Under the Office of Personnel Management’s qualifications
for general schedule positions, degrees obtained from
schools designated non-accredited/pending are acceptable
provided certain conditions are met.
Though such schools have not been accredited by an institution
recognized by the Department of Education they offer a
curriculum for advanced learning similar to accredited schools
and have been granted “pre-accreditation,” or “candidacy”
status, which would indicate significant legitimacy, said OPM.
It said employees or applicants could be required to provide
written documentation of a school’s status prior to the agency
judging if the education qualifies for federal recognition
or assistance.
Credits given for “life experience,” are valid if the conferring
educational institution identifies the course work area or
courses for which credit was granted and a direct link can be
established between the course syllabus and the credit granted.
Courses not in a school’s catalog are unacceptable unless the
credit is granted as a prerequisite for more advanced courses
in the curriculum, said OPM.
