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The Federal Government benefits from a diverse workforce that includes students and recent graduates. The competitive hiring process for the Federal civil service is structured in a manner that favors job applicants who have significant previous work experience for entry level positions. That factor and the complexity of the rules governing admission creates a barrier to recruiting and hiring students and recent graduates and places the Federal Government at a competitive disadvantage compared to private-sector employers when it comes to hiring from that segment for entry-level positions. In Executive Order 13562 the President established or refined ground rules for several excepted service authorities in order to offer clear paths to internships and potential civil service careers for students and recent graduates, to establish meaningful developmental programs, and to provide a means by which students and recent graduates may be evaluated on the job.

The Pathways Programs framework consists of three separate programs for students and recent graduates in Schedule D of the excepted service. These programs are: the Internship Program, the Recent Graduates Program, and the PMF Program.

These regulations can be found in 5 CFR, 213, 302, 315, and 362.
• General Pathways Program rules are codified in 5 CFR part 362 subpart A.
• Rules specific to the Internship Program are codified at 5 CFR part 362 subpart B.
• Rules specific to the Recent Graduates Program are codified in 5 CFR part 362 subpart C.
• General provisions about Schedule D of the excepted service are codified in 5 CFR 213.3401-2.
• Regulations governing how to fill excepted service positions, including how to apply veterans’ preference,
are codified at 5 CFR part 302.

Agencies are advised to refer to these provisions before filling jobs under the Pathways Programs and to confer with their counsel if they have any questions.

The public notification requirement promotes fairness, transparency, and compliance with merit system principles by giving all interested applicants a way to learn about these opportunities and to do so through a single portal, www.USAJOBS.gov/StudentsandGrads.

Agencies may help promote participation in the Internship and Recent Graduates Programs through outreach and recruitment. As part of outreach, for example, agencies may inform students and recent graduates, colleges and universities’ representatives, or third-party intern providers (e.g., the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) about the Pathways Programs. Agencies may also provide general information at campus visits and events, liaison with campus career offices, and third-party intern providers. In contrast, recruitment occurs during the period when the agency is actively seeking to fill a position(s) under the Pathways Programs and is accepting applications, using a properly posted Pathways job opportunity announcement.

Yes. Agencies have the discretion to conduct outreach on campuses before (or without) posting a USAJOBS announcement. These may be informational/awareness-type events or liaison activities.

An agency must meet the public notification requirements of 5 CFR 362.203(a).

As part of a broader overall recruitment plan, agencies may conduct strategic recruitment activities focused on improving the diversity of the applicant pool and notifying a wide pool of potential applicants of job opportunities. However, agencies must ensure that such activities merely supplement the underlying plan and that public notice of the Job Opportunity Announcement is available to everyone.

Yes, provided they post alternative means of applying at the same time that they post the notice of the event. Agencies may hold recruitment events at only one campus or school prior to filling a job under the Pathways Programs as a part of a broader and more comprehensive outreach and recruitment strategy. When doing so, agencies must ensure the selected venue is open to all students (even those from other colleges or universities) who may want to attend the recruitment event. In other words, agencies cannot limit participation to students who attend the school or campus where the event is being held. Additionally, public notification containing details about the event, how/where to attend, and how to apply if one is unable to attend must be provided in advance of the event per 5 CFR 362.203(a) for the Internship Program. Agencies should aim to recruit from a variety of venues, consistent with good recruitment practices, to the extent practicable.

When holding recruitment events where an agency will accept applications, the following information must be included in the USAJOBS announcement publicizing the event:
• Location, date, and time of the event
• Any relevant information on how to access the event location (including reasonable accommodation
information for those with a disabling condition)
• Position title, series and grade of the job(s) to be filled
• Geographic location of the job(s) to be filled
• A public source (such as a link on the agency’s webpage) which contains information about how to
attend/apply for the event and how to apply if interested parties cannot attend the event
• Information about how to apply if a candidate is not going to attend the event.
• Information about how to claim veterans’ preference

OPM encourages agencies to utilize the following effective practices when recruiting for Pathways positions:
• Have a strategic recruitment strategy based on workforce planning for filling Pathways positions
• Conduct strategic recruitment with a variety of talent sources to build a pipeline of qualified applicants from
all segments of society
• Recruit from a diverse spectrum of campuses or schools prior to announcing and filling jobs through the
Pathways Programs
• When conducting on-campus recruitment, agencies should ensure the venue they are visiting is open to
anyone who can attend – not just students of the school where the event is taking place. In addition,
agencies must provide an adequate alternative means of applying and should provide any additional
information about the opportunity that would be helpful to a potential applicant who is unable to attend the
on-campus event.
• To the extent practicable, agencies are encouraged to conduct outreach events to make students and recent
graduates aware of the USAJOBS website and encourage them to apply for positions when they become
available
• When conducting on-campus recruitment, agencies should take into account the proximity of the campus to
the actual location of the job to be filled and the need for the student to be able to get to the job location in
order to benefit from the event.

