Federal Fellows Program Mistakenly Sends Acceptance Emails To Rejected Applicants

Hundreds of the nation’s top graduate students who applied to a program that grooms future leaders of government agencies have been left fuming following bureaucrats emailing acceptance letters to them by mistake, Fox News reported.

According to the news outlet, the Presidential Management Fellows Program blamed an administrative error for the blunder. Elation turned to confusion for the applicants who wrongly received the email, as the program that is managed by the Federal Office of Personal Management (OPM) disappointed these students.

“As someone who is dedicated to public service, I was really excited when I was named a finalist, and devastated when OPM told me the next day that I was not actually a finalist,” one applicant told Fox News. “However, I may have dodged a bullet, because this incident really highlights the incompetence, inefficiency, disorganization and lack of accountability of the PMF program.”

According to the news outlet, officials from the program realized their mistake and stopped the notifications, but 25 percent of the semi-finalists were notified incorrectly.

Government Executive reported that fewer college students plan to enter government service than in prior years, but holding on to new hires has presented a bigger challenge for the public sector.