FEI Handbook and Leadership for a Democratic Society Information
LDS Admission Policies and Registration Procedures
The
section below contains general guidance regarding how to apply to attend the LDS
program. More detailed information (to include current schedules and tuitions
rates) can be found on the CLD Schedule At A Glance
homepage.
Admission Requirements
The
LDS program is designed for U.S. federal civil service employees in the pay
grade of GS-15 or above and military officers in the pay grade of O-6 or above.
Federal non-General Schedule civil service employees must be in a pay grade
equivalent to GS-15 or above (e.g., FS-01, SV-K, EJ-04, etc.).
Non-federal
employees, to include Private sector, state, and local government, must be of
an equivalent grade (as determined by FEI).
GS-14
Federal employees (and equivalents in other pay systems) who have executive-level
duties may request a grade waiver to participate in the LDS program.
All attendees must receive sponsorship in the form of funding approval from their employing agency, company, etc.
Agency
or Company Funding
LDS
participants must be funded by their current employers. Agencies/companies are
responsible for funding the full cost of the program and agree to relieve
participants of their work responsibilities for the duration of the program to
maximize the participant’s learning.
Registering
and paying for FEI programs
U.S.
federal civil service employees arrange attendance through their agency
training office. FEI contracts all LDS spaces through agency training representatives.
Training office staff work with the FEI Registrar to complete the registration
process.
Non-federal
employees, to include Private sector, international, state, and local
government employees arrange attendance with the FEI Registrar directly. The
FEI Registrar will work with each individual and their employer to coordinate
the registration process.
Registration
Process
Once
the (SF-182) or other registration document is submitted to FEI, a review to
ensure the nominee meets all admission criteria will take place. Once the
review is complete, participants are notified via email regarding their
registration status within two weeks.
Checking
Registration Status
To
check the status of a current nomination, please contact us by email: register@opm.gov,
or telephone: (434) 980-6232.
To
learn more about the LDS program:
- Email: register@opm.gov
- Telephone: (434) 980-6232
- Fax: (434) 980-6267
LDS Payments, Substitutions and Cancellations
Tuition
includes all educational services, materials, meals, and lodging. Meal service
includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and break service (coffee, tea, juice,
morning and afternoon snacks, and fruit). Lodging includes single occupancy
(private guest room) accommodations.
Incidentals
such as dry cleaning, entertainment, tips, and the like are not included in the
tuition.
Payment Due Date
Payment
is due six weeks prior to the start of the program. However, FEI will not
invoice and/or bill federal participants until the second full day (Tuesday)
after the program start.
Accepted
Payment Types
Payment
can be made using any of the following methods*:
- Credit Card**
- Agency Purchase Order
- SF-182 - The intent of the SF-182 was to approve and record completion of employee training - not for use as a procurement document. However, agencies can and may choose to use the SF-182 to procure training.
- Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request (MIPR)
- Interagency Agreement (IAA)
- Agency/Company Check**
**
Non-federal employers, to include Private Sector, International, State and
Local governments must use one of these methods of payment.
Streamlining
the IPAC Payment Process
To
be used as a procurement document for payment processing, the SF-182 must
include all the following information*:
- Complete Appropriation Fund/Line of Accounting
- Document/Purchase Order/Requisition Number (e.g., IAA Number, MIPR number, P.O. Number, etc.)
- Agency Locator Code (ALC)
- Treasury Account Symbol (TAS)
- Fiscal Station Number (FSN) – DoD agencies only
* If paying with a government purchase card, the SF-182 only needs to include the name, email address, billing address, and phone number of the card holder.
** All DoD agencies paying with a MIPR, the SF-182 must be accompanied by a copy
of the MIPR for an IPAC to be processed. Upon receipt of the MIPR, a signed
MIPR Acceptance will be provided.
Cancellation
Policy
Cancellations, substitutions, and/or deferrals must be submitted in writing six weeks prior to the start of each LDS program. Due to program demand and the volume of pre-program preparation, cancellations, substitutions, and/or deferrals are handled using the following:
- Qualified substitutions must be
submitted at least six weeks prior to the start of the LDS Program. Requests to
release allocated enrollments from one LDS Program shall be submitted no later
than six weeks prior to the start of the LDS Program and granted only if the
vacated space can be resold.
- Requests to transfer allocated enrollments from one LDS Program to another LDS Program within the same fiscal year shall be submitted no later than four weeks prior to the start of the LDS Program
If
you have additional questions or need assistance finding the program best
suited to your needs, contact the FEI Registrar at:
- Email: register@opm.gov
- Telephone: (434) 980-6232
- Fax: (434) 980-6267