EMPD2_RFP_-_HU0001-14-R-0005_Final_Edits_Mar_2014.docx

Request for Proposals – HU0001-14-R-0005

Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is the Nation's federal health sciences university and is committed to excellence in military medicine and public health during peace and war. We provide the Nation with health professionals dedicated to career service in the Department of Defense and the United States Public Health Service and with scientists who serve the common good. We serve the uniformed services and the Nation as an outstanding academic health sciences center with a worldwide perspective for education, research, service, and consultation; we are unique in relating these activities to military medicine, disaster medicine, and military medical readiness. USU is located in Bethesda, MD on the grounds of the Naval Support Activity Bethesda.

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This is a request for proposals (RFP) in accordance with the procedures of FAR Part 12 – Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 15 - Contracting by Negotiation. The RFP incorporates all provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 05-72 (January 30, 2014) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) (March 11, 2014).

During its last accreditation survey of the Uniformed Services University (USU) School of Medicine (SOM), the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) identified “medical student diversity and pipeline programs” (MS-8) as an area of partial or substantial noncompliance. MS-8 states “a medical education program should work within its own institutions…to make admission to medical education programs more accessible to potential applicants of diverse backgrounds. Institutions can accomplish that aim through a variety of approaches, including…academic enrichment programs for applicants who may not have taken traditional pre-medical coursework.” USU has identified enlisted military members as a group that is important to our mission to increase diversity and has selected this group for an enrichment program that will provide the academic preparation, guidance and mentorship required for competitive application to medical school.

The Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program-hereafter referred to as the “Program”-directly supports the Department of Defense’s Priorities for 21st Century Defense mission to have a “ready and capable force” as well as the Military Health System Strategic Initiative to “implement policies, procedures and partnerships to meet individual medical readiness goals.” It does so by retaining highly-qualified, experienced, often battle-tested service members in support of military readiness needs. The Program is also part of a comprehensive plan that supports the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Performance and Readiness strategic goal to “recruit, train, educate and retain a diverse workforce”, and the USU strategic objective to increase matriculation from among enlisted service members as a significant initiative for student diversity.

The program will begin in the fall of 2014 and the initial cohort of participants will not exceed 12 students. A new cohort of students will begin each year and is expected to increase to 25 students each year from 2016 forward. There will be a total maximum of 50 students enrolled in the program concurrently starting in academic year 2017.

It is our intent to award a five (5) year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Firm Fixed Price task order contract for these services, with an estimated ceiling of $15,000,000.00. Vendors must be registered in the SAM.gov database (www.sam.gov), with completed certifications and representations by the due date for proposals.

This is a new requirement for USU and there is no incumbent contractor currently providing these services.

Offerors responding to the solicitation, must at a minimum, meet the requirements listed below. Proposals submitted by offerors who do not meet the minimum requirements listed below, will not be considered for award and their proposal will be determined to be non-responsive.

· Accredited baccalaureate degree granting institution, accredited by the U. S. Department of Education and its affiliated bodies, such as the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools or the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

· Experience in granting graduate level certificates or Master’s degrees, so that students may earn a graduate certificate or Master’s degree after completion of the second year of the Program curriculum

· Received a 3-Very Competitive rating or higher by Barron’s College

· Located within 50 miles of USU (Bethesda, MD): The service members selected for this program, will be assigned to USU and will be required to commute from their duty station to the selected offeror. The offeror is not responsible for providing housing to members in the program.

Statement of Work

The selected offeror shall designate a representative who will act as the primary liaison for USU Contracting Officer, Contract Specialists and the Contracting Officer Representative (COR). The contractor and primary liaison will be located within a proximity which allows full support for the technical and administrative requirements of the contract.

The primary liaison will be expected to attend meetings regarding the performance of this contract and the performance of students selected into the program. The meetings may be held in person at either the Government site or the selected offeror’s site or may be done via teleconference. It is anticipated, at a minimum, a pre-performance meeting will be held prior to the issuance of the first task order, performance meeting upon completion of the first semester and a performance meeting upon completion of the first and second year for the initial cohort of students. Additional meetings may be scheduled by the either the Government or the selected offeror as needed.

