Academic Catalog 2020-2021

- While the MCAT is required to obtain admission to medical school, it is not required for admission to the Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences program; however, stu- dents who enter the program having already obtained an MCAT score of 494 or higher have an advantage in that they have already met the MCAT component of the benchmarks required for admission into the VCOM DO program and can therefore focus solely on their BC MABS coursework. - All students are required to meet the Bluefield College Technical Standards for Ad- mission and Continued Enrollment found in the MABS Student Handbook. - A completed application for admission submitted through the Post Baccalaureate Centralized Application Service (Post-BacCAS) - Two letters of recommendation – one from a premedical committee or science fac- ulty member and one professional letter from a supervisor or shadowing mentor (preferred from an M.D. or D.O.) (submitted directly to the PostBacCAS). - Official, verified, transcripts from all universities and/or colleges attended (submit- ted directly to the PostBacCAS) Note: Many criteria beyond GPA play a role in the admissions process to this program, and acceptance into the program is competitive. While the Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences program provides an opportunity for the student to demonstrate improved aca- demic capability, it does not assure admission to a professional school. Background Check Requirements All incoming students are required to submit (directly to PreCheck) an application for a criminal background check. No other service will be accepted. A monetary fee (pay- able to PreCheck) must accompany the PreCheck application which is to be submitted by the tuition deposit date. An offer of admission and continued enrollment is contingent upon acceptable results from an accepted student’s Pre-Check report. Bluefield College/ VCOM reserves the right to put restrictions on or rescind an offer of admission based on information received on a background check. Also note that should any charge or arrest occur after acceptance, whether or not the accepted student was convicted, the student is required to inform Bluefield College/VCOM immediately when it occurs. Failure to report such charges or arrests, whether guilty or not, and/or failure to report immediately, within 24 hours, can result in the student’s offer of admission being rescinded. Upon review of the charge, Bluefield College/VCOM reserves the right to rescind the offer of admission prior to matriculation. Academic Standing for the MABS Program In line with the academic policies of Bluefield College, satisfactory academic standing for the MABS program requires that students must maintain a minimum grade point aver- age of 3.0 on a 4-point scale. If a student’s GPA falls below 3.0 at the end of any semester, the student will not be allowed to continue in the program. In order to continue in the pro- gram, students must petition the Vice President of Academic Affairs, who will convene an ad-hoc committee to decide the student’s status in the program. If approved to continue in the program, the student must create a plan for completion to be approved by the Depart- ment Chair of the Biology Department. Grading, grade appeals and grade changes will be consistent with the institution’s existing academic policies and can be found in the Blue- field College Catalog.

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