[Protest of USDA Contract Award for Educational Services]

A firm protested a Department of Agriculture (USDA) contract award to another firm for educational services, contending that: (1) USDA should have awarded it the contract as the low bidder; (2) USDA miscalculated its bid price for student documentation; and (3) it was entitled to reimbursement for its bid and protest preparation costs. GAO held that: (1) USDA improperly awarded the contract on the basis of initial proposals without discussions, since the solicitation did not provide for such an award; (2) USDA erroneously assigned cost points to only the awardee; (3) the price evaluation method was inconsistent with the stated evaluation criteria; (4) USDA should terminate the awarded contract, conduct discussions, and request new offers; and (5) since the protester would have a new opportunity to compete, its claim was without merit. Accordingly, the protest was sustained and the claim was denied.