Recruiting and Hiring Students and Recent Graduates

Executive Order 13562 of December 27, 2010

Recruiting and Hiring Students and Recent
Graduates

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including sections 3301 and 3302 of title 5,
United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. The Federal Government benefits from
a diverse workforce that includes students and recent
graduates, who infuse the workplace with their
enthusiasm, talents, and unique perspectives. The
existing competitive hiring process for the Federal
civil service, however, is structured in a manner that,
even at the entry level, favors job applicants who have
significant previous work experience. This structure,
along with the complexity of the rules governing
admission to the career civil service, creates a
barrier to recruiting and hiring students and recent
graduates. It places the Federal Government at a
competitive disadvantage compared to private-sector
employers when it comes to hiring qualified applicants
for entry-level positions.

To compete effectively for students and recent
graduates, the Federal Government must improve its
recruiting efforts; offer clear paths to Federal
internships for students from high school through post-
graduate school; offer clear paths to civil service
careers for recent graduates; and provide meaningful
training, mentoring, and career-development
opportunities. Further, exposing students and recent
graduates to Federal jobs through internships and
similar programs attracts them to careers in the
Federal Government and enables agency employers to
evaluate them on the job to determine whether they are
likely to have successful careers in Government.

Accordingly, pursuant to my authority under 5 U.S.C.
3302(1), and in order to achieve a workforce that
represents all segments of society as provided in 5
U.S.C. 2301(b)(1), I find that conditions of good
administration (specifically, the need to promote
employment opportunities for students and recent
graduates in the Federal workforce) make necessary an
exception to the competitive hiring rules for certain
positions in the Federal civil service.

Sec. 2. Establishment. There are hereby established the
Internship Program and the Recent Graduates Program,
which, along with the Presidential Management Fellows
Program, as modified herein, shall collectively be
known as the Pathways Programs. I therefore direct the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to
issue regulations implementing the Pathways Programs
consistent with this order, including:

    (a) a description of the positions that executive
departments and agencies (agencies) may fill through
the Pathways Programs because conditions of good
administration necessitate excepting those positions
from the competitive hiring rules;
    (b) rules governing whether, to what extent, and in
what manner public notice should be provided of job
opportunities in the Pathways Programs;
    (c) a description of career-development, training,
and mentorship opportunities for participants in the
Pathways Programs;
    (d) requirements that managers meaningfully assess
the performance of participants in the Pathways
Programs to identify those who should be considered for
conversion to career civil service positions;
    (e) a description of OPM oversight of agency use of
the Pathways Programs to ensure that (i) they serve as
a supplement to, and not a substitute for,

the competitive hiring process, and (ii) agencies are
using the Pathways Programs in a genuine effort to
develop talent for careers in the civil service;
    (f) a description of OPM plans to evaluate
agencies' effectiveness in recruiting and retaining
talent using the Pathways Programs and of the
satisfaction of Pathways Programs participants and
their hiring managers; and
    (g) standard naming conventions across agencies, so
that students and recent graduates can clearly
understand and compare the career pathway opportunities
available to them in the Federal Government.

Sec. 3. Internship Program. The Internship Program
shall provide students in high schools, community
colleges, 4-year colleges, trade schools, career and
technical education programs, and other qualifying
educational institutions and programs, as determined by
OPM, with paid opportunities to work in agencies and
explore Federal careers while still in school. The
Internship Program would replace the existing Student
Career Experience Program, established pursuant to
Executive Order 12015 of October 26, 1977. The
following principles and policies shall govern the
Internship Program:

    (a) Participants in the program shall be referred
to as “Interns” and shall be students enrolled, or
accepted for enrollment, in qualifying educational
institutions and programs, as determined by OPM.
    (b) Subject to any exceptions OPM may establish by
regulation, agencies shall provide Interns with
meaningful developmental work and set clear
expectations regarding the work experience of the
intern.
    (c) Students employed by third-party internship
providers but placed in agencies may, to the extent
permitted by OPM regulations, be treated as
participants in the Internship Program.

Sec. 4. Recent Graduates Program. The Recent Graduates
Program shall provide individuals who have recently
graduated from qualifying educational institutions or
programs with developmental experiences in the Federal
Government intended to promote possible careers in the
civil service. The following principles and policies
shall govern the Recent Graduates Program:

    (a) Participants in the program shall be referred
to as “Recent Graduates” and must have obtained a
qualifying degree, or completed a qualifying career or
technical education program, as determined by OPM,
within the preceding 2 years, except that veterans who,
due to their military service obligation, were
precluded from participating in the Recent Graduates
Program during the 2-year period after obtaining a
qualifying degree or completing a qualifying program
shall be eligible to participate in the Program within
6 years of obtaining a qualifying degree or completing
a qualifying program.
    (b) Responsibilities assigned to a Recent Graduate
shall be consistent with his or her qualifications,
educational background, and career interests, the
purpose of the Recent Graduates Program, and agency
needs.

Sec. 5. Presidential Management Fellows Program. The
Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program is an
existing program established pursuant to Executive
Order 13318 of November 21, 2003, that aims to attract
to the Federal service outstanding men and women from a
variety of academic disciplines at the graduate level
who have a clear interest in, and commitment to, the
leadership and management of public policies and
programs. The following requirements shall govern the
PMF Program upon the revocation of Executive Order
13318, as provided in section 8 of this order:

    (a) Participants in this program shall continue to
be known as Presidential Management Fellows (PMFs or
Fellows) and must have received, within the preceding 2
years, a qualifying advanced degree, as determined by
OPM.
    (b) Responsibilities assigned to a PMF shall be
consistent with the PMF's qualifications, educational
background, and career interests, the purposes of the
PMF Program, and agency needs.

