OHR Guidance Post-Secondary Students and College Graduates

Document Change History

A. Purpose.

This guidance establishes hiring procedures for two (2) competitive service hiring authorities for 1) Post-Secondary Students and 2) College graduates. These hiring authorities are not part of the Pathways Programs. The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act established them, which required the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to revise regulations to allow certain positions to be filled.

When this guidance differs from changes in applicable law or regulation, the changes in law or regulation apply.

B. Coverage.

This guidance covers time-limited appointments via the Post-Secondary Student hiring authority (5 CFR 316, Subpart I) and permanent career and career-conditional appointments via the College Graduate hiring authority (5 CFR §315.614) at the GS-11 grade level (or equivalent) and below.

The provisions of this guidance pertaining to conditions of employment of bargaining unit employees are fully negotiable in accordance with 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71. When the provisions of this guidance differ from the requirements contained in applicable collective bargaining agreement(s), the agreement takes precedence for covered bargaining unit employees.

C. References.

1. Public Law (P.L.) 115-232, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the Fiscal Year 2019, Section 1108
2. P.L. 116-92, NDAA for the Fiscal Year 2020 (modified part of 5 U.S.C. §3116)
3. 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) §3115, Expedited Hiring Authority for College Graduates; competitive service
4. 5 U.S.C. §3116, Expedited Hiring Authority for Post-Secondary Students; competitive service
5. 5 U.S.C. §3327, Civil Service Employment Information
6. 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §315.614, College Graduates
7. 5 CFR 316, Subpart I, Post-Secondary Students
8. 5 CFR 330, Subpart B, Reemployment Priority List

D. Responsibilities.

1. HHS Assistant Secretary for Administration, Office of Human Resources (ASA/OHR):
   1. Develops Department-wide human resources guidance on Post-Secondary Student and College Graduate hiring authorities consistent with HHS and OPM policy, procedures, and all applicable federal laws and regulations.
   2. Periodically reviews Operating Division and Staff Division (OpDiv/StaffDiv) recruitment actions to analyze compliance with this guidance and all applicable federal laws and regulations.
2. OpDiv and StaffDiv Human Resources Centers (HR Centers):
   1. Comply with this guidance and applicable federal laws and regulations when filling positions under these authorities.
   2. Calculate their Division’s annual hiring limits at the beginning of each fiscal year following the instructions in this guidance.
   3. Process personnel actions correctly, see Section 1. Personnel Actions of this guidance.
   4. Maintain individual recruitment case files to allow for third-party reconstruction and to respond to position information requested by OPM.

E. Hiring Limits (5 CFR §§315.614(i) and 316.913)

1. Each fiscal year, OpDivs/StaffDivs cannot exceed the hiring limits in the regulations cited above and described below:
   1. Post-Secondary Student Authority: The annual hire limit is 15% of the total number of student appointments to positions at the GS-11 level or below made by OpDiv/StaffDiv during the previous fiscal year.
      
      Student appointments made via the Post-Secondary Student (5 CFR 316, Subpart I) and Pathways Intern (5 CFR §213.3402(a) hiring authorities may be used to calculate the annual hiring limit.
      
      Appointments made via direct hire authorities, non-competitive authorities, the excepted service (other than the Pathways Intern Program), or merit promotion cannot be used to calculate the Post-Secondary Student hiring limit.
   2. College Graduate Authority: The annual hire limit is 15% of the total number of persons appointed by the OpDiv/StaffDiv during the previous fiscal year to positions classified in OPM’s administrative and professional occupational series (as defined in OPM’s Introduction to Position Classification Standards and their Handbook to Occupational Groups and Families), at the GS-11 level or below, via delegated examining procedures.
      
      Appointments made via direct hire authorities, non-competitive authorities, the excepted service, or merit promotion cannot be used to calculate annual College Graduate hiring limits.
   3. After calculating 15% of the total number of hires made during the previous fiscal year, round up or down to the nearest whole number, i.e., values ending in .5 or more are rounded up to the nearest whole number, and values ending in less than .5 are rounded down to the nearest whole number.
2. OPM has discretion to set a lower agency hiring limit during a fiscal year.

