Section J Attachment 1_20R0014 EMDP2 SOW.pdf

Attachment 1: EMDP2 Statement of Work, 23 Mar 2021 RFP No. HU000121R0014

I. Background

The Uniformed Services University (USU) of the Health Sciences is the nation's federal health sciences university and supports the readiness of America’s warfighter and the health and well-being of the military community by educating and developing uniformed health professionals.

In 2014, the USU partnered with the Military Services to develop and implement the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program (EMDP2). EMDP2 enables highly qualified enlisted service members to complete preparatory coursework for admission to medical school while maintaining active duty status.

EMDP2 is a USU partnership with a college or university (Contractor) to provide a program that educates a cohort of students in a synchronous learning format across a two-year time period.

II. Scope

Each cohort of students shall be registered in the same classes in order to complete the courses together. Individual task orders may be issued in circumstances where a student needs to re-take one or more courses. Students shall be grouped together in an exclusive cohort with dedicated faculty, tutors, and administrators. The scope of this effort anticipates five (5) cohorts under this SOW. Each cohort will be under its own IDIQ Task Order. Exact dates for each cohort’s period of performance may vary, but shall be contained in the delivery schedule of each Task Order.

Cohorts shall start in a Summer term and end in a Spring Term. Each cohort encompasses:

A. Year One - 10 pre-medical courses B. Year Two - 24 semester hours of graduate level courses C. Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) preparation D. Pre-health academic advising E. Tutoring services

The Contractor’s campus where all traditional courses, test preparation, advising and tutoring are offered, as well as the liaison’s physical office, shall be within 50 miles of the USU, Bethesda, MD campus (4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814). The Contractor’s campus and the liaison’s physical office may, but do not need to, be co-located.

The Contractor shall offer courses, MCAT preparation, advising and tutoring in a traditional, on-campus setting. The Contractor shall hold and maintain a ranking between 1 (Most Competitive) and 4 (Competitive) in the current Barron's Profiles of American Colleges (currently, 35th Edition – 2019). In addition, the Contractor shall be a baccalaureate degree granting institution accredited by regionally recognized accrediting agency in accordance with the U.S. Department of Education website (https://www.ed.gov/accreditation).

If, for reasons of global/national/state/local emergency, a traditional (in-person) classroom setting cannot be accommodated, a virtual-instructor-led-training (VILT) shall be made available with a scalable virtual learning element.

III. Description of Requirement

A. Year One. The core course sequence covers the pre-medical prerequisites for application to the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine and shall consist of the following courses:

1. General Biology with Lab Part I

2. General Biology with Lab Part II

3. General Chemistry with Lab Part I

4. General Chemistry with Lab Part II

5. Organic Chemistry with Lab Part I

6. Organic Chemistry with Lab Part II

7. Physics with Lab Part I

8. Physics with Lab Part II

9. Biochemistry

10. Statistics

The 10 classes that comprise the core course sequence shall be offered every academic year and not on a multi-year rotation. At least 80% of the year one core courses shall be offered during the traditional duty day (Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.). A new cohort of students shall matriculate every summer and must be able to complete the entire core course sequence with adequate time to sit for the MCAT and submit medical school applications during the summer following completion of year one. Cohorts shall start in a Summer term and end in the following Spring Term. To assist in student acclimatization, one of the core courses (e.g. General Chemistry with Lab Part I) shall be offered during the first summer of the Program. Students who have previously completed a year one core course in advance of enrolling in the EMDP2 program shall have the option of enrolling in a Psychology or a Sociology course (no more than one) as a substitute for the Year One course they have already taken at no additional cost.

B. Year Two. 24 semester hours of graduate-level science courses shall be offered. Cohorts shall start in a Summer term and end in the following Spring Term.

C. Medical College Admission Test. The Contractor shall offer formal Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) preparation. It shall be either integrated into the curriculum or through the Contractor’s on-campus commercial provider. The MCAT preparation course must be completed by 31 May to allow students to test by the end of the first year in the program. The preferred method of MCAT preparation is on-site, classroom based. If, in case of reasons of global/national/state/local emergency, a traditional (in-person) classroom setting cannot be accommodated, virtual-instructor-led-training (VILT) shall be made available.

D. Pre-health academic advising. Program participants will not be limited to service members from medical specialties or assignments thus, participation in the program may constitute a career change, necessitating reasonable assistance in understanding the most significant elements of pre-medical career planning. As such, the Contractor shall offer structured pre-health academic advising by a staff member or office dedicated to pre-health advising as a primary responsibility. Pre-health academic advising shall include assistance with course selection, monitoring of academic performance and offering general academic support. If, in case of reasons of global/national/state/local emergency, a traditional (in-person) setting cannot be accommodated, advising shall be conducted in a virtual setting.

E. Tutoring services. The Contractor shall offer tutoring to students as needed at no additional cost to students. Tutors must have a graduate degree in the discipline being tutored and experience in tutoring. 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. If, in case of reasons of global/national/state/local emergency, a traditional (in-person) setting cannot be accommodated, tutoring shall be conducted in a virtual setting.

F. Liaison. The Contractor shall designate a representative who shall act as their liaison with the

USU Contracting Officer, Contract Specialist, and Contracting Officer Representative

(COR).

G. Meetings. The liaison shall attend meetings regarding program performance to include the students’ performance. Meetings may be in person at the Government site or the Contractor’s site, or via video teleconference. The following meetings are anticipated, but are not limited to:

1. IDIQ contract kickoff meeting held upon award.

2. Performance meeting upon completion of the first semester for each cohort.

3. Performance meeting upon completion of the first and second year for the initial cohort of students.

Additional meetings may be scheduled by either the Government or Contractor as needed.

H. Reports and Deliverables. The Contractor shall provide the following reports for each Cohort.

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

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

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

4. Narrative evaluation of each student. At the end of year one, the pre-health academic advisor or office shall provide a pre-medical letter of evaluation for each student. This can 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.

The reports and deliverables listed above shall be submitted via email to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), with the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist copied.

Reports and deliverables shall not be accepted by any other means, unless authorized in writing at least 14 days in advance by the COR.