The selected offeror will also be required to provide the following reports:

· Notification within 72 hours if a student receives any grade lower than a “C” on any class assignment or exam.

· Notification within 72 hours if a student fails to attend a class three times.

· Unofficial transcript for each student at the end of every semester or quarter.

· Narrative evaluation of each student at the completion of the first year.

The reports listed above must be submitted via email to the contract specialist and the COR. Reports will not be accepted by any other means, unless authorized in advance by the COR.

The selected offeror will be required to provide one academic year of pre-medical prerequisite courses, one academic year of upper division (preferably graduate-level) science courses, on-site classroom based Medical College Admission Test preparation, structured pre-health advising, pre-medical letters of evaluation, and formal tutoring.

The selected offeror will be required to provide the following:

· One academic year of pre-medical prerequisite courses. Courses must include General Biology with Lab Part I, General Biology with Lab Part II, General Chemistry with Lab Part I, General Chemistry with Lab Part II, Organic Chemistry with Lab Part I, Organic Chemistry with Lab Part II, Physics with Lab Part I, Physics with Lab Part II, and Calculus.

· One academic year of upper division (preferably graduate-level) science courses. Courses must include Biochemistry.

· On-site classroom based Medical College Admission Test preparation (either integrated into the curriculum or through an on-campus commercial provider).

· Structured pre-health advising as evidenced by a staff member or office dedicated to pre-health advising as a primary responsibility.

· Pre-medical letters of evaluation for program participants.

· Tutoring as needed at no additional cost to students or the Government

The 9 classes that comprise the core course sequence must be offered every academic year, not on a multi-year rotation. A new cohort of students will matriculate every fall and must be able to complete the entire core course sequence with adequate time to sit for the Medical College Admission Test and to submit medical school applications during the summer following the first year. There is some flexibility regarding dates. At least 75% of the core courses must be offered during the traditional duty day (Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.). All of the courses must be offered in a traditional classroom setting.

The core course sequence covers the pre-medical prerequisites for application to the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine (and most U.S. medical schools) and consists of the following classes:

· General Biology with Lab, Part I

· General Biology with Lab, Part II

· General Chemistry with Lab, Part I

· General Chemistry with Lab, Part II

· Physics with Lab, Part I

· Physics with Lab, Part II

· Organic Chemistry with Lab, Part I

· Organic Chemistry with Lab, Part II

· Calculus (Students entering the program will have completed College Algebra and will be Calculus-ready. However, if the vendor requires the student to complete a placement exam and a student does not pass, a Calculus prerequisite course must be available for the Fall semester so that the student may complete Calculus in the second semester or in the summer following the first year.)

The second year of the curriculum involves upper division, preferably graduate level, science courses. The vendor must offer a minimum of 24 semester hours of upper level science courses, including Biochemistry, per academic year. The breadth of the vendor’s upper division science course selection will be a significant criterion in the proposal review process. However, Biochemistry must be offered every academic year. Additionally, students must have the option of enrolling in psychology or sociology during the first year of the program. Modifications will be made on a case by case basis regarding students who have previously completed coursework from the core sequence.

It is expected that each cohort of students will complete the courses together, as required, and be registered in the same classes. Students may be grouped as a cohort within a cohort and may be enrolled in classes and labs with non-program participants.

The contracted college or university must offer structured pre-health advising as evidenced by a staff member or office dedicated to pre-health advising as a primary responsibility. This will include selection of courses, monitoring of academic performance, and offering general academic support. Program participants will not be limited to enlisted service members from military medical assignments. Thus, participation in the Program may constitute a career change, necessitating reasonable assistance understanding the most significant elements of pre-medical career planning. This assistance will be part of the pre-health advising.

At the end of the first Program year, the pre-health advisor or office must be able to provide a pre-medical letter of evaluation for each student. This could be a collection of faculty letters with an evaluative cover letter submitted by the pre-health advisor or a composite letter written by the pre-health advisor or advising office. This letter is a medical school application requirement.