To satisfy the Pathways Programs public notification requirement found in 5 CFR 326.104(c)(6)(iii) and 362.105(b), an agency must first provide OPM information about the job opportunities it intends to fill through Pathways and how it intends to post the opportunity. Theagency has the option to post a job opportunity announcement, an advertisement, or a notice of a recruiting event/job fair on www.USAJOBS.gov/StudentsandGrads. When using a USAJOBS advertisement or notice of recruitment event, agencies must provide a public source (such as a link on the agency’s webpage) which contains information about how to attend the event and how to apply if an interested party cannot attend the event.

At a minimum, agencies’ job opportunity announcements for Internship or Recent Graduate Programs positions posted on www.USAJOBS.gov/StudentsandGrads must include:
• Position title, series and grade of the position(s) being filled
• Geographic location(s) of the position(s) being filled
• Information about how to apply or a link to the agency’s website for more information and instructions for
submitting an application
• Reasonable Accommodation statement
• Information about how to claim veterans preference OPM also recommends inclusion of the following
information in job opportunity announcements:
• Brief description of duties of the job(s) to be filled
• Available work schedules for the job(s) to be filled
• Information about the possibility of conversion to permanent appointment (if applicable)
• Promotion potential (if applicable)
• Links to Pathways Programs information
• Availability of relocation expenses or recruitment incentives (if applicable)

No. Agencies must provide public notification (via www.USAJOBS.gov/StudentsandGrads and/or information on the agency’s website) when accepting applications for Pathways positions for which they are conducting recruitment. Moreover, the agency must post an adequate alternative method of applying for candidates who do not attend the career fair or other event.

Agencies have several options for managing the Pathways job announcement process so that it does not result in receiving an unmanageably high number of applications, including:

• Limiting the announcement open period. Agencies have discretion to determine the length of time a
Pathways Program job opportunity announcement is open. When doing so, agencies should give
consideration to the type of position, grade level, and geographic location of the position being filled. For
example, an Internship not-to-exceed (NTE) administrative position in a remote location with a nearby
campus being filled at the GS-4 level for the summer months may not need to be open as long as a scientific
or technical Internship position being filled at the GS-11 level at the Department headquarters location.

• Limiting the number of applications received. Agencies have the discretion to set ‘cut-offs’ or limits (e.g.,
the first 75 or 100 applications received) on the number of applications it will consider when filling a given
Pathways position. When using such limits, OPM strongly encourages agencies to accept any applications
received up until 11:59 p.m. of the day the limit is reached (to accommodate applicants in non-Eastern time
zones).

• Using specific eligibility requirements for entrance into your agency’s Pathways Programs. With respect to
your agency’s Intern Program, you may use requirements such as the ability to work a specified number of
hours each week or be in good academic standing; i.e., maintenance of a minimum grade point average
(GPA) as eligibility criteria. [Note: Agencies may not require the completion of educational requirements for
specific coursework for occupations that do not have a positive education requirement.] In addition,
agencies may require that applicants affirm their ability to work in the specific location(s) listed in the
announcement.

An agency's procedures for receiving applications (see 5 CFR 302.201) must address the use of these options. Additionally, when one or more of limitations are used the agency must state the limitation in the Pathways job opportunity announcements. Agencies must consider the merit systems principles when posting notices and consider whether the notice and time allowed will provide for a fair and open competition that assures that potential applicants for the position will receive fair and equitable treatment. Consultation with agency counsel is always desirable.

Yes. Pursuant to 5 CFR 362.105(c)(2), each agency is required to apply veterans’ preference when filling positions using the Pathways Programs.

Agencies must apply veteran’s preference in accordance with the procedures in 5 U.S.C. 3320 and 5 CFR 302, and any applicable agency policy. How veterans’ preference is applied depends upon the selection method the agency chooses to use when filling its Pathways jobs. In accordance with 5 CFR part 302, agencies can generally choose from among three selection methods when filling jobs in the excepted service: the ranked list, the unranked list, or a category rating-like process.

