[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 16, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12812-12813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5179]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 16, 2005 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 12812]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 213

RIN 3206-AK59


Excepted Service--Student Program

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing proposed 
regulations to allow certain job-related experience acquired in a 
structured work-study program to be credited under the Student Career 
Experience Program. The proposed change would permit agencies to credit 
a student's job-related work-study experience toward the minimum 
requirement for conversion to a permanent appointment under the 
Program.

ADDRESSES: Send, fax, or deliver written comments to Mark Doboga, 
Deputy Associate Director, Center for Talent and Capacity Policy, U.S. 
Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Room 6500, 
Washington, DC 20415, e-mail: [email protected], FAX: 202-606-2329.
    Comments may also be sent through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
at: http://www.regulations.gov. All submissions received through the 
Portal must include the agency name and docket number or Regulation 
Identifier Number (RIN) for this rulemaking.

DATES: Comments will be considered if received by May 16, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pam Galemore, 202-606-0960, FAX: 202-
606-2329, TDD: (202) 606-0023, or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Student Career Experience Program (SCEP 
or Program), a component of the Student Educational Employment Program, 
was established by Executive Order 12015 to permit students completing 
approved career-related work-study programs to be appointed non-
competitively to career or career-conditional positions in the 
competitive service. OPM has implemented the Executive order by 
regulation in section 213.3202(b) of title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations. The Program permits Federal agencies to appoint students 
attending a high school, an accredited technical or vocational school, 
2 or 4-year college or university, or graduate or professional school 
to positions in the excepted service so that they may gain work 
experience that is related to and complements their academic course of 
study. The regulation also authorizes a Federal agency to appoint 
students who meet the requirements set forth in section 213.3202(b)(11) 
without further competition to positions in the competitive civil 
service. The Program gives students valuable work experience in a field 
related to their academic course of study and allows them to experience 
firsthand the rewards of public service; at the same time, it gives an 
agency the opportunity to observe students' job performance in the work 
environment and evaluate them as potential employees.
    OPM has refined the Program over time, reducing the required number 
of work-related hours for noncompetitive appointment (from 1040 to 640 
hours) and expanding the types of academic degrees that qualify a 
student for the Program. The original intent has remained constant: to 
provide students with an integrated program of academic study and 
related work experience while building a candidate pool of promising, 
high-potential graduates for entry-level positions in the Federal civil 
service.
    OPM proposes to modernize the Program to reflect current trends in 
student employment. Proposed revisions include a provision that would 
allow an agency to credit up to 320 hours of job-related experience 
gained in other formal (and comparable) work-study programs towards 
SCEP requirements. The proposed regulations would also allow an agency 
to credit job-related experience acquired by a degree-seeking student 
as an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States 
(including the National Guard and the Reserves). Finally, the proposed 
regulations would permit an agency to waive up to one-half of the 
required SCEP work experience hours for those students who have 
exceptional job performance and academic excellence while enrolled in 
the Program (or equivalent).
    These proposed changes reflect contemporary student employment 
trends and allow Federal agencies to take advantage of relevant, job-
related experience acquired in public service work-study programs that 
are as rigorous as programs they may themselves offer. For example, 
many promising students today serve in Federal agencies under stipend 
programs, non-Federal internships, scholarships, or grants; such 
experience is comparable to that gained under SCEP, but because the 
student may not have been employed directly by the agency, it does not 
count towards SCEP requirements. OPM believes that with sufficient 
rigor, some portion of such service would clearly meet the Program's 
intent and should be so credited. This proposed regulatory change will 
permit agencies to evaluate and accept a promising student's job-
related work-study experience, even if some of that experience was 
acquired in non-Federal positions.
    Credit for non-Federal work experience and the waiver of up to one-
half of minimum work experience would apply only to SCEP students 
enrolled in accredited colleges and universities.
    The proposed regulations also revise the definition of ``student'' 
in sections 213.3202(a)(2) and (b)(2) to specify that schools must be 
accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education or, for high schools, have a curriculum 
approved by a State or local governing body. The regulations also 
expand current policy to allow credit for related work experience, as 
determined by the agency, gained during any Student Educational 
Employment Program appointment.
    We seek comments from reviewers as to whether they believe this 
rule would give certain students an unfair advantage over others, such 
as fellows appointed under 5 CFR 213.3102(r) or student volunteers 
under 5 CFR 308. This proposal does not allow agencies to credit up to 
320 hours of a fellow's or student volunteer's job-related experience 
towards SCEP requirements.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    I certify that this regulation will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities

[[Page 12813]]

because it affects only certain Federal employees.

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Review

    This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget 
in accordance with Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 213

    Government employees, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Office of Personnel Management.
Dan G. Blair,
Acting Director.

    Accordingly, OPM proposes to amend 5 CFR Part 213 as follows:

PART 213--EXCEPTED SERVICE

    1. The authority citation for part 213 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3161; 5 U.S.C. 3301 and 3302; E.O. 10577, 3 
CFR 1954-1958 Comp., p. 218; Sec. 213.101 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 
2103; Sec. 213.3102 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3301, 3302, 3307, 
8337(h) and 8456; E.O. 13318, 68 FR 66317, Nov. 25, 2003; 38 U.S.C. 
4301 et seq.; Pub. L. 105-339, 112 Stat 3182-83; and E.O. 13162, 65 
FR 43211, July 12, 2000.