It is a firm requirement that the selected college or university offer tutoring (individual or group is acceptable) to students as needed at no additional cost to students. This Program feature is vitally important as participants may hold non-traditional and/or non-competitive baccalaureate degrees and will need support with the increased academic demands. Similar support is offered for medical students enrolled in the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine. It is essential that new University programs such as the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program preserve this important feature.

The second most important component of this Program is formal test preparation. The vendor must offer on-site classroom based Medical College Admission Test preparation either integrated into the curriculum or through an on-campus commercial provider. Historically, enlisted service member schedules have precluded the completion of formal test preparation resulting in lower test courses and unsuccessful applications to the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine. The inclusion of this Program component will remove the barrier preventing access to test preparation and should result in an upward trend of successful applications to medical school from the enlisted community. The preparation course must be completed by 31 July to accommodate exam sitting in August or September.

AT NO POINT DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS CONTRACT, SHALL THE AWARDED CONTRACT BE CONSIDERED A REQUIREMENTS CONTRACT. THE GOVERNMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO UTILIZE OTHER SOURCES, IF DEEMED IN OUR BEST INTEREST.

I. Task Orders:

The first business day of the month of June, the selected institution will receive notification via email with the estimated number of students attending the classes in the upcoming academic year.

I(a)(1). The contractor will receive a unilaterally issued task order by the Government via e-mail to the primary liaison with a unique task order number assigned to it. The task orders issued will be firm fixed price and include the number of students. Task orders may be issued either for the quarter/semester or academic year.

The task orders will identify students by name and list the courses each student is required to take. After the task order is issued, the COR will contact the primary liaison and coordinate registration in the courses for each student. Ideally, the Premedical Advisor at the vendor’s institution would then register each student for the required courses, and notify the student and the COR by email of the class number, name, and day/time the class meets.

II. Invoices:

II(a). The contractor shall submit an invoice via e-mail to the Contract Specialist after issuance of the task order. All invoices must be submitted in accordance with FAR clause 52.212-4, contained in the contract.

II(b). Invoices shall be paid by an electronic funds transfer (EFT) issued by DFAS or by Government Purchase Card (GPC – Visa). Payment terms are net 30.

III. Options:

The Government reserves the right to include options in individual task orders, if deemed in our best interest. The options will be priced based on the firm fixed prices listed in the base IDIQ award for the applicable academic year. Options will be exercised IAW FAR clause 52.217-9 “Option to Extend the Term of the Contract.”

EVALUATION FACTORS

The government will award to the responsible vendor whose offer, conforming to this announcement, will be most advantageous to the government based on best value using trade-offs.

The Government is not required to award to the lowest priced offeror or the offeror quoting the highest technically rated proposal. Award will be made to the offeror whose offer is technically acceptable and whose Technical, Corporate Experience, Past Performance, Key Personnel and Price are the best value to the Government.

The Government reserves the right to award without discussions

The Government may reject any proposal that has been determined to be unrealistic in terms of price, when compared to the Government estimate, market research and other offerors. Proposals may also be rejected if the offeror does not display a clear understanding of the requirements or the terms and conditions in their proposal.

All evaluation factors other than price, when combined are significantly more important than price. However, as non-price evaluation factors are rated more equally among technically acceptable offerors, the importance of price increases.

Evaluation factors are listed in their order of importance, with the most important being listed first.

I. Technical II. Corporate Experience III. Past Performance IV. Key Personnel V. Price

I. Technical

Offerors must submit the following with their technical proposal:

· Address of campus students will be expected to attend for courses (Must be within 50 miles of 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814 – Distance will be confirmed in MapQuest)

· Documentation that shows offeror is:

· An accredited baccalaureate degree granting institution, accredited by the U. S. Department of Education and its affiliated bodies, such as the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools or the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

· Received a 3-Very Competitive rating or higher by Barron’s College Offerors must describe their technical approach to the following:

· One academic year of pre-medical prerequisite courses. Courses must include General Biology with Lab Part I, General Biology with Lab Part II, General Chemistry with Lab Part I, General Chemistry with Lab Part II, Organic Chemistry with Lab Part I, Organic Chemistry with Lab Part II, Physics with Lab Part I, Physics with Lab Part II, and Calculus.

