Curriculum review, academic quality assurance, and college credit evaluation services
Department of Homeland Security · Federal Emergency Management Agency · FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
Account requiredWhy it scored this way
Every reason behind the verdict rather than the headline one — which of your certifications match, how much runway is left, whether the work is your size, and what we would need to know to sharpen it.
The requirements that decide a bid — bonding, clearances, experience minimums, page limits — live in the attachments, not in the notice above. Start a free trial to upload them and have them read.
Draft the paperwork
Written against this notice and what you have told us about your company. Anything we do not know is marked [NEEDS INPUT] in the draft rather than guessed at — read it before you send it. Federal notices routinely put the real requirement in an attachment; adding the documents above makes every one of these materially better.
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What would disqualify you
Read straight from the solicitation documents: the bonding, clearances, insurance minimums, experience thresholds and deadlines that decide whether you can bid at all — before you write a word.
Sources Sought response
A complete draft response — capability statement, relevant past performance, business size and socioeconomic status, and answers to the agency's specific questions.
Questions to submit
Genuine ambiguities and requirements that disadvantage a smaller bidder, drafted as questions you can submit before the Q&A deadline.
Past performance write-ups
Which of your prior awards best match this requirement, and draft write-ups in the format the agency asked for.
Solicitation details
Solicitation number
70FA2027Q00000002
Notice type
Special Notice
NAICS
611710
Product service code
U010
Set-aside
No Set aside used
Posted
2026-10-19
Response deadline
Nov 3, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC
Place of performance
MD
Contracting contact
kathryn.brown@fema.dhs.gov
Market intelligence
Account requiredWho wins this work, and what it pays
Comparable awards under NAICS 611710 at this agency — the incumbent, what they were paid, when their period of performance ends, and the real pricing distribution rather than the headline number. From public federal award records.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) / National Disaster and Emergency Management University (NDEMU) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis (IAW RFO FAR 12) with American Council on Education (ACE), One Dupont Circle NW, Washington, DC 20036, as the only responsible source that capable of providing comprehensive higher-education curriculum review, academic quality assurance, and college credit evaluation services for NDEMU’s residential, virtual, and distance-learning course offerings. Market evaluation confirmed that American Council on Education (ACE) Learning Evaluations remains uniquely positioned as the sole established industry standard for evaluating non-formal workplace training and assigning standardized college credit recommendations. ACE recommendations are recognized and integrated across both federal agencies and post-secondary higher education institutions. Furthermore, ACE provides an integrated ecosystem including entry in the ACE National Guide, direct learner transcript advocacy, and automated digital badge issuance via Credly, which independent regional or institutional accreditors do not offer for non-collegiate course providers. Therefore, ACE is the only source that can provide comprehensive higher-education curriculum review, academic quality assurance, and college credit evaluation services for NDEMU’s residential, virtual, and distance-learning course offerings. This acquisition is being conducted under simplified acquisition procedures (IAW RFO FAR 12). The intended procurement will be classified under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 611710-Educational Support Services with a Small Business Size Standard of $24M. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation document exists for this requirement. However, parties interested in responding to this notice will need to submit technical data, sufficient to determine capability in providing the same product. All capability statements received within 15 days after publication of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Capability statements shall be submitted by email only as a MS Word or Adobe PDF attachment to James Suerdieck at james.suerdieck@fema.dhs.gov and Katie Brown at Kathryn.Brown@fema.dhs.gov. Statements are due by 4:00 PM Eastern, 11/03/2026. No phone calls accepted.
Contact
Point of contact
Kathryn Brown
Role
not stated on this notice — SAM publishes a role for only about 5% of them, so this may be a contract specialist rather than the contracting officer
Email
kathryn.brown@fema.dhs.gov
Secondary
james.suerdieck@dhs.gov
Submit questions
Ambiguities and requirements worth clarifying, written as questions you can send before the deadline.
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