3 FAH-1 H-3820
Student Loan Repayment Program (slrp)
(CT:POH-186; 03-22-2017)
(Office of Origin: HR/ER/WLD)
3 FAH-1 H-3821 The Application Process
(CT:POH-186; 03-22-2017)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service)
a. Civil Service and Foreign Service employees, other
than Consular Fellows, who wish to be considered may only apply online during
announced open season application periods and must submit all required information
and supporting documentation in order to be considered.
b. Consular Fellows must apply and be approved for the
SLRP prior to entry on duty (EOD) as a Consular Fellow. Consular Fellows who
have been approved for the SLRP must also submit a SLRP verification form and
execute a service agreement via the online SLRP portal within a reasonable
period of time following EOD in order for payment processing to be initiated.
c. The HR website is the best source of SLRP program
information. The Office of Employee Relations (HR/ER) also recommends that
career-type employees subscribe to the SLRP Listserv and Consular Fellow
employees subscribe to the CFP-SLRP Listserv. The respective Listservs act as
bulletin boards to enable HR/ER to post messages of general interest regarding
the program. To subscribe, go to Listserv Archives on the A/LM website and
scroll down until you reach the respective SLRP list and then follow the
instructions.
3 FAH-1 H-3821.1 Application
Periods
(CT:POH-186; 03-22-2017)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service)
a. The online applications for Civil Service and
Foreign Service employees, other than Consular Fellows, will only be reviewed
and processed during announced annual open season application periods and
will not be active at times other than during those announced periods.
b. Eligible Consular Fellows must apply and be approved
for SLRP prior to entering on duty as a Consular Fellow. There is no open
season application period for Consular Fellows. Newly hired Consular Fellows
are encouraged to submit the online SLRP verification form and
electronically-signed service agreement as early as possible after entry on
duty (EOD) via the online SLRP portal. Consular Fellows may re-apply for SLRP
incentives on an annual basis no sooner than 365 days after the date on which
the employee signed his/her initial service agreement or submitted the most
recent online application, whichever is later in time.
c. Application periods and additional information will
be widely announced by Department Notices and cables.
3 FAH-1 H-3821.2 Annual
Application Requirements for Current Department Employees
(CT:POH-186; 03-22-2017)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service)
a. The purpose of the application and database
collection system is to determine employee eligibility for the SLRP.
b. Civil Service and Foreign Service employees, other
than Consular Fellows, must annually:
(1) Submit an application through the online system
during the announced open season application period. The online application
is available by logging into the HR Portal and clicking on SLRP;
(2) Provide supporting loan documentation annually
with each application as well as any other requested supporting documentation
to HR/ER. Applications submitted without all required or requested supporting
documentation will remain incomplete and ineligible for consideration; and
(3) Review and sign a SLRP Service Agreement. See 3 FAM 3824.1
for more information.
b. Eligible Consular Fellow employees as described in 3 FAM 3823,
paragraph b, applying for a second or third year of SLRP incentives must:
(1) Submit an application through the online system no
sooner than 365 days after the date on which the employee signed his/her
initial service agreement or submitted the most recent online application,
whichever is later in time, as described in 3 FAH-1
H-3821.1. The online application is available by logging into HR Online
and clicking on SLRP;
(2) Provide supporting loan documentation with each
application as well as any other requested supporting documentation to HR/ER.
Applications submitted without all required or requested supporting
documentation will remain incomplete and ineligible for consideration; and
(3) Review and sign a SLRP Service Agreement. See 3 FAM 3824.1
for more information.
3 FAH-1 H-3821.3 Pre-Entry on Duty
Application Required for Prospective Consular Fellows
(CT:POH-186; 03-22-2017)
(State only)
(Applies to Prospective Foreign Service Consular Fellows)
Prospective Consular Fellows must apply and be approved
for the SLRP recruitment incentive prior to their entry-on-duty (EOD) date.
Consular Fellow candidates must:
(1) Request, complete, and submit the SLRP Application
Package prior to EOD as a Department of State Consular Fellow. The SLRP
Application Questionnaire and all required supporting Federal loan
documentation must be submitted to HR/ER/WLD for review and approval prior to
the prospective employees EOD;
(2) Submit a completed SLRP Application Package and all
required supporting documentation no later than 2 weeks prior to the employees
EOD date in order to allow for a reasonable review period by HR/ER/WLD;
(3) Applications that are incomplete, including
applications that are missing any supporting documentation requested by
HR/ER/WLD or that have not been approved by HR/ER/WLD for any reason before the
date of the Consular Fellows entry on duty, are automatically considered not
approved; and
(4) Prospective Consular Fellows who do not receive
notification of their approval for SLRP prior to their EOD date will not be
eligible to receive the SLRP recruitment incentive for the duration of their
employment as a Consular Fellow.