· One academic year of upper division (preferably graduate-level) science courses. Courses must include Biochemistry.

· On-site classroom based Medical College Admission Test preparation (either integrated into the curriculum or through an on-campus commercial provider).

· Structured pre-health advising as evidenced by a staff member or office dedicated to pre-health advising as a primary responsibility.

· Pre-medical letters of evaluation for program participants.

· Tutoring as needed at no additional cost to students or the Government

II. Corporate Experience

Offerors must provide a narrative of their experience in providing the type of services requested. In addition, offerors must also describe the following experience:

· Experience in granting graduate level certificates or Master’s degrees, so that students may earn a graduate certificate or Master’s degree after completion of the second year of the Program curriculum

· Received a 3-Very Competitive rating or higher by Barron’s College

· If the vendor has an existing pre-medical post-baccalaureate program, the medical school acceptance rate for students who have successfully completed that program and applied to medical school within the first two years of completion.

III. Past Performance

The Government shall evaluate the offerors present and past performance within the past five (5) years. Offerors must provide contact information for three (3) of the most recent contracts with at least one year’s performance history of a similar complexity and scope as the USU requirement. The Government reserves the right to select which references to contact. The following must be provided for each listed contract:

· Name of agency and/or business and address

· Name of current point of contact including telephone number , e-mail address and title

· Contract number

· Contract value

· Contract period of performance

· Brief description of services provided

Offerors may provide copies of recent past performance evaluations. USU may request additional information at any time.

If teaming with another offeror the majority of past performance contacts (two (2) of three (3)) must be from the prime institution.

Offerors will have an opportunity to address any adverse past performance history. Offerors who do not have any past performance history will not be rated favorably or unfavorably, but will instead receive a Neutral/Unknown rating for past performance. Offerors must clearly state in their proposal if they do not have at least three (3) past performance references. Failure to address this information may render an offeror’s proposal non-responsive and may not be considered for award.

More than three (3) past performance references will be accepted.

A strong history of relevant past performance may be more advantageous to the Government than a less relevant record of favorable performance. The Government reserves the right to use data provided by the offeror and data provided by alternative sources in conducting its assessment of past performance history.

If an offeror has completed CPARS evaluations, they may submit those in place of the requested past performance references. Copies of the entire CPARS evaluation must be included in the proposal.

IV. Key Personnel

a) Contractor must provide the resume of the institute representative who will act as the primary liaison for USU Contracting Officer, Contract Specialists and COR. The contractor and primary liaison will be located within a proximity which allows full support for the technical and administrative requirements of the contract. Proposed liaison should exhibit demonstrated experience in their position and be familiar with the institutes mission, structure and procedures.

b) Offerors may provide resumes for other positions the offeror feels are necessary for successful performance. Offerors must indicate whether resumes provided are current employees or possible future employees. Any offeror providing a resume of an individual for an identified key position, who will not be available during contract performance, must provide an alternative with comparable qualifications.

c) Offerors must indicate in their proposal submission whether the proposed candidate currently is employed by the institution and if not, submit a letter of commitment from the proposed candidate. Offerors who fail to provide a signed letter of commitment from the proposed candidate in their quote submission, may be considered non-responsive.

IV. Price

Offerors responding to this requirement must submit a per student cost per academic year for the entire duration of the contract (5 years: August 2014 – August 2019) in the sample format below. Offerors may propose one cost per student, which would be fixed for the duration of the contract or may propose up to five (5) different per student costs for each year of the IDIQ contract. Offerors may also propose separate fixed prices per student for the each year of the two year program. The per student proposed costs of the selected offeror will be the fixed costs used for the duration of the contract to determine task order amount.

