OPM relaxes requirements for intern hiring program

Federal agencies now can hire interns for permanent positions with greater ease thanks to final regulations released by the Office of Personnel Management this week.

The regulations, published Tuesday in the Federal Register, loosen rules for the Student Career Experience Program, which allows agencies to noncompetitively hire student interns to permanent jobs after they complete school and log 640 hours of federal work experience.

Now, agencies can waive up to half of those required hours for students with a grade point average of at least 3.5 and an outstanding performance rating from their agency. As an alternative, they can allow students to accrue up to 320 hours, equivalent to 40 days, from qualifying nonfederal internships and military service.

"It removes some of the bureaucratic barriers to attract people to these programs and to keep them," said Mark Doboga, deputy associate director of OPM's Center for Talent and Capacity Policy.

The internship program has not been widely used so far. Since the program began in 2001, about 5,000 students have been hired through it annually. The Defense Department hires about 60 percent of those and the Agriculture, Interior and Veteran Affairs departments also hire substantial numbers.

"This is a seed corn program," Doboga said. "It gives agencies a chance to evaluate how well these people perform in a federal environment."

The Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit devoted to attracting new talent to federal service, pushed for the more flexible rules.

"The changes to the Student Career Experience Program are a win-win solution for the federal government and student interns," said Max Stier, the partnership's president. "The changes put successful interns on a fast track to permanent employment, and give federal agencies greater flexibility to hire the best and the brightest. Today's news shows that OPM has moved the ball in the right direction."

The final regulations include only technical changes to proposed regulations released in March 2005. OPM received few negative comments in response to the proposal. Many of the comments asked OPM to further increase flexibilities.

One private organization asked OPM to allow students to accrue the entire 640 hours under nonfederal internships. OPM rejected the request because "It may result in some students spending as little as one day under a SCEP appointment prior to conversion to the competitive service."

The changes were prompted by groups like the Partnership and federal agencies themselves telling OPM the rules were too stringent, Doboga said.

This program is not to be confused with the Student Temporary Employment Program, which offers short-term jobs to students, but without the possibility of conversion into a career appointment.