Project Information

Bid Title

Comprehensive Transfer Technology Solution

Issuing Agency

Salem State University

Location

Massachusetts

Published Date

Jan 30, 2026

Closing Date

Feb 16, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Original Source

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Comprehensive Transfer Technology Solution — Jan 22, 2026

• RFP SSU 2026-04 Comprehensive Transfer Technology Solution

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Comprehensive Transfer Technology Solution

RFP SSU 2026-04

Issued: Thursday, January 22, 2026

PROPOSAL DUE: Monday, February 16, 2026, at 2:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

SUBMITTED BY SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY

Purchasing Department

The terms of 801 CMR 21.00: Procurement of Commodities and Services is incorporated by

Reference into this RFR. Words used in this RFR shall have the meanings defined in 801 CMR 21.00.

Additional definitions may also be identified in this RFR. All terms, conditions, requirements, and

procedures included in this RFR must be met for a Response to be determined responsive. If a

Bidder fails to meet any material term, condition, requirement or procedure, its Response may be

deemed unresponsive and disqualified. ALL Responses must be submitted in accordance with the

specific terms of this RFR.

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University Background

Salem State University, established in 1854, is a comprehensive, public institution of higher

learning located approximately fifteen miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. One of the largest

state universities in the Commonwealth, Salem State, enrolls about 7,000 undergraduate and

graduate students. It offers thirty-two undergraduate programs and graduate programs that offer

degrees in twenty-four fields. The university also has a continuing education division that offers

both credit and non-credit programs. Salem State proudly participates in the National Study of

Learning, Voting, and Engagement and has shown a student voting rate above the national average,

earning it a Silver Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. In 2020, Salem State

received Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. The university is designated a Best for

Vets College by Military Times.

For further information go to the Salem State University webpage.

The university is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is exempt from any State

tax or Federal excise tax. Unless otherwise stated, the unit price shall be the net price. Separate unit

and total prices must be shown if applicable. Unless otherwise stated, all quoted prices shall be FOB

university address inside delivery.

RFP Specifications: Comprehensive Transfer Technology Solution

1. Overview

Salem State University seeks proposals for a comprehensive, enterprise-level transcript

processing and transfer credit evaluation automation solution that modernizes and

automates transfer credit intake, evaluation, articulation, and prospective transfer student

recruitment by means of a transfer portal that is able to provide degree audit information to

prospective students. The selected solution will leverage AI technologies to extract

transcript data, match it against institutional equivalency rules and must integrate

seamlessly with Oracle Campus Solutions (PeopleSoft) and support the full lifecycle of

transfer credit—from transcript ingestion to final posting in the Student Information System

(SIS).

The University is especially interested in vendors who:

• Provide end-to-end implementation services with minimal burden on campus IT

staff in collaboration with an internally assigned project manager.

• Demonstrate deep expertise with Oracle Campus Solutions/PeopleSoft integration.

• Leverage AI-enhanced automation, machine learning, or NLP to improve accuracy

and speed.

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• Is able to integrate with the Oracle Campus Solutions/PeopleSoft Academic

Advisement module to provide on demand degree audit information to prospective

transfer students.

2. Required Functional Components

2.1 Transcript Ingestion & Processing

The proposed solution must:

High School & College Transcript Reading

• Accurately read and parse both high school and college transcripts, including:

o PDF and scanned images

o E-transcripts (e.g., Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, SPEEDE)

o Unofficial documents uploaded by students

• Extract course, grade, credit, and term information.

• Handle custom evaluation rules (e.g., Mass Transfer General Education Foundation,

weighted high school GPA rules)

• Identify and normalize institution names and course subjects/numbers.

• Accurately read and parse international credential evaluations (e.g., WES, CED,

NACES and similar)

• Handle varying formats (OCR + AI/NLP strongly preferred).

Connection to Existing Document Management

• Pull transcripts directly from OnBase via API or automated retrieval.

• Associate transcript data with the correct student record and/or prospect.

2.2 Integration with Oracle Campus Solutions (PeopleSoft)

The proposed solution must provide robust, secure, and fully documented integration with

Oracle Campus Solutions (PeopleSoft) 9.2. The vendor must demonstrate prior successful

integrations with PeopleSoft at peer institutions and must clearly articulate the technical

approach, supported APIs, data exchange methods, and mapping strategies.

The University requires a model in which PeopleSoft remains the authoritative system of

record for students, course, and degree data. The solution must not require the creation or

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maintenance of a shadow student information database unless expressly approved by

SSU.

2.21 Real-Time or Near-Real-Time Integration

a. The solution must support real-time or near-real-time exchange of data between the

vendor system and PeopleSoft, including:

• Web services, REST APIs, integration broker endpoints, or other standards-based

approaches

• Secure and FERPA-compliant transmission protocols

• Automated synchronization of changes without manual intervention

b. The vendor must describe expected latency windows and any technical prerequisites.

2.22 Required Bi-Directional PeopleSoft Integration

The vendor must support bi-directional integration as needed with the following Campus

Solutions components:

a. Transfer Credit & Articulation

• Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE) tables

• External course and institution tables

• Equivalency rules, transfer subject areas, and articulation conditions

• Student External Education tables

b. Academic Structure & Course Data

• Course Catalog (e.g., PS_CRSE, PS_CRSE_CATALOG, PS_CRSE_OFFER)

• Academic Organization, Academic Program, Plan (as needed for degree

applicability and transfer articulation)

c. Degree Audit / Academic Advisement

• Academic Advisement requirement tables

• Updates needed for preliminary degree audit scenarios

d. Student Records & Admissions

• Bio/demo data needed for record matching

• Admissions application records (for recruitment module)

• Student Program/Plan/Term data as applicable

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The vendor must identify all specific tables or API endpoints used and all data required.

2.3 Transfer Equivalency Automation & Workflow

The solution should include:

AI-Driven Equivalency Suggestions

• Automated or semi-automated course equivalency suggestions based on:

• Existing transfer rules

• Historical equivalencies

• Machine learning pattern detection

• Content similarity between courses (syllabi, descriptions, etc.)

Decision Workflow

• Routing of evaluations to designated evaluators (transfer staff, academic

departments, etc.).

• Ability to capture:

o Decisions

o Reviewer notes

o Supporting documents

o Effective dates and rule applicability

• Automated notification/escalation options.

• Publishing Back to SIS:

o Transfer Articulation rules

o Student Transfer Credit Evaluation (Course Credits)

o Course equivalency tables

2.4 Prospective Student Recruitment & Self-Service Tools

A front-facing module for prospective and newly admitted students must:

Student Transcript Upload Portal

• Enable students to upload unofficial transcripts

• Use the system’s transcript-reading engine to extract transfer data automatically.

Tentative Transfer Evaluation

• Generate an instant, unofficial, rule-based transfer evaluation using PeopleSoft

transfer articulation rules.

• Present projected:

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Commodity Codes

• NAICS 541511Custom Computer Programming Services
• NAICS 541519Other Computer Related Services

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