MEETING ON 15 OCTOBER 1973 TO DISCUSS METHODS OF RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEES WHO ATTAIN A COLLEGE DEGREE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-05077A000100140003-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 3, 2000
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: October 16, 1973
• Content Type: MFR

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16 October 1973
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD:
SUBJECT: Meeting on 15 October 1973 to Discuss Methods of Recognition
of Employees who attain a College Degree
STATINTL ! Present :
1. At the request of the DD/M&S Career Management Officer, the
Career Management Officers of the DD/M&S Offices met on 15 October 1973
to discuss the following issue: "To develop a practical and tangible method
of recognition of an employee with the initiative to improve his or her
professional qualifications by obtaining a college degree, principally on
the employee's own time. "
2. Initially, it was proposed that such recognition be accomplished
by awarding a Quality Step Increase. However, subsequently, the Office
of General Counsel has ruled that a QSI cannot be awarded for such
purpose. The legal basis for granting a QSI must be recognition for
sustained work performance above that characteristically found in the type
of position concerned. An alternative suggestion by OGC was to use the
provision of the.Federal Award Act to develop a one-time cash award
program for such educational achievements.
3. The consensus of the Career Management Officer was that the
purpose of recognizing the initiative and efforts of an employee who
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successfully completes the requirements for a college degree might
be better accomplished through other means than a cash award. It
was felt that the amount of a one-time cash award would, by necessity,
have to be a modest one and the employee was much more interested
in professional recognition of his educational efforts and achievements.
Of secondary importance, is the fact that the equitable administration
of a monetary award program would be quite difficult to devise and
execute.
4. The general value of broadening one's background through
almost any educational pursuit was recognized, but it is believed that
often, the correlation is not very high between many college courses
and the improvement of one's professional qualifications. In short,
the attainment of a college degree does not necessarily mean the
individual is a more valuable employee. Unfortunately, too many
employees seem to feel that their attaining a college degree should
immediately result in a change or improvement in their job assignment.
Where there is a close relationship between college training and an
employee's assignment or career aspiration, the Fitness Report or the
Competitive Evaluation of Potential should provide the means of recognizing
professionally the educational achievement.
5. The Agency's interest and efforts to raise the general level of
education and training is being accomplished in a number of ways through
a very liberal interpretation of the Federal Employee Training Act. The
recently inaugurated "Off Campus Program" is an example of the facilities
and programs which are being made available to employees interested in
furthering and improving their education. These free educational
opportunities would seem to offer sufficient incentive for broadening one's
background without officially recognizing and rewarding the attainment of
a college degree, which may or may not be job related. There are, of
course, many other programs which are more directly job related.
Experience indicates that training and education seem to be more successful
if they are job related. The voluntary Language Incentive Program has
never been very successful although job-related directed language training
has been quite successful.
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6. It was felt by some of those present at the meeting that there
could be some type of monetary recognition for educational pursuits
that could be specifically measured against job requirements - where
it could be shown that the employee can perform his present or future
job in a measurably better manner as a.result of his educational efforts.
A suggested scale of monetary rewards was that an employee receive
$100 each time he completes 30 semester hours of college work plus
a $100 for actually attaining a degree. Thus, the scale would be:
AA - $300 (60 semester hours plus $100 for degree)
AB - $500 (120 semester hours plus $100 for degree)
Masters - $300 (or more)
PhD - $300 (or more)
7. Although the officers present at this meeting did not
completely reject the principle of awarding a monetary award for
attaining a college degree, it was felt that there are other and more
appropriate methods for recognizing an employee who puts the time
and effort into educational pursuits which improve his professional
qualifications and make him a more valuable Agency employee. It is
believed that we may be attaching too much value to simply attaining a
college degree.
STATINTL
cc: ADD/M&S
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 CIA-RDP7Ib5tf-140003-C] SECRET
ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
TO. lOfficer designation
Meeting on 15 October 1973 to Discuss Methods of Recognition of Employees
Career Management Officer
2E45 Hq,
- _ ,~ - Vrrl\,CF J
STATIN L t2EGEIVEO FORWARDF INITIALS
16 October 1973
COMMENTS lNumber each comment to show from whom
whom. Draw a line across column after each comment.)
Attached is my interpretation
of the results of our meeting on
15 October 1973, as it pertained
to the issue of recognition for
attaining a -college degree. There
is no pride of authorship; so, please
change or rewrite any or all of
this.
Could l have your comments or
rewrite by Tuesday, 23 October
1973? i would like to have a paper
on this for the DD/M&S Career
Board which is to meet on 27 October
19730
STATIN'
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FORM
3-62 E 6L 110R ~kdDITIO e 1. 1- 1- 11. 1
NS SECRET CONFIDENTIAL INTERNAL
} USE ONLY ^ UNCLASSIFIED