Ranked list – This method works the same as the ‘rule of three’ rating-and-ranking process used in the competitive service. Individuals are assessed against criteria which produces a numerical score. Preference eligibles who earn a passing score receive 5 or 10 points, as appropriate, which are added to their score. Applicants are then listed in score order and selection is made from the highest-ranked three names available on the list. Preference eligibles with a 10 percent or more disability are placed at the top of the list, and thus achieve the highest ranks. Agencies cannot select a non-preference eligible veteran over a preference eligible veteran with an equal or higher score without going through the applicable pass over procedures.

Unranked list – Applicants who meet basic eligibility criteria are listed by veterans’ preference category: 10 percent or more disabled veterans, other 10-point preference eligible veterans, 5-point preference eligible veterans, and then non-preference eligible veterans. An agency must consider the candidates in the highest preference group first. Agencies cannot select a non-preference eligible veteran until the preference eligibles are exhausted or the agency has gone through the proper pass over procedures with respect to the preference eligibles that are remaining.

Category rating- like process – Under 5 CFR part 302.105, agencies may establish their own systems for applying veterans’ preference provided that such a system results in preference eligible applicants receiving at least as much advantage as they would under the numerical ranking or unranked selection methods. Out of convenience, many agencies have adopted a category rating-like process. This method works the same way as category rating does in the competitive service. Rather than using numerical scores, individuals are assessed against agency-established criteria and placed in one of two or more pre-defined quality categories. Preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles in the quality category into which they are placed. Preference eligibles with a 10 percent or more disability are placed in the highest quality category (ahead of the non-preference eligibles). An agency must make its selection from the highest quality category. An agency cannot select a non-preference eligible over a preference eligible veteran until the preference eligibles in the top category are exhausted, or the agency has gone through the applicable pass over procedures with respect to the preference eligibles that are remaining in that top group. An agency may select any preference eligible veteran in the highest quality category.

If fewer than three people are in the highest quality category, the agency can merge the highest and second highest quality category into a new category – provided that all preference eligible veterans from both categories are listed ahead of the non-preference eligibles in the newly merged category.

Professional Order – When filling professional and scientific positions at the GS-9 level and above, the rules differ slightly. Agencies may list applicants either in a ranked list by score order or in an unranked list by preference status. When a ranked list is used, preference eligibles who earn a passing score will have an additional 5 or 10 points, as appropriate, added to their score. Applicants are then listed in score order (i.e., nobody “floats”), and selection is made from the highest-ranked three names available on the list. When an unranked list is used all qualified preference eligibles will be listed in order of preference status (which will consistent of candidates eligible for 10-point veterans’ preference followed by candidates eligible for 5-point veterans’ preference), followed by all other qualified applicants. An agency must consider preference eligibles in the highest preference group first. An agency may not consider a non-preference eligible until all preference eligibles have been exhausted or the agency has gone through the proper pass over procedures with respect to the preference eligibles who are remaining.

A preference eligible veteran, who does not have a compensable disability of 30 percent or more, can be eliminated from consideration only if the agency sustains the selecting official’s objection to the preference eligible for adequate reason. These reasons, which must be recorded, include reasons based upon the criteria for medical disqualification under 5 CFR Part 339, reasons based upon the criteria for making suitability determinations listed at 5 CFR 731.202, or other reasons considered by the agency. Agencies should be mindful of 5 U.S.C. 3320 and 5 CFR 332.406 in considering reasons for passing over a preference eligible, and should consult with their counsel concerning whether a given reason is likely to meet the standard of making selections “in the same manner and under the same conditions required for the competitive service” standard set out in section 3320. OPM must approve the sufficiency of an agency reason to medically disqualify or pass over a preference eligible to select a non-preference eligible or to object to or pass over a candidate based upon medical reasons. The preference eligible (or his or her representative) is entitled to a copy of the agency’s reason(s) for the pass over, upon request.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3312 and 5 CFR 339.102(c) and 332.406, the following special provisions apply to medically disqualifying a disabled veteran with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more, based on inability to perform the physical requirements of the position:
• The agency must at the same time notify, in writing, both OPM and the disabled veteran of the reasons for
its desire to disqualify the disabled veteran and of the veteran’s right to respond to OPM within 15 days of
the date of the notification.
• The agency must provide evidence to OPM that the notice was timely sent to the disabled veteran’s last
known address.
• OPM must make a determination on the disabled veteran’s physical ability to perform the duties of the
position, taking into account any additional information provided by the veteran. The agency must submit
sufficient evidence to support its request, including evidence that a reasonable accommodation is not
possible and that the employee cannot perform the essential functions of the position without endangering
the health and safety of the individual or others.
• OPM may ask the agency to submit more detailed information in support of its request.
• If OPM agrees that the veteran cannot fulfill the physical requirements of the position, the agency may select another qualified person from the certificate of eligibles. If OPM finds the veteran able to perform the job, the agency may not pass over the veteran on the basis of inability to perform the physical requirements.
• This procedure does not stop the agency from filling a position if it has more than one position to fill from the same certificate, and holds open a position that could be filled by the individual against whom a request has been filed.
• OPM will notify the agency and the disabled veteran of its decision, with which the agency must comply.
• OPM is prohibited by law from delegating these functions to any agency.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3318 and 5 CFR 332.406, the following special provisions apply to passing over a disabled veteran with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more, for nonmedical reasons:
• The agency must at the same time notify, in writing, both OPM and the disabled veteran of the reasons for
its desire to pass over the disabled veteran and of the veteran’s right to respond to OPM within 15 days of
the date of the notification.
• The agency must provide evidence to OPM that the notice was timely sent to the disabled veteran’s last
known address.
• OPM will determine if the request was for a proper and adequate reason under its regulations, and the
sufficiency of the evidence presented, taking into account any additional information provided by the
veteran.
• OPM may ask the agency to submit more detailed information in support of its request.
• If OPM sustains the pass over request, the agency may select another qualified person from the certificate of
eligibles. If OPM does not sustain the request, the agency may not pass over the veteran on the basis of the
reason presented.
• This procedure does not stop the agency from filling a position if it has more than one position to fill from
the same certificate, and holds open a position that could be filled by the individual against whom a request
has been filed.
• OPM will notify the agency and the preference eligible or disabled veteran of its decision, with which the
agency must comply.
• OPM is prohibited by law from delegating these functions to any agency.

