Agency Education Department

Contractor American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

SWIFT Contract Number 172977

Project Name MN Bilingual Seals program language proficiency training for raters

Project Number (if applicable) {Empty}

Summarize purpose of the contract, including why it was necessary: The Minnesota Bilingual Seals program requires individuals of speakers of languages (such as Amharic, Dakota, Hmong, Karen, Ojibwe, Oromo, Somali, Vietnamese) being trained on the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines as well as trained as raters of the students' responses to speaking and writing tests. ACTFL proficiency guidelines is a specified criteria in the Minnesota Statute 120B.022 that students must demonstrate the language proficiency according to the ACTFL’s description (proficiency guidelines). The contract provided the needed trainings in each year to the individuals of those language speakers as well as language educators to support the access to the Minnesota Bilingual Seals among their students.

Project Duration

Start Date Fri, 02/28/2020 - 00:00

Original end date Thu, 06/30/2022 - 00:00

Actual end date Sun, 02/23/2025 - 00:00

Did project finish on time? Yes

Total billable hours utilized (if applicable) {Empty}

Contract Amounts

Original contract: $2500.00

Amendments $32800.00

Contract total $35300.00

Did project finish within budget? Yes

What was the funding source? state

Is this a sole source contract? Yes

If this was a single source contract, explain why the agency determined there was only a single source for the services (if applicable) Minnesota Statute 120B.022 requires that ACTFL proficiency guidelines to be used as the criteria.

Evaluator Name Ayumi Stockman

Evaluator Email Address Ayumi.Stockman@state.mn.us

Evaluate the contractor's timeliness ACTFL was always very responsive to our communication. There were never any issues around this.

Evaluate the contractor's quality ACTFL staff demonstrated high level of professionalism on the timeliness, manners of communication, follow up to our requests and clarification questions, and meeting the needs of the training attendees.

Evaluate the contractor's cost I believe the cost is reasonable. Normally it is capped at 30 participants and if we could fill all the spot, it would come down to $100.00 per person as their current rate.

Evaluate the contractor's overall performance I have observed that quality of the training itself can vary depending on the presenter. I believe we will need to communicate our needs more clearly in advance so that the presenter is well-prepared to work with our participants. Overall, ACTFL delivered quality trainings to our participants.

Would you engage the contractor's services again? Yes

Describe any negative action taken during the duration of this contract (i.e., termination, pursuit of suspension, etc.): NA

Please rate the overall experience with the contractor 4 - satisfied