The Office of Personnel Management has announced that
applications for the presidential management fellows
program – it replaced the presidential management intern
program — increased by 21 percent to 3,321, over 2003.
It said nominations by university officials increased by
23 percent to 3,073 and that finalists would be announced
in spring of 2005.
The executive order establishing the revised program
removed a 400-person hiring cap, increased pay levels,
expanded participation to excepted-service agencies such
as law enforcement and national security agencies, and
created a senior fellows component, said OPM, adding
that staffing levels were increased when the program’s
headquarters were relocated from Philadelphia to Washington
D.C., which also increased visibility.
The program is open to individuals from a range of academic
disciplines who are interested in the analysis and
management of public policies and programs. More than
3,500 alumni of the previous program currently service in
all cabinet departments and more than 50 federal agencies,
said OPM.