Federal Classification Principles Course
- IDCLAS7915
- Weekdays only
- 4 Days
- Open to beginners
Learn to classify and analyze General Schedule (GS) positions by mastering federal classification principles, procedures, and evaluation systems.
Our mission is to empower federal HR practitioners, managers, and supervisors with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in their roles.
Learn to classify and analyze General Schedule (GS) positions by mastering federal classification principles, procedures, and evaluation systems.
Learn the standards and procedures used under the Federal Wage System to classify and grade blue-collar positions using OPM guidance.
Master the skills to classify federal positions, write evaluation statements, and apply classification standards for General Schedule (GS) positions.
Gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities classifiers need to do their work successfully. The focus of this course is on helping participants develop competence in applying various classification standards. It also provides participants with exposure to other topics important to federal classification programs, such as writing position descriptions and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Refresh classification fundamentals and tackle more advanced issues through guided practice and sample exercises.
Learn to create accurate and comprehensive federal position descriptions that align with organizational goals and HR requirements.
Learn to use position management tools and techniques to optimize organizational performance and address common workforce challenges.
Gain the knowledge to correctly apply Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions, including overtime, travel, and compliance responsibilities.
Enhance your classification expertise by tackling complex federal position evaluations and mastering desk audit techniques.
Master the principles of federal position classification, including interpreting standards, preparing descriptions, and managing classifications effectively.
Enhance your expertise in federal position classification by tackling complex cases and applying advanced techniques.
Learn how to apply FLSA rules and guidance to determine federal employee exemption status and compliance with wage-and-hour regulations.
Learn the basic, crosscutting principles you need to classify and analyze federal positions for compensation purposes, and apply these concepts by classifying GS, FWS, and alternative system positions. Improve your analytical skills to ask good questions about position duties and organizational design, write Factor Evaluation System (FES) position descriptions, and analyze position management alternatives. Students benefit from instructor assistance and feedback on assignments as well as facilitated blogging and discussions.
Start your federal HR career by building core technical skills in staffing, classification, labor relations, EEO, and HR data practices aligned with OPM competencies.
Become a trusted HR advisor to agency leadership. Strengthen advisory and analytical skills aligned with federal HR management competencies.
Elevate your strategic HR capabilities and serve as a high-value advisor to agency leadership by aligning workforce initiatives with mission objectives.
Gain the essential knowledge and federal‑specific procedures needed to accurately process personnel actions in the HR environment. Ideal for HR assistants and federal staff responsible for administering personnel changes.
Receive instruction from subject‑matter experts who bring proven government experience.
Courses that are regularly updated based on feedback and industry developments, ensuring versions are mapped to federal competencies.
The instructor was wonderful and so knowledgeable. The course materials were extremely relevant to what my job is. I feel like I can be better because of this class.
— 2025 student
Directly addressing the day-to-day challenges of federal employees.
Your trusted training partner, equipping public service professionals with the skills and knowledge to excel in their roles and drive meaningful impact.
Learn the fundamental principles and policies governing federal employee rights and responsibilities, including performance management, discipline, and leave issues.
Gain advanced knowledge of federal employee relations to effectively address complex workplace issues and advise management.
Gain the skills to confidently prepare and decide adverse and performance-based actions while meeting legal and procedural standards.
Learn practical strategies to address employee performance and conduct issues effectively in the workplace.
Understand the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to effectively manage leave requests and ensure compliance.
Develop the skills to evaluate, track, and improve employee performance in alignment with federal performance management systems.
Understand the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to effectively manage leave requests and ensure compliance.
Understand the fundamentals of federal labor relations, including collective bargaining, employee rights, and management responsibilities.
Deepen your understanding of federal labor relations, including bargaining, grievances, and union interactions, to effectively manage labor-management activities.
Master the skills to prepare for and conduct federal labor agreement negotiations, including resolving disputes and applying effective bargaining strategies.
Learn about the fundamentals of collective bargaining and the rights and responsibilities of employees, management, and unions in the federal labor relations process.
Learn to accurately prepare, process, and approve federal personnel actions using the Guide to Processing Personnel Actions, including SF-52 and SF-50 forms.
Ensure compliance with veterans' preference laws by learning to adjudicate claims and apply preferences in federal hiring and appointments.
Master the process of calculating and updating Service Computation Dates (SCDs) for leave, retirement, RIF, and TSP purposes.
This course provides HR practitioners with the knowledge to advise employees on federal benefits, including health insurance, retirement systems, and the Thrift Savings Plan.
This course is an overview of the structure and use of the Guide to Processing Personnel Actions by walking through the Guide and related manuals. In this course, you will see what is covered, how information is organized, and how DLTs and other GPPA content are used. Content is enriched with video and other multimedia. Blogs and discussions are designed specifically for students. There is limited instructor assistance.
This course provides an overview of federal human resources management, covering compensation, hiring, employee engagement, and performance management.