    2. Revise Sec.  213.3202, paragraphs (a)(2), (b)(2), and (b)(11) to 
read as follows:

Sec.  213.3202  Entire executive civil service.

    (a) * * *
    (2) Definition of student: A student is an individual who has 
been accepted for enrollment or who is enrolled and seeking a degree 
(diploma, certificate, etc.) in a high school whose curriculum has 
been approved by a State or local governing body, or in a technical 
or vocational school, 2-year or 4-year college or university, or 
graduate or professional school, that has been accredited by an 
accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department 
of Education. The definition of half-time is the definition provided 
by the school in which the student is enrolled. Students need not be 
in actual physical attendance, so long as all other requirements are 
met. An individual who needs to complete less than the equivalent of 
half an academic/vocational or technical course-load in the class 
enrollment period immediately prior to graduating is still 
considered a student for purposes of this program.
* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (2) Definition of student: A student is an individual who has 
been accepted for enrollment or who is enrolled and seeking a degree 
(diploma, certificate, etc.) in a high school whose curriculum has 
been approved by a State or local governing body, or in a technical 
or vocational school, 2-year or 4-year college or university, or 
graduate or professional school, that has been accredited by an 
accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department 
of Education. The definition of half-time is the definition provided 
by the school in which the student is enrolled. Students need not be 
in actual physical attendance, so long as all other requirements are 
met. An individual who needs to complete less than the equivalent of 
half an academic/vocational or technical course-load in the class 
enrollment period immediately prior to graduating is still 
considered a student for purposes of this program.
* * * * *
    (11) Program requirements for noncompetitive conversion. (i) A 
student who is a U.S. citizen may be noncompetitively converted from 
the Student Career Experience Program to a term, career or career-
conditional appointment under Executive Order 12015 (as amended by 
Executive Order 13024) when the student has:
    (A) Completed at least 640 hours of career-related work 
experience acquired through a Federal work-study program while 
otherwise enrolled as a full-time or part-time, degree-seeking 
student. Up to 320 hours acquired through a comparable non-Federal 
work-study program meeting the criteria set forth in paragraph 
(b)(11)(ii) of this section may be credited toward the 640-hour 
minimum for students pursuing degrees under paragraphs (b)(1)(i)(D) 
through (F) of this section;
    (B) Completed a course of academic study from an accredited 
school conferring a diploma, certificate, or degree, within the 120-
day period preceding the appointment;
    (C) Received a favorable recommendation regarding such an 
appointment by an official of the agency or agencies in which the 
job-related work experience was acquired; and
    (D) Met the qualification standards for the position to which 
the student will be appointed.
    (ii) To be creditable under paragraph (b)(11)(i)(A) of this 
section, work experience must be in a field or functional area that 
is generally related to the student's target position/career field 
and must be acquired either under a Student Educational Employment 
Program appointment or while the student:
    (A) Worked in, but not for, a Federal agency, pursuant to a 
formal work-study agreement between the agency and the accredited 
academic institution;
    (B) Worked in, but not for, a Federal agency, pursuant to a 
written contract between the agency and an organization officially 
established to provide internship experiences to students; or
    (C) Served as a member in good standing of the armed forces of 
the United States (including the National Guard and Reserves), as 
defined in 5 U.S.C. 2101.
    (iii) Agencies may waive up to one-half (i.e., 320 hours) of the 
640-hour minimum service requirement in paragraph (b)(11)(i)(A) of 
this section if a student enrolled in an accredited college or 
university completes 320 hours of career-related work experience 
under a Student Educational Employment Program appointment and has 
demonstrated high potential, as evidenced by outstanding academic 
achievement and exceptional job performance.
    (A) Outstanding academic achievement must be demonstrated by an 
overall grade point average of 3.5 or better, on a 4.0 scale; 
standing in the top 10 percent of the student's graduating class; 
and/or induction into a nationally-recognized scholastic honor 
society (see the definition of superior academic achievement in 
OPM's Qualifications Standards for General Schedule Positions 
available on the OPM Web site at http://www.opm.gov).
    (B) Exceptional job performance must be demonstrated by a formal 
evaluation conducted by the student's work-study supervisor(s), in a 
manner consistent with the applicable performance appraisal program 
established under an approved performance appraisal system.
    (iv) Service credited under paragraphs (b)(ii)(A) and (B) of 
this section is not creditable for any other purpose of this 
chapter. Student volunteer service under part 308 of this chapter 
may not be credited under this section.
    (v) Noncompetitive conversion may be to a position within the 
same agency or any other agency within the Federal Government but 
must be to an occupation related to the student's academic training 
and work-study experience.
    (vi) Agencies that noncompetitively convert a Student Career 
Experience Program graduate to a term appointment may also 
noncompetitively convert that individual to a career or career-
conditional appointment before the term appointment expires.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-5179 Filed 3-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-39-P