    (c) OPM shall establish the eligibility
requirements and minimum qualifications for the
program, as well as a process for assessing eligible
individuals for consideration for appointment as PMFs.

Sec. 6. Appointment and Conversion. (a) Appointments to
any of the Pathways Programs shall be under Schedule D
of the excepted service, as established by section 7 of
this order.

    (b) Appointments to the Recent Graduates or PMF
Programs shall not exceed 2 years, unless extended by
the employing agency for up to 120 days thereafter.
    (c) Appointment to a Pathways Program shall confer
no right to further Federal employment in either the
competitive or excepted service upon the expiration of
the appointment, except that agencies may convert
eligible participants noncompetitively to term, career,
or career conditional appointments after satisfying
requirements to be established by OPM, and agencies may
noncompetitively convert participants who were
initially converted to a term appointment under this
section to a career or career-conditional appointment
before the term appointment expires.

5 CFR Part 6

[squf] PART 6--[AMENDED]

Sec. 7. Implementation. (a) Civil Service Rule VI is
amended as follows:

(i) 5 CFR 6.1(a) is amended to read:

OPM may except positions from the competitive service when it determines
that (A) appointments thereto through competitive examination are not
practicable, or (B) recruitment from among students attending qualifying
educational institutions or individuals who have recently completed
qualifying educational programs can better be achieved by devising
additional means for recruiting and assessing candidates that diverge from
the processes generally applicable to the competitive service. These
positions shall be listed in OPM's annual report for the fiscal year in
which the exceptions are made.

(ii) 5 CFR 6.2 is amended to read:

OPM shall list positions that it excepts from the competitive service in
Schedules A, B, C, and D, which schedules shall constitute parts of this
rule, as follows:

Schedule A. Positions other than those of a confidential or policy-
determining character for which it is not practicable to examine shall be
listed in Schedule A.

Schedule B. Positions other than those of a confidential or policy-
determining character for which it is not practicable to hold a competitive
examination shall be listed in Schedule B. Appointments to these positions
shall be subject to such noncompetitive examination as may be prescribed by
OPM.

Schedule C. Positions of a confidential or policy-determining character
shall be listed in Schedule C.

Schedule D. Positions other than those of a confidential or policy-
determining character for which the competitive service requirements make
impracticable the adequate recruitment of sufficient numbers of students
attending qualifying educational institutions or individuals who have
recently completed qualifying educational programs. These positions, which
are temporarily placed in the excepted service to enable more effective
recruitment from all segments of society by using means of recruiting and
assessing candidates that diverge from the rules generally applicable to
the competitive service, shall be listed in Schedule D.

(iii) The first sentence of 5 CFR 6.4 is amended to read:

Except as may be required by statute, the Civil Service Rules and
Regulations shall not apply to removals from positions listed in Schedules
A, C, or D or from positions excepted from the competitive service by
statute.

The second sentence of 5 CFR 6.4 is to remain unchanged.

(iv) The first sentence of 5 CFR 6.6 is amended to read:

OPM may remove any position from or may revoke in whole or in part any
provision of Schedule A, B, C, or D.

The second sentence of 5 CFR 6.6 is to remain unchanged.

    (b) The Director of OPM shall:

(i) promulgate such regulations as the Director determines may be necessary
to implement this order;

(ii) provide oversight of the Pathways Programs;

(iii) establish, if appropriate, a Government-wide cap on the number of
noncompetitive conversions to the competitive service of Interns, Recent
Graduates, or PMFs (or a Government-wide combined conversion cap applicable
to all three categories together);

(iv) administer, and review and revise annually or as needed, any
Government-wide cap established pursuant to this subsection;

(v) provide guidance on conducting an orderly transition from existing
student and internship programs to the Pathways Programs established
pursuant to this order; and

(vi) consider for publication in the Federal Register at an appropriate
time a proposed rule seeking public comment on the elimination of the
Student Temporary Employment Program, established through OPM regulations
at 5 CFR 213.3202(a).

    (c) In accordance with regulations prescribed
pursuant to this order and applicable law, agencies
shall:

(i) use appropriate merit-based procedures for recruitment, assessment,
placement, and ongoing career development for participants in the Pathways
Programs;

(ii) provide for equal employment opportunity in the Pathways Programs
without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, national origin,
age, disability, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit-based factor;

(iii) apply veterans' preference criteria; and

(iv) within 45 days of the date of this order, designate a Pathways
Programs Officer (at the agency level, or at bureaus or components within
the agency) to administer Pathways Programs, to serve as liaison with OPM,
and to report to OPM on the implementation of the Pathways Programs and the
individuals hired under them.

Sec. 8. Prior Executive Orders. (a) Effective March 1,
2011, Executive Order 13162 (Federal Career Intern
Program) is superseded and revoked. Any individuals
serving in appointments under that order on March 1,
2011, shall be converted to the competitive service,
effective on that date, with no loss of pay or
benefits.

    (b) On the effective date of final regulations
promulgated by the Director of OPM to implement the
Internship Program, Executive Order 12015 (pursuant to
which the Student Career Experience Program was
established), as amended, is superseded and revoked.
    (c) On the effective date of final regulations
promulgated by the Director of OPM to implement changes
to the PMF Program required by this order, Executive
Order 13318 (Presidential Management Fellows Program),
as amended, is superseded and revoked.

Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be
implemented consistent with applicable law and subject
to the availability of appropriations.

    (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to
impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law, regulation, Executive Order, or Presidential
Directive to an executive department, agency, or head thereof; or

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party

against the United States, its departments, agencies,
or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    December 27, 2010.