Public Higher Education Bulletin

The Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University governing Southern Illinois University Edwardsville hereby requests sealed proposals for the following services from a sign language interpreter Agency and/or from Independent Sign Language Interpreters or Freelance Interpreters for the Deaf: In order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is mandated to provide a qualified sign language interpreter(s) for students with hearing impairments while enrolled in classes at SIUE. Section 35.104 of the ADA defines a “Qualified Interpreter” as “an interpreter who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially both receptively and expressively, using any specialized vocabulary.” SIUE is responsible for covering the cost of an interpreter. Bidder must be located within 100 miles driving distance of the SIUE campus.

All questions must be e-mailed to Shelly Albert at malbert@siue.edu, by 12:00 p.m. CDT on Monday, April 30, 2012. Questions submitted after this date will not receive a response. Answers to all questions submitted in writing will be addressed in the form of an addendum to be posted on the Bulletin, www.procure.stateuniv.state.il.us. No verbal questions/inquiries will be accepted. Questions should not be addressed to any other SIUe employee. If contact concerning this RFP of any kind occurs, this may be grounds for disqualification.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville expects the Bidder to provide the presence of a qualified interpreter to meet the needs of a student with a hearing impairment. The interpreter is expected to interpret during class sessions, lectures, labs, as well as other co-curricular course assignments needs, including counseling appointments, advisement appointments, etc. Provider will assist the student with access to the spoken work using the type of sign language used by the student.

Submit 3 copies of the response as defined in the specifications. The University reserves the right to accept or reject any and all responses or parts thereof. Vendor may expect payment thirty to sixty days after receipt of invoice, unless otherwise stated in the bid documents. This procurement will be contingent on Board of Trustees approval. Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) eligibility number is required on all proposals.