F. Recruitment (5 U.S.C. §2301; 5 U.S.C. §3327; 5 CFR §§315.614(e) and 316.905).

1. Vacancies must be advertised to the public; either via USAJOBS or the employing OpDiv/StaffDiv’s public facing home page.
2. If USAJOBS is not used, information about the position must, at a minimum, be advertised on the OpDiv/StaffDiv public facing home page either by posting the actual job announcement or a link to the job announcement.
3. All job announcements must include:
   1. Position title/series/grade;
   2. Minimum qualification requirements;
   3. Geographic location of position;
   4. Position salary;
   5. Eligibility for promotion/career ladder, if applicable;
   6. Workplace flexibilities (e.g., telework, remote work, student loan repayments); and
   7. Information on how to apply.
   8. Additionally, for Post-Secondary announcements:
      • If the position is temporary or term appointment;
      • For terms, must state the appointment may be extended up to the 4-year limit (appointment extensions are not allowed without this language); and
      • Potential for conversion to the OpDiv/StaffDiv’s permanent workforce.
   9. Additionally, for College Graduate announcements:
      • Reasonable accommodation statement, and
      • Equal opportunity statement (may use the statements located on USAJOBS).
4. Additional strategic outreach or notification options may be considered such as job fairs, universities, online job boards, publications, etc
5. The HHS Reemployment Priority List (RPL) must be cleared prior to filling positions (5 CFR 330, Subpart B). CTAP and ICTAP do not apply when filling positions (5 CFR 330, Subparts F and G, Exceptions to Placement/Selection Priority). See HHS Instruction 330-2, Priority Placement Programs, for information on the HHS RPL.

G. Post-Secondary Student Hiring Authority (5 U.S.C. §3116 and 5 CFR 316, Subpart I)

1. Authority. Beginning on 09/17/2021, HR Centers may recruit and fill time-limited competitive service positions at the GS-11 level or below without regard to any rule under 5 U.S.C. §§3309-3319 or 3330:
   1. Temporary appointments (for initial period NTE 1 year); or
   2. Term appointments (for an initial period expected to last more than one (1) year but less than four (4)).
   3. Initial appointments can be extended for a period that will allow the student to complete his/her degree requirements, provided the extension does not exceed the time limits in 5 CFR Part 316; the eligibility criteria (G.4.) for the appointment continues to be met, and the job announcement included extension language described in F.3. above.
   4. Appointments are subject to the time limits described in 5 CFR Part 316 unless OPM approves an exception for individual cases.
2. Classification (5 CFR §316.904). Positions must be classified under the General Schedule to the xx99 series of the occupational group of the position. Positions filled under the Federal Wage System must be classified to the xx01 series of the occupational group of the position.
3. Recruitment. Section F., Recruitment Methods.
4. Eligibility Requirement (5 CFR §316.902). Enrolled or accepted for enrollment and seeking a baccalaureate or graduate degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) in a qualifying educational institution (defined at 20 U.S.C. §1001), on a full or half-time basis as defined by the institution in which the student is enrolled.
5. Qualification Requirements (5 CFR §316.903). Candidates must meet OPM’s qualification requirements for the position (series/grade) being filled, but do not need to be rated/ranked.
6. Veterans’ preference does not apply when filling positions using this hiring authority.
7. Promotion (5 CFR §316.909).
   1. Initial appointment of more than one year: Employees are eligible if the individual meets the qualification requirements for the higher grade; the time in grade requirements (5 CFR 300, Subpart F); and the job announcement from which the employee was selected included a career ladder for the proposed grade level(s).
   2. Initial appointment less than one year: Employees are not eligible for the promotion.
8. Breaks in Program (5 CFR §316.908). OpDivs/StaffDivs may approve or deny a post-secondary employee’s request for a break in the program (i.e., a period of time when an employee is working but unable to go to school or is neither attending class nor working at HHS). HR Centers establish internal procedures for employees to submit written requests and apply them uniformly to all employees appointed under this authority.
9. Conversion (5 CFR 315, Subpart G, and §316.910). Employees may be converted to a permanent appointment in the competitive service within their employing OpDiv/StaffDiv, without further competition when the student has completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree and meets the OPM qualification requirements for the permanent position.
10. Termination (5 CFR §316.912). Employees are terminated upon the NTE date of the post-secondary student appointment unless the employee is converted to a permanent position in the competitive service, or the HR Center extends the appointment prior to expiration. (See G.1. above in this section for appointment time limits.)
11. Tenure (5 CFR §§316.907 and 316.911).
    1. Employees whose initial appointment is NTE 1 year are Tenure Group 0.
    2. Employees whose initial appointment is expected to last more than one year are Tenure Group III.
    3. Employees become a career or career-conditional employee only upon completion of the student’s academic requirements and non-competitive conversion to a permanent position unless the employee has already satisfied the requirements for career tenure in a previous position or is exempt from the service requirements in 5 CFR §315.201.
12. Acquisition of Competitive Status (5 CFR §§315.201(b)(1)(xvii) and 316.906). Employees acquire competitive status after non-competitive conversion to a permanent appointment and upon completion of an initial probationary period. See HHS Instruction 315-1, Probationary and Trial Periods.