Learn to handle Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) requests while balancing transparency and confidentiality.
To carry out the work of a federal HR practitioner, you must be able to find and use the applicable laws and regulations related to HR management, as well as the operating guidance issued by regulatory agencies overseeing federal HR, such as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to transmit additional information on day-to-day human resources management matters. This course helps you understand how policy is established, where to find federal HR law, regulations, and operating guidance, and how they work together. You will also learn to use these issuances to answer questions you will encounter in your daily work.
This course discusses the basic values—the foundation—for federal human resources management. These values must be expressed in every decision made regarding a federal employee and are implicit in the laws, regulations, and operating guidance that frame the federal merit system. Thus, this course covers and applies the principles that undergird federal HRM – the Merit System Principles (MSPs), Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPPs), and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO).
This course provides an overview of federal human resources management, covering compensation, hiring, employee engagement, and performance management.
Learn practical strategies to address employee performance and conduct issues effectively in the workplace.
Learn the fundamental principles and policies governing federal employee rights and responsibilities, including performance management, discipline, and leave issues.
Master the principles of federal position classification, including interpreting standards, preparing descriptions, and managing classifications effectively.
Understand the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to effectively manage leave requests and ensure compliance.
Learn practical strategies to address employee performance and conduct issues effectively in the workplace.
Learn about the various types of sexual harassment and the kinds of behavior that may be interpreted as sexual harassment in the workplace. Recognize your role in preventing sexual harassment and your responsibilities when sexual harassment complaints are raised.
Develop the skills to evaluate, track, and improve employee performance in alignment with federal performance management systems.
Equip supervisors and managers with the knowledge and skills to handle HR responsibilities, ensure compliance, and support organizational objectives.
Master the principles of federal position classification, including interpreting standards, preparing descriptions, and managing classifications effectively.
Develop the knowledge and skills you need to handle claims for the Office of Workers Compensation Program (OWCP) and federal disability retirement. Understand the features of each program and help your agency process claims quickly and accurately, reduce worker compensation costs and bring injured employees back to work.
This course provides HR practitioners with the knowledge to advise employees on federal benefits, including health insurance, retirement systems, and the Thrift Savings Plan.
Master the rules, regulations, and procedures to effectively counsel federal employees on CSRS, CSRS Offset, and FERS retirement benefits.
Understand CSRS retirement calculations, coverage options, and post-retirement benefits for federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System.
Gain essential knowledge to make informed decisions about retirement under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS).
Acquire the information you need to make fully informed decisions about retirement. Gain valuable retirement planning information related to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). Learn how Social Security benefits are calculated, and how your health and life insurance benefits carry over into retirement. Learn about Medicare and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) withdrawal options. Receive an overview of financial, estate, and "life" planning.
Get tailored retirement guidance—including annuity computation, Social Security implications, and TSP withdrawal options—for federal law enforcement and firefighter personnel.
Understand the financial, insurance, and retirement benefits available under FERS if you are more than a decade away from retirement.
Understand the role of training and development in federal HR management to enhance individual and organizational performance.
Sharpen and improve your instructional skills and become a more polished presenter. Discover proven training techniques for large and small groups, in a variety of training venues, including methods for engaging remote participants. Practice using methodologies in addition to the lecture to enhance participant involvement and retention of learning outcomes. Experience hands-on engagement, including using a variety of instructional methods from presentation and demonstration to role-playing and game-playing. Develop a personal toolkit of training techniques and learn to evaluate your training success and return on investment.
Acquire essential methods to plan, build, and evaluate effective training and e-learning programs using instructional design principles.
Enhance your ability to deliver concise, impactful briefings tailored to your audience and objectives.
This course provides HR practitioners with the knowledge and tools to navigate federal staffing procedures, covering recruitment, hiring, qualifications, merit promotion, and in-service placement actions.
This course teaches HR practitioners how to evaluate federal job applicants by applying OPM's Qualifications Standards, including eligibility, minimum qualifications, and specialized experience requirements.
Learn to conduct effective job analyses and develop assessment tools that meet regulatory guidelines and improve candidate selection.
This course teaches HR practitioners how to evaluate federal job applicants by applying OPM's Qualifications Standards, including eligibility, minimum qualifications, and specialized experience requirements.
Learn to conduct effective job analyses and develop assessment tools that meet regulatory guidelines and improve candidate selection.
Learn to classify and examine federal wage system jobs accurately by applying job evaluation methods, pay-setting rules, and supervisory interview techniques.
Ensure compliance with veterans' preference laws by learning to adjudicate claims and apply preferences in federal hiring and appointments.
Learn to design and conduct structured, behavior-based interviews by developing competency-focused questions and rating scales for better hiring decisions.
Gain essential knowledge of federal staffing processes and how they relate to HR management and placement for support-level roles.
