Education and training services

Tender description

Sheffield Hallam University are looking to contract with a supplier for a hosted managed online academic writing and literacy support service to allow 24/7 support for students. The requirement is for an online academic writing feedback service. The service should be available to all Sheffield Hallam (SHU) students and will allow students to have access to online academic writing and literacy support. The service must connect students with adequately trained support providers to give confidence that the service is suitable for a UK Higher education context. A quality assurance process must be in place to ensure that service levels are consistent and maintained. Technically the service must be a proven managed solution in a scalable environment with the ability to enhance capacity when necessary. The system must be integrated with existing VLE systems in the University, currently Blackboard Learn. The service should be capable of integrating, through standards based methods, with other VLE solutions. The system must also be capable of functioning as a standalone solution independent of any other platform in order to future proof the investment. Any solution should be responsive to mobile and tablet devices, ideally through web standards protocols or through native apps for specific devices. Students should be able to submit a variety of text based file types and receive high quality, consistent feedback in a timely manner (no more than 3 days). SHU staff should have access to usage stats/metrics. The system must have a high standard of accessibility for users with visual, hearing or motor disabilities.