H. College Graduate Hiring Authority (5 U.S.C. §3115 and 5 CFR §315.614)

1. Authority. Beginning on December 6, 2021, HR Centers may recruit and fill permanent competitive service positions classified in OPM’s administrative and professional occupational series at the GS-11 level or below, including positions with promotion potential above the GS-11 level, without regard to any rule under 5 U.S.C. §§3309-3319 or 3330. Appointments are career or career-conditional.
2. Classification (5 CFR §315.614(d)). HR Centers may fill positions under this authority that are classified in OPM’s administrative and professional series, as defined in OPM’s Introduction to Position Classification Standards and their Handbook to Occupational Groups and Families.
3. Recruitment. See Section F., Recruitment Methods.
4. Eligibility Requirement (5 CFR §315.614(b)). Must have completed a bachelor’s or advanced degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) within two (2) years of applying for employment (i.e., the date the application is submitted is the date received by the employing OpDiv/StaffDiv). The degree must be from an institution of higher education defined at 20 U.S.C. §1001. For applicants who have completed a degree and served at least four years in the uniformed services, the 2-year eligibility period begins on the date of the applicant’s discharge or release from the uniformed service.
5. Qualification Requirements (5 CFR §315.614(c)). Candidates must meet OPM’s qualification requirements for the position (series/grade) being filled, but do not need to be rated/ranked.
6. Veterans’ preference does not apply when filling positions using this hiring authority.
7. Promotion. Employees are eligible for the promotion if the individual meets the qualification requirements for the higher grade; the time in grade requirements (5 CFR 300, Subpart F); and the job announcement from which the employee was selected included a career ladder for the proposed grade level(s).
8. Tenure (5 CFR §§315.201 and 315.614(h)). Employees are Tenure Group I or II.
9. Acquisition of Competitive Status (5 CFR §315.614(g)). Employees acquire competitive status upon their completion of an initial probationary period. See HHS Instruction 315-1, Probationary and Trial Periods.

I. Personnel Actions (OPM Guide to Processing Personnel Actions, Chapters 9 and 10).

1. Post-Secondary Student Authorities.
   • Temporary Appointment: MAD, Reg 316.901
   • Term Appointment: MAE, Reg 316.901
   • Conversion to Permanent Competitive Service: LAC, Reg 316.910
2. College Graduate Authority.
   • Career or Career-conditional Appointment: LAU, Reg 315.614(a)

J. Guidance Information.

Owned by: ASA/Office of Human Resources, Policy and Accountability Division
Effective date: September 17, 2021 (Revised February 26, 2024)
Contact Information: employmentpolicy@hhs.gov