Hey All!
Just had a followup interview with an investigator regarding my TS/SCI investigation. ONE of the issues that came up was an Academic Probation period during a semester in college. This question hit me as quite the surprise, as I had never been made aware of any sort of probationary period I was in during college. I do remember my semester grades having dropped following some midterm exams during one semester, but I didn’t think severely enough or for long enough that the university would have placed me on probation. Well, following the interview, I emailed the school and as it turns out, sure enough. I had been placed on academic probation during this one semester.
All said and done, I hadn’t reported any of that on my SF-86 or any other forms. Is there anything I can do at this point? I had informed the investigator that I wasn’t aware of any sort of probation, but that I would reach out to the school after our interview to find out for sure. Clearly, it’s hard to prove that I had no knowledge of it for mitigating the concern, but is there anything else I should do? Should I followup with the investigator and explain what I found out?
My concern is obviously this was something that hadn’t been reported previously, so it very well could throw a wrench into everything.
Thanks everyone!
I’ve never heard of a security investigation being concerned about academic probation. Probation for misconduct, yes… but for academic reasons?
Does the form even ask about this??? I just checked, every time the word “probation” appears the word “parole” is close at hand. I think they are concerned about being put on criminal probation as a result of court proceedings.
Is this another example of an investigator overachieving?
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If true, this is ridiculous. Nobody cares about academic probation - there are bigger issues in one’s background that create security concerns.
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Trust me when I say that I doubt the investigator was trying to “overachieve” when it comes to discussing academic probation. Since OP mentioned it was a follow up, what most likely happened is the record for the educational institution wasn’t obtained until sometime after the initial interview and review made the investigator confront OP with the derogatory info found in the record, even if it was just academic probation.
Also on another note, when discussing attendance at an educational institution that wasn’t listed for whatever reason, we are required to ask whether or not there were any academic or non-academic difficulties
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So let’s say you DID list an academic institution where you WERE on academic probation for a semester or two… where would you list that?
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Just to clarify, the SF86 form itself doesn’t ask about academic probation. However investigators are required to discuss any derogatory information that’s developed during the course of the investigation, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Whether or not you want to discuss the info is entirely up to you
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That’s what I thought… but how can a person then be suspected of being dishonest when they failed to disclose something that they were not expected to disclose in the first place?
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‘They’ are not suspected of being dishonest, as sideshowbob mentioned, if it shows up in a record, then we have to discuss it.
To the OP, I wouldn’t lose any sleep.
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Honestly, I agree. It is derogatory information that should, in and of itself, be discussed. So while the university had obviously been listed (only institution I hold a degree from), the academic probation had not been. My only concern is really if they believe that it was an intentional omission and that’s grounds for deception.
Thank you. It just happened to come up, and frankly, I’m glad it did as it made me aware of the situation for future applications.
That being said, I currently hold a clearance… is this something I should disclose to my current company?
Well and, to be completely honest, I know there are bigger concerns in my file. Maybe the only reason it was a concern worth further questioning was because it wasn’t reported? That’s the only logic I can see.
Really, that’s my only concern, is that it wasn’t reported anywhere. Think this will be a problem? Should I reach back out to tell them what I found from the school?
Calm down.
There is no where to report academic probation on the SF-86, other than maybe the comments section. Your background investigation consists of more than the SF-86 and we often discuss any concerns, no matter how slight, even if the SF-86 doesn’t ask. It’s part of the job.
Go back through your training and find out what is reportable to security, I’m sure you have been through training on the topic, most likely even more than once. I would assume this is not a reportable incident but I know what happens when one assumes.
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Awesome, thank you. Don’t mean to seem like I’m overreacting, just wanted to cover all of my bases, just in case. I appreciate your help!
I reported academic probation during one of my poly’s because the polygrapher asked about any issues in college. She just put it in the comments section, and it never really came up as an issue.
Investigators do contact the Deans of Students’ Officers wherever you have attended school, so there is the strong possibility that this information might surface.