The number of students listed in the spreadsheet below is the expected number of students that will be selected for this program. The Government will evaluate price by the total cost calculated for the entire five year performance period based on the number of expected students. The Government does not guarantee that the estimated number of students listed below, will be the actual number of students.

In order to be considered for award, offerors must submit the completed spreadsheet with their proposed pricing as part of their price proposal, to include a price breakout of what is all included in the proposed cost. The purpose is to ensure that the proposed pricing includes all requirements outlined in the solicitation and that the offeror has a clear understanding of what will be required for performance. Offerors who fail to provide either the pricing worksheet attached to this solicitation or the price breakout, may be considered non-responsive.

Sample: (Estimated Number of Students – Enter Cost per Student per Year)

*Last year of the cohort that started in academic year 2019.

The price evaluated by the Government would be $3,112,000.00. The pricing proposed in the per student row would be the fixed pricing listed in the IDIQ contract award and would not be subject to adjustment.

Question Submittal Instructions

Offerors may submit questions, to include clarifications, in reference to any areas of the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Questions must be submitted via email to the contract specialist. All questions must be submitted as a Word attachment to the email.

Questions submitted by any means other than email will not be answered.

Questions must identify the RFP section and page number.

All questions must be submitted by April 2, 2014. Questions submitted after this date will not be answered. You will receive a confirmation email that your questions were received.

Questions will be answered and posted as an amendment to the solicitation on FedBizOpps. It is anticipated that all questions will be answered by April 7th.

POINT OF CONTACTS:

· Ms. Michelle Creenan (Contract Specialist) – michelle.creenan@usuhs.edu Proposal Submission Instructions:

Proposals submitted in response to this request for proposals (RFP) shall be hardcopy and mailed to or delivered to the following:

Uniformed Services University Attn: Michelle Creenan, RFP HU000114R0005 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, A1040C Bethesda, MD 20814

The proposal must be submitted to the address listed above. Email proposals, proposals submitted via fax, or by any other means will NOT be accepted.

Proposals are due by 1:00 P.M. Eastern local time on April 21st. The late proposal instruction found in FAR subpart 15.208 does apply to this solicitation. LATE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure proposals are received by the Government office designated in the solicitation. Once your proposal is received you will receive a confirmation email.

Proposal Organization:

Font Size: 11 Minimum Font Type: Calibri or Times New Roman Margins: “normal”, 1 inch all around Pages MUST be numbered

Proposals should be submitted in the following format and must use the numbering format as outlined:

· Coversheet – Must be on top of the submission package so confirmation email can be sent

· Institution/Offeror Name

· Solicitation Number

· Acknowledgement of Latest Amendment – Offerors who fail to acknowledge the latest amendment may be considered non-responsive

· POC Information – Name, Title, Email and Telephone

· DUNS Number

· Statement that Proposal is Valid for 90 Days

· Intro Letter (optional) – 1 page Maximum – Include mention of any teaming agreements and who they are.

Page Limitations:

· Technical Evaluation Factor: 20 Pages

· Corporate Experience Evaluation Factor: 10 Pages

· Past Performance Evaluation Factor: 10 Pages

· Key Personnel Evaluation Factor: 10 Pages

· Price Evaluation Factor: NO LIMITATION Offerors must submit the required number of copies of the Technical and Price proposals:

· Number of copies of Technical Proposal (To include: Technical, Corporate Experience, Past Performance and Key Personnel Evaluation Factors) = Ten (10)

· Number of copies of Price Proposal = Four (4)

Offeror must submit one (1) copy each of completed copies of two fill-in provisions included in the PROVISIONS and CLAUSES document attachment

· FILL-IN Provision: 52.209-7 Information Regarding Responsibility Matters

· FILL-IN Provision: 252.209-7993 Representation by Corporations Regarding an Unpaid Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under any Federal Law—Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations.

Oral Presentations:

The Government reserves the right to request oral presentations if deemed in our best interest. If oral presentations are requested by the Government, the institution is required to provide an audio recording of the presentation to the Government within two (2) business days after the presentation. The presentation may be held at either the institution or the Government installation and must be done in person.

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