The underlying principle of the Merit Promotion Program is the identification, qualification evaluation, and selection of candidates made without regard to political, religious, labor organization affiliation, marital status, race, color, sex, national origin, non-disqualifying physical or mental handicap, or age and shall be based solely on job-related criteria in accordance with legitimate position requirements.

The Merit Promotion Program is directed toward:

• Contributing to the accomplishment of mission goals by staffing positions with high-quality employees

• Providing career opportunities for employees and ensuring that all employees are fully informed of those opportunities

• Bringing to the attention of management high-quality employees who have the capacity to perform in more responsible assignments

• Fostering and facilitating the mobility of employees in the interest of broadening their experiences and increasing their qualifications

• Ensuring the maximum utilization of employees in positions for which they are best qualified

• Ensuring that the skills, qualifications, achievements, and promotion potential of employees are recognized and fairly considered in the staffing process

• Encouraging employees to improve their performance to develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Student Temporary Employment Program

The Student Temporary Employment Program allows students to work up to 20 hours per week (40 hour per week pay period) and work full-time during the summer, holiday breaks and semester breaks.

An individual who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) seeking student and is taking at least a half-time academic/vocational/or technical course load in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, two or four year college or university, or graduate or professional school may participate in this program (the definition of "half-time" is the definition provided by the school in which the student is enrolled).

College students must be enrolled as full-time students prior to appointment or taking at least nine semester credit hours.

Note: This program is not available to non-citizens.

Outstanding Scholar Program

The Outstanding Scholar Program is a special direct-hire authority that exempts qualified applicants from normal competitive hiring procedures who have obtained Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.). S.A.A. recognizes students who have achieved superior academic standing as evidenced by any of the following criteria:

• Class Standing
  Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduation class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School Business, based on completed courses.

• Grade Point Average (GPA)
  Applicants must have a grade-point average of:
  (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed as based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
  (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

• Election to Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society
  In order to be creditable under this provision, superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. S.A.A. is to be used to determine eligibility of applicants who have completed (or expect to complete within nine months) all the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.

Note: This authority only applies to GS-5 and GS-7 grade levels.