13 FAM 700
External training
13 FAM 701
Overview
External training programs
(CT:TPD-2; 09-24-2019)
(Office of Origin: FSI)
13 FAM 701.1-1 general Scope
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. To encourage employees to enhance their professional qualifications, the Department may pay tuition (subject to the availability of funding and within prescribed limits) for approved after-hours study in the United States and abroad, and fund participation in approved training programs, including academic degree training per 5 U.S.C. 4107 (as long as the training meets an identified agency training need), correspondence courses and distance learning, conducted by other U.S. Government agencies or by non-U.S. Government organizations.
b. To facilitate this training, the Department, through the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), operates the External Training Program.
c. Depending on the type and cost of training, tuition can either be funded centrally from the External Training Program or from an employee’s bureau of assignment.
13 FAM 701.1-2 General Limitations
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Training is subject to the availability of funds.
b. Students are required to pay the cost of the training if they:
(1) Withdraw from an external training program for other than officially-approved reasons;
(2) Fail to complete training satisfactorily; or
(3) Voluntarily terminate their employment before completing training.
c. All training must be approved and funded prior to enrollment. Reimbursement will not be made for training costs after training has begun or been completed.
d. Fees for extension of time in correspondence distance-learning courses are the employee’s responsibility.
e. Tuition costs must not be split, (i.e., tuition costs cannot be split between the employee and FSI, or the employee and their bureau, or the bureau and FSI).
f. The External Training Program does not fund conferences, seminars or workshops, although bureaus and/or posts may. Such requests must be submitted through the External Training Program.
g. Requests for external training will not be approved if similar training is available at FSI. Exception will be made for Department employees permanently stationed outside of Washington, DC who apply for external training available in their local area.
h. The U.S. Government does not fund training to obtain an academic degree except for certain shortage occupations, or if the degree is merely an incidental byproduct of the training.
i. The Department has the authority to require employees to agree to continue in service for specified periods of time as a condition of authorized training.
13 FAM 701.1-3 Limitations on After-Hours Study
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Courses offered for credit must be taken for credit, and noncredit courses are approved only in exceptional cases.
b. FSI’s External Training Program only funds tuition and does not pay for books, registration, or activity fees, etc. Bureaus, however, may decide to fund these costs separately out of their own budgets or require the student to pay for them.
c. After-hours language study may be authorized in cases when extraordinary justification exists to provide language training at local educational institutions.
13 FAM 701.1-4 Information about Programs and Procedures
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Procedural guidance and instructions on external training can be found in 13 FAH-1 H-700. Information regarding long-term training for Civil Service employees can be found on the HR Career Development and Training Division (HR/CSHRM/CD) website. Foreign Service employees should visit the HR Professional Development Unit’s (HR/CDA/PDU) website.