[IPAC-List] Minimum vs Preferred Qualifications

[Natasha K. Riley]

Erin,

We allow agencies to screen on a preferred qualification if it is within the minimum qualifications.  They cannot use a preference that adds additional degrees or years of experience.  Example: the min. qual. is a bachelor's degree in business administration, public administration, human resources, or a related social science.  In this case we would allow a preference for a bachelor's degree in public administration, or even in industrial psychology.  We would not allow a preference for a MBA, or a master's degree in I/O psychology, or any number of years of experience.  We consider the first to be within the scope of the MQ, and the second to be beyond the scope of the MQ.  We would even allow a preference for a certain number of semester hours in a specific field related to the job, such as 12 semester hours in human resource administration or 6 semester hours in statistics.

It is possible that our practice in this area will be changing drastically in the next year as there will be a bill introduced in the legislature that potentially could result in significant HR reform in state government.  By 2015, it is entirely possible that we will allow agencies to screen applicants out on preferences that are beyond the scope of the MQs.

I am curious if you are grappling with this issue as a result of the merit system reform there.  I would be interested to know of any other issues that you are wrestling with as a result of the reform changes.


Natasha Riley
Director of Assessment and Testing Services
State of Oklahoma
Human Capital Management
Office of Management and Enterprise Services
405-521-6361
natasha.riley at omes.ok.gov<mailto:natasha.riley at osf.ok.gov>
www.omes.ok.gov<www.opm.ok.gov>



From: ipac-list-bounces at ipacweb.org [mailto:ipac-list-bounces at ipacweb.org] On Behalf Of Graham, Erin
Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2014 1:04 PM
To: ipac-list at ipacweb.org
Subject: [IPAC-List] Minimum vs Preferred Qualifications

I would like to find out how most public sector agencies address preferred qualifications when they have established minimum qualifications.  Specifically, if you have an established level of education and experience in your minimum qualifications, would you be able to have a preferred qualification above and beyond the MQs (e.g., MQ = Bachelor's in Business Administration, Preferred qual = MBA)?  Or, do you reserve preferred qualifications for a particular skill set (e.g., experience with a specific software)?

We currently are seeing a mixture of both in our postings, but are leaning toward preferred qualifications for a particular skill set.

Thank you in advance for sharing.


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