It depends. There is no overarching requirement that applicants for positions in the excepted service be U.S. citizens. Many agencies, however, are subject to restrictions from
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paying non-citizens in their annual appropriations legislation or other agency-specific enabling and statutes. Each agency will need to consider whether any such restrictions apply to it, in conjunction with its agency counsel. Moreover, an agency may appoint a non-citizen to a Pathways Program position only if the student or recent graduate is lawfully admitted to the United States as a permanent resident or is otherwise authorized to be employed. A Pathways Intern, Recent Graduate, or Fellow must possess full U.S. citizenship by the end of the Program to be eligible for consideration for permanent Federal employment in the competitive service.

No. Students who have not completed their educational degree requirements may apply and be considered for a Recent Graduates job in the weeks/months prior to the job being filled. These individuals must, however, meet the definition of a Recent Graduate in 5 CFR part 362.302 in order to be appointed as a Recent Graduate under the Pathways Program.

In addition, agencies can choose to accept applications from individuals who will complete education by a certain cutoff; e.g., announcement closing, date certificate issued, appointment date. Any such conditions must be established in the agencies’ Pathways MOU and in the agencies’ application procedures under 5 CFR part 302.301.

The Pathways Programs regulation (see 5 CFR 362.103) defines certificate program as “post-secondary education, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum.”
Since the early days of the Cooperative Education Program (more recently called the Student Career Experience Program), a predecessor program to the Pathways Internship Program, certificate programs were included in the educational requirements to accommodate technical, trade, and vocational schools where individuals learn a trade that does not necessarily require a 2- or 4-year degree from a college or university. Generally, these occupational fields require licensure for an individual to practice his or her trade or craft. OPM did not intend the use of certificate programs to allow agencies to appoint individuals enrolled in short term “certificate programs” that are not required for the position or which lacked sufficient academic rigor.

For positions that have positive education requirements, agencies may impose educational requirements as they would relate to the OPM qualifications standard for the target position if stated as eligibility requirements, rather than minimum qualification requirements. For example, if an agency is filling a Petroleum Engineering Intern position, which upon conversion would require that the Intern had completed specific courses in engineering, then the agency may indicate that only students who have completed or are currently taking some or all those required courses will be eligible for the Petroleum Engineering Intern position.

For positions that do not have positive education requirements, agencies may not impose education degree requirements or require that specific courses have been, or will be, taken as an eligibility requirement. The agency may indicate in the Pathways job opportunity announcement that they seek or prefer candidates who are pursuing specific degree paths or courses. However, agencies must follow the selection procedures in 5 CFR part 302, before making a selection.

Yes. Agencies may use requirements such as the ability to work a specified number of hours per week or be in good academic standing as eligibility criteria. However, the hiring agency must ensure that all such criteria are stated in the agency’s Pathways MOU with OPM, the job opportunity announcement, and the participant agreement.

No. Intern NTE positions are used to complete temporary projects, to perform labor-intensive tasks not requiring subject-matter expertise, or to fill traditional summer jobs. This work is not required to be related to the student’s area of study.

No. The Internship position either must be related either to the student's academic field of study or the student’s career interests.