3 FAH-1 H-3821.4 Consular Fellow
Action Required Subsequent to Entry on Duty
(CT:POH-186; 03-22-2017)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Consular Fellows)
a. As soon as possible after entry on duty (EOD),
Consular Fellows must complete the online SLRP incentive verification form and
electronically sign a 3-year Service Agreement via the SLRP portal. The
Consular Fellows 3-year service commitment will begin as of the date on which
the signed service agreement is submitted. It is recommended that Consular
Fellow employees initiate this online action promptly after onboarding because
delays in the online submission and the initial 3-year service commitment
period may limit the employees eligibility for future SLRP incentives. See 3 FAM 3824 and 3 FAM 3824.1.
b. For Consular Fellows approved for the SLRP incentive
prior to their EOD, no additional supporting documentation need be submitted
when electronically verifying loan information unless there is a change in loan
servicer(s) or a significant increase or decrease in the loan balance(s).
3 FAH-1 H-3822 The Application Review
Process
(CT:POH-186; 03-22-2017)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service)
After submission of a completed online application and
required supporting documentation, the Bureau of Human Resources, Office of
Employee Relations (HR/ER), will:
(1) Verify that each applicant is not in
leave-without-pay (LWOP) or other unpaid status in accordance with 3 FAM 3825.3
and is:
(a) A Civil Service employee encumbering a
pre-qualifying position during the open season application period;
(b) A Foreign Service employee encumbering a position at
a pre-qualifying post during the open season application period; or
(c) A Consular Fellow who applied to the Consular
Fellows Program in response to a vacancy announcement or through the Gateway application
process or who positively responded to a Consular Fellow Letter of Interest, on
or after May 3, 2016;
(2) For Civil Service employees, request that the
Bureau of Human Resources, Civil Service Human Resources Management (HR/CSHRM),
verify that the applicant has received at least a fully successful rating on
their most recent performance evaluation report;
(3) For Foreign Service employees, other than Consular
Fellows, determine from the Bureau of Human Resources, Office of Performance
Evaluation (HR/PE), if any employee has been referred to the Performance
Standards Board directly (but not as a result of the automatic referral of two
low rankings in 5 years);
(4) For Civil Service and Foreign Service employees,
other than Consular Fellows, determine from the Bureau of Human Resources,
Office of Employee Relations, Division of Conduct, Suitability and Discipline
(HR/ER/CSD), if any applicant has had disciplinary action resulting in a
suspension of more than 5 days during the past 2 years;
(5) For Consular Fellow employees, determine if any
employee applying for a second or third year of the SLRP incentive has received
a rating of satisfactory on their most recent performance evaluation report;
and
(6) Maintain an online system that tracks all aspects
of employee eligibility, including but not limited to, basis for eligibility,
types of qualifying loans, amount of current loan balance(s), list of lenders,
amount of lump-sum funding obligated, service agreement commitment dates, etc.
3 FAH-1 H-3823 The Payment Process
(CT:POH-186; 03-22-2017)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service)
a. Payments (when funding permits) are made only once a
year for each eligible employee. The announcement of the annual lump-sum
amount is released as soon as possible.
b. The Comptroller and Global Financial Services(CGFS)
(Payroll) will:
(1) Process the incentive as a supplemental payment. For
clarification of agency tax requirements, see the Office of Personnel
Managements (OPM) website;
(2) Pay the employers share of Social Security and
Medicare taxes;
(3) Withhold and pay appropriate Federal and State tax
(using the flat-rate method) and employees share of Social Security and
Medicare taxes;
(4) Instruct the Department of Treasury to process payments
via either electronic-fund transfers or checks to employees respective lenders
or loan servicing organizations;
(5) Report the amount of the gross and net payment,
taxes, and other withholdings, to the employee through their Earnings and Leave
Statement; and
(6) Record the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)
payment as a supplemental payment on each qualified employees Form W-2, Wage
and Tax Statement.
3 FAH-1 H-3824 through H-3829
unassigned