by GeorgeMichaelBluth » Wed Jan 21, 2015 11:39 am
I'm another participant who is unhappy with their placement and is desperate to pursue a real research or even engineering position.
Larry, a beacon of hope from an otherwise murky Program Office, has advocated participants to
take personal, proactive, action to move elsewhere.
Even going so far as to say
If the SMART Scholar can find a new position and both facilities are agreeable than I think it would be natural to approve the change. I can't imagine having an employee that wanted to be elsewhere and not helping get where they want to be... This is a decision for the individual Service, the facilities and the scholar - not the SMART Program Office.
http://thesmartforum.org/viewtopic.php? ... de45#p6337
However, this is in direct contradiction with Program Office policy (2010 SMART Participant Handbook):
All Participants are required to complete internship and post‐graduation commitments with their
assigned SF approved by the SPO. Participants may not choose to complete their service commitments
with a facility other than their assigned SF approved by the SPO.
Only the SPO may reassign a Participant to a new SF. It is extremely unusual for the Program to assign a
Participant to a facility other than the original SF for completion of the service commitment. In the rare
case that a change of SF is considered, it is done on a case‐by‐case basis and at the discretion of the SPO.
If the SPO determines that the match between the SF and Participant is not viable, the SPO will work
with the SF and attempt to find alternative placement for the Participant.
...
A Participant may not ask his/her SF to initiate a request with the SPO to reassign him/her to a new
facility, contact other DoD facilities in search of a new sponsor, or take other acts intended to
circumvent this policy. Facility requests to reassign Participants are extremely rare and fully investigated
by the SPO. If the SPO learns that the SF has lost interest in sponsoring a Participant due to his/her
purposeful actions intended to circumvent this policy and/or that the requested change was actually
initiated by the Participant rather than by the SF and based on circumstances the SPO does not consider
exceptional, the Participant will be considered to be acting in bad faith and may be dismissed from the
Program.
It sounds to me like the inquisition will be called in to make sure SMART participants stay where they are, no matter how bad it is.
Larry, if Fitzsimmons hasn't scared you off the forum entirely, can you reconcile your advice with the policy? Judging by the recent disclaimer posts, I'm inclined to trust the policy over the more hopeful unofficial feedback we've gotten.
Everyone else, has anyone ever successfully transferred to a better position?
I'm another participant who is unhappy with their placement and is desperate to pursue a real research or even engineering position.
Larry, a beacon of hope from an otherwise murky Program Office, has advocated participants to [quote]take personal, proactive, action to move elsewhere.[/quote]
Even going so far as to say [quote] If the SMART Scholar can find a new position and both facilities are agreeable than I think it would be natural to approve the change. I can't imagine having an employee that wanted to be elsewhere and not helping get where they want to be... This is a decision for the individual Service, the facilities and the scholar - not the SMART Program Office. [url]http://thesmartforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=484&p=6337&sid=dfc0373d65b283a5ec3f3805f4cade45&sid=dfc0373d65b283a5ec3f3805f4cade45#p6337[/url][/quote]
However, this is in direct contradiction with Program Office policy (2010 SMART Participant Handbook):
[quote]All Participants are required to complete internship and post‐graduation commitments with their
assigned SF approved by the SPO. Participants may not choose to complete their service commitments
with a facility other than their assigned SF approved by the SPO.
Only the SPO may reassign a Participant to a new SF. It is extremely unusual for the Program to assign a
Participant to a facility other than the original SF for completion of the service commitment. In the rare
case that a change of SF is considered, it is done on a case‐by‐case basis and at the discretion of the SPO.
If the SPO determines that the match between the SF and Participant is not viable, the SPO will work
with the SF and attempt to find alternative placement for the Participant.
...
A Participant may not ask his/her SF to initiate a request with the SPO to reassign him/her to a new
facility, contact other DoD facilities in search of a new sponsor, or take other acts intended to
circumvent this policy. Facility requests to reassign Participants are extremely rare and fully investigated
by the SPO. If the SPO learns that the SF has lost interest in sponsoring a Participant due to his/her
purposeful actions intended to circumvent this policy and/or that the requested change was actually
initiated by the Participant rather than by the SF and based on circumstances the SPO does not consider
exceptional, the Participant will be considered to be acting in bad faith and may be dismissed from the
Program.[/quote]
It sounds to me like the inquisition will be called in to make sure SMART participants stay where they are, no matter how bad it is.
Larry, if Fitzsimmons hasn't scared you off the forum entirely, can you reconcile your advice with the policy? Judging by the recent disclaimer posts, I'm inclined to trust the policy over the more hopeful unofficial feedback we've gotten.
Everyone else, has anyone ever successfully transferred to a better position?