Operating Manual

Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions

GENERAL POLICIES AND INSTRUCTIONS

Part E.6 - E.8

6. Using Selective Factors

It is critical that agencies clearly and adequately identify the requirements of a position in the vacancy announcement so that applicants understand the basis on which their application will be evaluated. In most instances, this explicit description of required general or specialized experience in the vacancy announcement will ensure that applicants possess the necessary KSA's to perform the work of a position. (See p.II-5, E.3.(c).)

There are some positions, however, where specific qualifications are absolutely required because a person cannot perform successfully in the position without such qualifications. These can include requirements for specific KSA's or Federal or State requirements for licensure or certification. In such instances, it may be appropriate to consider the use of selective factors. A selective factor becomes part of the minimum requirements for a position, and applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. A selective factor can be used for positions at any grade level where its use would be appropriate.

The use of selective factors is especially helpful in situations where an agency uses an OPM list of eligibles, since individuals on the register would meet the requirements of the published qualification standard, but might not meet any additional, agency-specific requirement(s). Their use would also be helpful in those situations in which an agency has a nationwide vacancy announcement, but has a special requirement for positions in a particular location because a duty performed is not routinely associated with the occupation, e.g., a contact representative position that requires fluency in Spanish.

If an agency wishes to use a selective factor when filling a vacancy through use of a civil service list of eligibles, it must complete a request and provide justification for the examining office's consideration and approval. The request should list the selective factor(s), include the position description or other official communication describing the duties and responsibilities of the position, and describe why selective factors are necessary for successful performance.

Selective factors cannot (1) be so narrow that they preclude from consideration applicants who could perform the duties of the position, (2) require KSA's that could be learned readily during the normal period of orientation to the position, (3) be so specific as to exclude from consideration applicants without prior Federal experience, or (4) be so restrictive that they run counter to the goal of placing applicants from priority placement lists established to assist in the placement of employees affected by reductions in force.

It is essential that any selective factors used in filling a particular vacancy be included in the vacancy announcement. Agencies cannot require applicants to meet selective factors that were not established prior to advertising a position, nor can they require selective factors that were not made known to applicants.

The KSA's gained from experience and education may be used as selective factors in accordance with the following instructions:

  (a) Experience--Agencies can request that examining offices honor selective factors that could have been acquired only through experience where the position requires program, regulatory, and/or procedural knowledge, such as knowledge of personnel, budget, laboratory, or purchasing procedures. Education alone may not have provided all the KSA's required for such a position; however, education supplemented by work such as internships, field work, and cooperative education that provided the program, regulatory, or procedural knowledge may be qualifying for the position. It is important to note that agencies cannot make experience requirements so specific that only employees of the agency could meet the minimum requirements, as this would inappropriately restrict competition.

  (b) Education--If the applicable standard allows for qualifying either on the basis of experience or education, an agency cannot require that applicants qualify on the basis of education only. However, the restriction in title 5 U.S.C. 3308 does not preclude agencies from evaluating an applicant's education to determine if it provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to meet selective or quality ranking factors. Additionally, agencies can request that consideration be limited to fields of study that provide the specific KSA's for a particular position when considering the qualifications of individuals applying on the basis of education. (For example, an agency has a vacancy for a physicist position specializing in a branch of solid state physics. Although the standard permits qualifying on the basis of a major in physics or a related field, the agency may wish to limit consideration to those applicants with educational backgrounds that provided knowledge of the particular branch of solid state physics.)

7. Using Quality Ranking Factors

Agencies can request quality ranking factors to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for a position. Quality ranking factors are KSA's that could be expected to enhance significantly performance in a position, but, unlike selective factors, are not essential for satisfactory performance. (For example, skill in public speaking might be used as a quality ranking factor for a position in an organization where policy changes are communicated to the public in several ways, and oral communication is one of the ways.) Applicants who possess the quality ranking factors can be ranked above those who do not, but no one can be rated ineligible solely for failure to possess a quality ranking factor.

The KSA's used as quality ranking factors may have been obtained through either experience or education. Therefore, relevant academic courses can provide evidence of possession of quality ranking factors even for occupations where their use as selective factors is prohibited by title 5 U.S.C. 3308. This would be particularly true at entry grade levels where many applicants may not possess experience that demonstrated the applicable KSA's. For example, a budget analyst position may involve duties such as determining whether the budget requests of several divisions in an agency are justified based on economic forecasts. While no particular courses are required for basic eligibility as a budget analyst, for applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements on the basis of education, courses such as business administration, finance, or economics might reasonably be expected to enhance performance in the position.

