Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

General Discussion for SMART Scholarship Recipients
ky502

Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by ky502 »

I have been getting the run around about tuition for this summer from my smart contact. My contact keeps saying to give them a couple weeks, but I need the tuition letter and payment by Friday.

Does anyone have an email address or phone number for someone higher up than our usual contact? I may need to escalate this to someone else, or I won't be able to go to school this summer, I won't be able to intern next year due to making the semester up, and I will most likely graduate a year late. And all of those consequences would probably get me kicked out of SMART.

malarious
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:54 am
Contact:

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by malarious »

Who is your contact? You may be able to e-mail a different one. It is a few pages back, but someone posted an email for a director or administrator.

anymouse

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by anymouse »

Christina Deckard
SMART Program Manager
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
4800 Mark Center Dr., Room 17C08
Alexandria, VA 22350

christina.j.deckard.civ@mail.mil
(571) 372-6487

anymouse

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by anymouse »

Note, people will tell you not to contact the director, because they are afraid. But if she was not meant to be contacted, why does she have contact information? Why is it publicly available and easy to find?

See: https://sites.ed.gov/hispanic-initiative/files/2015/09/DOD-Agency-Data-Plan-WHIEEH-Final-062615.pdf

malarious
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:54 am
Contact:

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by malarious »

You can often find contacts for people you are not supposed to. The thing is, we don't really have someone between her and a SMART advisor. So it limits our options on what we can do when these things happen. If they wanted us to have it, they would have included it in our handbooks.

anymouse

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by anymouse »

malarious wrote:You can often find contacts for people you are not supposed to. The thing is, we don't really have someone between her and a SMART advisor. So it limits our options on what we can do when these things happen. If they wanted us to have it, they would have included it in our handbooks.
Are you claiming that I (we) are not supposed to be able to find the information I pointed out to the OP? If so, how do you justify such a claim?. The information is not classified, no law was broken, no regulation, order, or induvidual’s privacy was violated?

Alternatively, are you claiming the director is not to be contacted? If so, under what justification? As you pointed out, “we don’t really have someone between her and a SMART advisor.” It’s fair to assume that if the director grew weary of participants calling her office, that she is capable of creating and filling a position that is, as you stated, between. Hence, all the more reason to call. Not only would participants get the information they require, but they’d be improving the program overall while creating a job for someone. Isn’t that the kind of transformation the DoD needs?

Regarding your final comment, whether the program wants us to have the director’s contact info or not is irrelevant. If the DoD was not interested in someone who looks beyond the confines of the provided information to solve a problem, then why does the SMART program exist? Is it merely a ploy to siphon educated sheep into its workforce?

YesOfCourse

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by YesOfCourse »

There is certainly nothing stopping anyone from getting the director's email or using. However, I would never contact the director because a SMART advisor was being unresponsive. In my eyes, following the chain of command is important because it shows the due respect to both the advisor and the director. If you jump the chain, you might get what you want this time, but it will stoke an annoyance that might prevent you from getting what you want in the future. Better to follow the procedures laid out.
anymouse wrote:why does the SMART program exist? Is it merely a ploy to siphon educated sheep into its workforce?
Yes, of course that's what it is, and there's nothing wrong with that... It is a recruitment and retention tool. It says so right on the tin.

malarious
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:54 am
Contact:

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by malarious »

anymouse wrote:
malarious wrote:You can often find contacts for people you are not supposed to. The thing is, we don't really have someone between her and a SMART advisor. So it limits our options on what we can do when these things happen. If they wanted us to have it, they would have included it in our handbooks.
Are you claiming that I (we) are not supposed to be able to find the information I pointed out to the OP? If so, how do you justify such a claim?. The information is not classified, no law was broken, no regulation, order, or induvidual’s privacy was violated?

Alternatively, are you claiming the director is not to be contacted? If so, under what justification? As you pointed out, “we don’t really have someone between her and a SMART advisor.” It’s fair to assume that if the director grew weary of participants calling her office, that she is capable of creating and filling a position that is, as you stated, between. Hence, all the more reason to call. Not only would participants get the information they require, but they’d be improving the program overall while creating a job for someone. Isn’t that the kind of transformation the DoD needs?

Regarding your final comment, whether the program wants us to have the director’s contact info or not is irrelevant. If the DoD was not interested in someone who looks beyond the confines of the provided information to solve a problem, then why does the SMART program exist? Is it merely a ploy to siphon educated sheep into its workforce?

That was a lot of logical fallacies.

I am saying being able to find something does not imply you should use it. I pointed out we have very few contact levels though, so we don't have a single level of escalation in mamagement.

eanymous

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by eanymous »

YesOfCourse wrote:In my eyes, following the chain of command is important because it shows the due respect to both the advisor and the director. If you jump the chain...

If it pleases the court, in addition to "chain of command", the defense enters "request mast" to the collection of military jargon in use. http://lmgtfy.com/?q=request+mast
YesOfCourse wrote:Yes, of course that's what it is, and there's nothing wrong with that... It is a recruitment and retention tool. It says so right on the tin.
You're right. It's the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Smart Sheep (SMRSS), not Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) program.

superjudgejudy

Re: Contact Info for Smart Higher Ups?

Post by superjudgejudy »

[gavel]

order. order.

malarious, spit out your hall monitor whistle.

motion to admit "request mast' granted. in accordance with government policy, will be referred to as RM.

anymouse, government employees are to be paid and not bothered, via email or phone. please get with the program, you are currently in noncompliance status.

proceed gentlemen.

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