Explanation
BACKGROUND: This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Public Safety to enter into contract with Center Learn for $113,500.00 to continue the Division of Fire's Distance Learning program. Since 2008, the Columbus Fire Division has been contracting with a computer based training content provider for their Distance Learning Project. The Fire Division's Distance Learning project was implemented to provide remote training in all fire stations via computer network. A computer based training content provider is used to continue to provide and implement training, scheduling, and logging of employee training history for the Fire Division.
Bid Information: The Fire Division processed a request for proposal (RFP) for a computer based training content provider via Solicitation SA004131 and received bids on November 21, 2011; upon review of the bids, the Fire Division recommends acceptance of the bid submitted by Centre Learn in the amount of $113,500.00.
Bids were as follows:
Kaplan University - $50.00/person annually
Centre Learn - $44.95/person annually
American Safety & Health Institute - $35.00/person annually
There were three proposals received for this solicitation. The proposal submitted by Iowa College Acquisition Corp. dba Kaplan University did not offer Fire Safety Inspector content, a critical component of the RFP.
The proposal with the lowest cost, American Safety & Health Institute, Inc., offered a system that had limited Paramedic content. Given the major role paramedic EMS plays in the Division of Fire's operations, the lack of appropriate advanced EMS content in the American Safety & Health Institute system greatly reduces it's functionality as the core content management system the Fire Division needs to maintain and expand it's Distance Learning program. Additional costs would also be incurred by the Division of Fire in order to provide services that the vendor does not offer such as student certification...
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