Electronic Advancement Reports for RANK

[skeptic]

While this is likely discussed here and there in some earlier posts, it is now becoming a bit more of a concern for me. I am hearing more and more talk about National soon requiring ALL reports to be done electronically, and the discontinuation of the paper forms all together. While I really find overall the advancement on-line a good process, it so far does not deal with the need for signatures on rank advancements.

 

Currently, in order to not have any unnecessary delay in the filing, we use PAPER for rank advancements so the board members can "IMMEDIATELY" sign after the review is completed. If you do not know who the reviewers actually will be for sure, and you do not for certain a scout will pass, how can you print the report before hand? That being the case, you would have to have someone print it AFTER the review, then arrange to get the signatures. You could possibly add weeks to the filing process.

 

Are there answers I am missing, or is this simply something about which no one has yet had much concern?

[Basementdweller]

It is council based decision.......Our council and scout shop will no longer take hand written advancement forms or forms printed from troopmaster or any other advancement program......It is required to be entered into scoutnet and that form is expected to be printed it is the only acceptable format.

 

I will say errors to our troop and pack record have gone down.......

 

Money saving on the council level at its finest.

[fred8033]

We've been submitting online advancements for a few years now. Works great! Records are accurate and not lost. Only need a printed report for shopping at the scout store. And I believe we can even feed the online report directly to the store to have the piece parts pulled and ready to purchase.

 

Moving paperwork is a major cost, a major delay, a major headache and a major failure/error point. I think the only place where you need a physical signature is inside the unit. And then, just sign the scout handbook.

 

I hope as much paperwork as possible moves online. I'd love to reduce my drives to the scout office. Expensive in gas and time. Expensive because I visit the scout shop at the same time.

 

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Also, the advancement report never needed the BOR member signatures. Just the signatures of two committee members. As far as I'm concerned, that can just go away. Those signatures are never really used anyway.

 

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If done right, I could see the registrar role going away. Submit online. Have the DE review and approve. Then be done with it.(This message has been edited by fred8033)

[Tampa Turtle]

Our Council requires electronic now and it is really a lot less delay and headache anyway. Now I only wish they would allow you to submit an online order and overnight your stuff to you to prevent that trip to pick it up. If it was only $10 I would do it in a heartbeat.

[skeptic]

_____________________

FOR COUNCIL SERVICE CENTER USE ONLY

Report received

Certificates issued

Mailed or issued to

Date mailed

Record Posted

1. Advancement procedures:

 

Troops/Teams: All Boy Scouts or Varsity Scouts ready for advancement must appear before a board

of review composed of at least three members. The advancement report for each board of review

must be signed by at least three members of the board, including its chairman.

 

 

This is directly from the advancement report on-line. "The advancement report for each board of review must be signed by at least three members of the board, including the chairman". This is the part that I am talking about. We cannot print a report until we have a review with a valid date. I suppose we could simply put in the likely date, then change it manually, but the report cannot be submitted to council without the right date and a hard copy with signatures where they release the entered data from the report.

[fred8033]

Huh. Ya know I've seen that form for years. But we've never tracked who sat on the board. If we needed specific names, we'd go to the scout handbook and see the initials. Even back in the paper days, we would submit one form for multiple BORs that happened on different days with different committee members. No one ever looked up who the committee members were or cross referenced that sheet.

 

We'd just find two committee members to sign it. And even then, so members would tell another "you have permission to sign my name" for that form.

 

The form has always sort of been junky.

 

There's the "Board of Review Date" box. AND, each line has a scout name and a date earned field. So which date is the BOR date. If the box, the report is really only good for one BOR date, but multiple scouts for MBs on different days and such. If the individual line for the BOR date, then why the big box. Doesn't make sense.

 

I think that's why no one ever took those signatures too seriously.

 

Online is much cleaner.

[5yearscouter]

What we do is have the regular OLD duplicate copy of the advancement form available on BOR nights.

They sign them as they do them.

Then we take the stack and enter everything in internet advancement, and attach council's copy of the old form stapled to the internet advancement form that is signed by the advancement chair and for the other two signatures we write "see attached".

 

For now that is what our council wants.

 

I will assume that will die off with the duplicate forms. At that point council will decide that they really don't want or care about the BOR signatures and we'll just use something "in house" to have the BOR sign and have the advancement chair sign the internet advancement forms.

 

So we kinda do a combo of old paperwork and new.

 

[ZScout5]

I loved internet advancement for the pack and the troop now does the same as 5yearscouter. I have heard of a unit having BOR members sign a blank address label and then stick that on the signature spot on the printout later. Don't know if that is ok or if other councils would accept that.

National needs to come up with a better way to do this, but for now I'd settle for a special signature sheet that you could print out ahead of time and attach to advancement printout after the BOR. No need for the 3 part form.

[Eagle92]

While this is an old thread, this was something I just went over at RT. This is what my council wants us to do, so your results may very.

 

 

Boy Scouts, Sea Scouts, Varsity, and Venturers: when rank or recognition that requires a BOR is needed AND the signatures on the Advancement Report (AR), we are told to have a paper copy of the at the time of the BOR so that the BOR members may sign it. That copy must be sent to the council office. Once the Scout, Sea Scout, Varsity Scout, or Venturer completes the BOR, you can go ahead and sill out the SCOUTNET info that nite. BUT A PAPER COPY WITH THE SIGNATURES MUST ALSO BE SENT IN (caps for emphasis)

 

 

Cub Scouts: Since no BOR is needed, fill it out as they earned it.

[Basementdweller]

Zscout I would hope your council service center would not accept it......

 

It really isn't that big a deal to get a few signatures......If it is you should resign and let someone who feels it isn't a big deal.

 

I would never sign an address label for someone to stick it on stuff that needs signed....

 

It is a check and balance sort of thing.....