at least two hubs.
- Can you differentiate between "distance learning" and "on-line" learning?
Answer: Massachusetts has adopted a blended model for distance learning as defined by Project IDEAL. Please refer to the ACLS Guidelines for Effective Distance Learning in Adult Basic Education Programs for more information on the blended model.
- How are the courses delivered technically?
Answer: The curricula that ACLS has approved for distance learning provide a structure and format for content delivery.
- Are we licensing the content/seats from the provider i.e. McGraw-Hill? How do we access? Do we factor this into the budget?
Answer: ACLS holds the site license for the software; however, the HUB must purchase the virtual student seats. The cost per seat is dependent on the quantity of the seats purchased and for McGraw-Hill Contemporary is between $26 and $40. Applicants should contact the appropriate vendor for more information on the cost of virtual seats and any supplemental materials.
- Besides staff, what are some of the real costs we should consider?
Answer: ACLS can not answer program specific questions or provide guidance regarding individual proposals. Pleases consult the Guidelines for Effective Distance Learning for the responsibilities of the HUB and partner agencies to inform the development of the budget.
- If an agency has been providing ACLS services under fund code 359 as a subcontractor but is not currently a fiscal agent, are they eligible to be a partnering agency?
Answer: Under the Centralized Distance Learning Project Model (HUB), the subcontractor must be a currently funded ACLS Community Learning Center (Fund Codes 340, 345, 359) or Primary Instruction by Volunteer Program (Fund Code 287). Subcontractors that provide adult basic education services under Fund Code 340, 345, 359, or 287 are eligible to serve as partner agencies.
- Can the funds given to a partner be used to purchase secure Internet lines to be used for students in the distance learning project? This question comes from a potential partner from the world of corrections where security issues re: use of the internet run high.
Answer: Under the Centralized Distance Learning Project Model (HUB), the subcontractor must be a currently funded ACLS Community Learning Center (Fund Codes 340, 345, 359) or Primary Instruction by Volunteer Program (Fund Code 287). The potential partner is not a recipient of one of the above ACLS fund codes and is not eligible to serve as a partner agency.
- The RFP states that the proposal must be no more than 16 pages single space 12 point type. We understand that resumes, MOA's and budget don't count for the 16 pages. Beyond that can we attach a few pages of documentation such as outlines of our DL intake and orientation procedures, our in-house DL intake placement test, and our correlation of our DL course to MA DEO ABE/ESOL Frameworks?
Answer: Applicants must adhere to the specific requests for information within each of the appendices submitted. Additional or supplemental information that is submitted beyond the information explicitly requested in the RFP will not be considered as part of the application.
- ESE's current RFP states that ESE approves the intermediate level materials English for All (EFA) as a curriculum base for a "blended" DL ESOL program We are planning to submit such a proposal. Will ESE allow us to submit a grant that proposes initially a class using EFA (intermediate level) but adds in the second or third year a parallel beginning level DL Class that uses the program Putting English to Work? The new Putting English to Work (PETW) on-line program is the "beginner level" from the same folks in CA who created the EFA intermediate level materials and has essentially the same components and overall design as EFA, but a the beginner level. We would like to see DL services extended to ESOL learners at SPL 1-3 with the new PETW materials now available if ESE will permit us to project this into our proposal.
Answer: The current approved curricula for distance learning are listed in the RFP. Accordingly, ACLS will approve program plans for a single year of services utilizing the approved curricula. Additional curricula may be approved for use in the future pending ACLS approval.
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