Course Restrictions and Identity Verification Policy

 

S2 Institute Policies

Updated 11 March 2021

This page describes the S2 Institute’s course restriction system and policy for student identity verification.

For General School Policies and additional policies related to distance learning programs, CEP courses, and other matters, use the following links.

General School Policies
Policies: Live Courses
Policies: Distance Learning Programs
Policies: Career Education Programs
Policies: S2 Store (Merchandise and S2 Memberships)

For reasons of security and public responsibility, many S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute courses are restricted to specific audiences. We require that all students applying for admission to restricted courses complete an identity and qualifications verification process. The statements made by students to establish their credibility are subject to investigative verification and any misrepresentation or omission of information is grounds for rejection.

The S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute reserves the right to deny admittance to anyone where satisfactory verification of qualifications or credentials have not been obtained. The Institute also reserves the right to reject any applications for enrollment in restricted courses based on its discretionary assessment of the student’s statements and/or qualifications.

Restriction Levels

Restriction levels for S2 Institute courses are established as follows:

Level 1: Open to The Public (No Restrictions)

The information presented in Level One courses is not sensitive in nature. Students that wish to only enroll in Level One programs are not required to complete an identity verification and credibility questionnaire.

Level 2: Verified Security and Law Enforcement Professionals

The information presented in Level Two courses is sensitive in nature and requires verification of the student’s identity and credibility as a security or public safety professional. This category also includes foreign law enforcement and foreign government personnel. You must register online and complete the Level Two verification prior to enrollment in a Level Two program. Students attending a live level-2 class must bring one of the following for identification purposes:

        • Photo ID
        • Current Security License
        • Agency ID or a letter from your employer stating you are currently employed in the security field
Level 3: U.S. Government Only

The content presented in Level Three courses includes FOUO information and is restricted to U.S. Government employees working in security, law enforcement, intelligence, or military capacities. This restriction category includes U.S. Government employees and employees of U.S. state and municipal government agencies. Waivers may be granted to government contractors with established security clearances.

All S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute courses are presented at an UNCLASSIFIED level.

Classroom Students

Classroom students applying for admission to restricted S2 courses must complete a security and identity verification questionnaire while on-site prior to the beginning of the course. The statements provided in the identity verification form are subject to investigative verification and any omissions or misleading statements are grounds for dismissal from the course. S2 also reserves the right to dismiss a classroom student from a restricted class if the student does not meet the eligibility criteria for the course restriction level.

Classroom students may also be required to provide photographic identification to verify their identity. A photocopy will be made of the ID and kept on record with the student’s identity verification form. Students must also provide a current security license and agency identification card or letter from their current employer stating they are employed in the security field. Students that claim employment by a US federal or local government agency should provide official government ID to establish the student’s eligibility for Level 3 restricted courses.

Identity verification is a one-time process and does need to be completed again if a student wishes to enroll in additional S2 restricted courses through our distance learning system. If a previous classroom student wishes to have their course access level carried over to their online user account for the purposes of enrolling in distance learning courses, the student should contact us and provide us with their online user ID. Our admissions staff will then update the student’s user ID to reflect their previously approved course access level.

Distance Learning Students

All distance learning students applying for admission to restricted S2 Online Academy courses must complete an identity verification process prior to enrollment. Students who wish to enroll in Level 1 (Unrestricted) courses do not need to complete the identity verification process and may proceed directly to course enrollment.

U.S. GOVERNMENT & U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL: Due to the tight controls maintained by the United States Government on .gov and .mil address domains, U.S. Government personnel with official email addresses may bypass the standard S2 security and identity verification process. Government personnel with .gov and .mil email addresses should register as site users by using their official email address (with .gov or .mil domain suffix). Our user registration system will recognize the suffix and send an automatic email message to the user to verify the legitimacy of the government address. The newly registered user should then submit a reply email confirming receipt of our automatic email message. Once our system receives the user’s reply message, the government user is automatically granted a Course Access Level of 3 (U.S. Government Personnel Only).

The online identity verification process is simple. First, you need to be registered as a site user. Once you have a registered user name and password, log in, select the restricted course you wish to enroll in, and you will be prompted to complete and submit an identity verification application.

Complete the online identity verification questionnaire. When we receive your completed questionnaire, our admissions staff will contact your employer and/or references to verify your identity and statements. Once we have established your credibility, we will grant you a course access level and you will then be eligible to enroll in restricted courses. This verification process typically takes 1-3 business days to complete depending upon how much difficulty we encounter in contacting your employer or references.

When you have been granted a course authorization level, you may enroll in any courses at the level to which you have been granted access. Identity verification is a one-time process and does not need to be completed again unless your employment status changes and you request access to courses at a higher level.