8. Special Inservice Placement Provisions

Inservice placement applicants may meet minimum qualification requirements based on education (including superior academic achievement) and/or experience, as specified in the appropriate qualification standard. To qualify, they must usually have the same level and type of experience or education that is required for initial appointment. However, there are some special provisions, as follows:

  (a) Minimum educational requirements--When there is a change to or addition of minimum educational requirements to an occupational series, Federal employees currently classified to that series do not have to meet the new educational requirements. (Also see (b) below.)

  (b) The "add-on rule"--If an employee qualified for his or her current position by meeting the provisions of the appropriate standard (either an OPM standard or an agency-modified standard, as described in (c) below), the agency need only add on the difference between the length of experience required for the current position and the length of experience required for the proposed position. For example, a GS-2 employee in a clerical position qualified for his or her current position on the basis of high school graduation. The employee would be eligible for promotion to GS-3 after 3 months of employment, since the difference between the experience requirements for GS-2 (3 months) and the experience requirements for GS-3 (6 months) is 3 months. Note that at the GS-2 level, a high school diploma is credited the same as 3 months of experience.

The "add-on rule" can be used even when the current and proposed positions are classified in different series if the level and quality of the experience required for the two series are not significantly different. The "add-on rule" can be used for any inservice placement action as defined in this Manual; however, the following restrictions apply:

• If minimum educational requirements have been established or changed for an employee's former series, the "add-on rule" can be used to return the employee to that series only if:
  1. The employee has maintained current occupational knowledge through employment or education and meets any licensure or certification requirements; and

  2. Comparison of the position descriptions or other documentation of work performed shows clearly that the employee's former position included all the basic duties of the position to be filled and provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the new position. (This is particularly important when a minimum educational requirement has been added to an occupational series that did not have one when the employee served in it. In that instance, some positions formerly classified in the series may not have required full occupational knowledge and are now classified in a different series.)
• If an employee has been placed in a position based on waiver of qualification requirements, the "add-on rule" does not apply, since the waiver provisions are normally applicable to that position only.

  (c) Modifying experience requirements for certain inservice placement actions--An agency may determine that an individual can successfully perform the work of a position even though that person may not meet all the requirements in the OPM qualification standard. In that situation, agencies are authorized to modify OPM qualification standards for reassignments, voluntary changes to lower grades, transfers, reinstatements, and repromotions to a grade not higher than a grade previously held when the applicant's background includes related experience that provided the KSA's necessary for successful job performance. This authority should be used only when there is a reasonable likelihood that the employee will successfully make the transition to the new position, and cannot be used for directed reassignments to positions in which an employee obviously would not be able to perform the work.

This authority is not to be used for placement to a higher grade, except where the employee previously held a position at that grade or higher grade levels.

This authority can be used to place an employee in a position with greater promotion potential than the position currently or previously held. If an agency's merit promotion plan requires employees to compete for the position, the agency must specify in the vacancy announcement the qualification requirements to be met. The experience accepted as qualifying should equip the employee to meet the critical elements set out in the performance standard for the position. This provision does not authorize agencies to disregard minimum educational, licensure, or certification requirements in OPM standards.

The agency's use of a modified standard should be documented sufficiently to show that it was intentional, and that the assignment did not result from misinterpretation of the OPM standard. When an employee has been placed in a position based on modification of a qualification standard under this provision, the "add-on rule" may be applied in any subsequent inservice placement action.

(d) Experience level required for promotion in one-grade interval series. In a one-grade interval series, experience at the second lower grade level can be credited when there is no position in the normal line of progression that is one grade lower than the position being filled. When this provision is used for promotions requiring competition under the agency's merit promotion plan, the fact that employees can qualify with at least 1 year at either the next lower level or the second lower level must be stated in any vacancy announcement. (Also see p. II-9, E.3.(o)).

  (e) Crediting education or training for promotion-- Education or training can be credited as experience towards promotion for employees who are detailed or are granted leave without pay for the purpose of obtaining specialized knowledge and skills. The agency must determine that the education or training contributes materially to the competence of the employee in his/her work and that the employee possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for successful performance in the position to be filled. This education cannot be credited again towards meeting the basic educational requirements in a standard. (See p.II-8, E.3.(i).)

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