Master the process of calculating and updating Service Computation Dates (SCDs) for leave, retirement, RIF, and TSP purposes.
Understand and apply DoD-specific Reduction in Force procedures through mock scenario analysis and adherence to retention rules.
Understand the legal procedures, tools, and resources involved in managing a Reduction in Force (RIF) to minimize its impact.
Learn how to conduct a federal Reduction in Force with confidence, covering planning, retention factors, mock simulations, and rights-based decision-making under 5 CFR 351.
This course prepares students to identify job-related criteria in order to define quality categories, identify and assign job candidates to the proper category, recognize veterans’ preference entitlement and make selections of job candidates using this process.
Learn about the federal hiring process, including current staffing law, regulations, rules, and procedures that must be used to ensure that federal hiring is fair and based on merit, as well as how to select and retain the best-qualified candidates for your agency's jobs. Content is enriched with video and other multimedia.This course is part of the Human Resources Management Certificate Program, Level I, which can be completed entirely online. Blogs and discussions are designed specifically for students. There is limited instructor assistance.
Develop the skills to evaluate, track, and improve employee performance in alignment with federal performance management systems.
Gain the skills to confidently prepare and decide adverse and performance-based actions while meeting legal and procedural standards.
Sexual harassment is not only illegal, it detracts from workplace productivity and professionalism. Learn about sexual harassment trends in the federal workplace, the various types of sexual harassment, how to determine sexual harassment, the laws, policies, regulations and guidance governing sexual harassment, and the process by which victims can address sexual harassment in the federal workplace.
The purpose of this course is to help you learn what you need to know and acquire the skills you need to be successful as an EEO Counselor.
Understand the key provisions of EEO laws as they affect federal employment. Learn about prohibited forms of discrimination; the federal EEO complaint process; and techniques for identifying and avoiding workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. In addition, learn about the court systems, legal burdens of proof, and types of judicial relief related to discrimination against federal employees.
Learn how to set pay for employees under the Federal Wage System (FWS) in this extensive technical course. Implement and apply the rules and requirements related to:New appointmentsReinstatement and reassignmentsTransfers and conversionsPromotions, changes to lower grade, and other pay changesRecruitment, relocation, and retention incentivesSpecial qualifications, grade and pay retention, severance pay, and movement between pay systems.
Apply FWS pay-setting rules to real-world scenarios involving appointments, promotions, within-grade increases, and wage schedule updates.
Learn how to set and administer pay for employees under the General Schedule (GS) in this extensive technical course. Implement and apply the complex array of rules and requirements, including those related to:New appointmentsReinstatement and reassignmentsTransfers and conversionsPromotions, changes to lower grade, and other pay changesRecruitment, relocation, and retention incentivesGrade and pay retention, severance pay, and movement between pay systems.Blogs and discussions are designed specifically for students. There is limited instructor assistance.
This course provides federal personnel with the knowledge to set and administer pay for General Schedule (GS) employees, covering a wide range of pay-setting rules and scenarios.
See our fully downloadable Federal HR Curriculum Overview for more program information, history, proven success stories and how to request a personalized consultation or presentation for your agency.
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Attend courses in-person in Washington, DC or Live Online. Engage with expert instructors, ask questions, and get feedback on your exercises and projects.
At Graduate School USA, you’ll learn in small groups and receive personalized attention.
Get face-to-face interaction with an instructor and other students when you learn at our DC campus. Courses are hands-on with a computer and software provided.
Get the same interactivity and access to the instructor as in-person students. There are no extra fees and we’ll work with you to ensure your remote setup is perfect.
All times are listed in Eastern Time unless otherwise specified.
August 2025 | |||
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August 22
Friday
9–4:30pm
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$699
1 Day
Washington, DC or Live Online
|
Understand the legal procedures, tools, and resources involved in managing a Reduction in Force (RIF) to minimize its impact. |
|
August 25–29
Monday to Friday
9–4:30pm
|
$1,849
5 Days
Washington, DC or Live Online
|
This course provides HR practitioners with the knowledge and tools to navigate federal staffing procedures, covering recruitment, hiring, qualifications, merit promotion, and in-service placement actions. |
|
August 25–26
Monday to Tuesday
9–4:30pm
|
$1,049
2 Days
Washington, DC or Live Online
|
Learn the fundamental principles and policies governing federal employee rights and responsibilities, including performance management, discipline, and leave issues. |
|
August 26–28
Tuesday to Thursday
9–4:30pm
|
$1,399
3 Days
Washington, DC or Live Online
|
This course provides an overview of federal human resources management, covering compensation, hiring, employee engagement, and performance management. |
|
August 26–28
Tuesday to Thursday
9–4:30pm
|
$1,349
3 Days
Washington, DC or Live Online
|
This course provides federal personnel with the knowledge to set and administer pay for General Schedule (GS) employees, covering a wide range of pay-setting rules and scenarios. |
|
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