Internet Advancement Training - National Capital Area …

1 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Prepared by: National Capital Area Council Advancement and Recognition Committee Internet Advancement Training 1 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Overview Purpose: Internet Advancement is provided to assist units with recording ranks, merit badges, and awards, and reporting to the council This process has been available since 2006 Incorporated into the new Guide to Advancement , #33088 It s the NCAC s preferred way of recording unit Advancement After April 1st, 2012 you must submit Advancement reports generated only by Internet Advancement Eagle Scouts are the only exception Rank Advancement and merit badge purchases at the Scout Shop must include an Internet Advancement report The website is easy to navigate, especially if you use the on-line help package 2 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Internet Advancement Improves Reporting You become more responsible for approving your youth member advancements Units set their own schedule for submitting Advancement reports The information is synchronized with ScoutNET No one has to decipher another person s handwriting You can make corrections to the data anytime before submitting, and The BSA rank Advancement rules are enforced 3 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Internet Advancement Features Simple and intuitive interface - designed to accommodate the widest variety of users No need for specific Training Users should have a basic knowledge of BSA terminology Works from any Internet -connected PC with Internet Explorer or below If using IE10 or IE11, change browser settings to Compatibility Mode Additional instructions are on the opening page!

2 BSA routinely updates menus with the latest rank, merit badge, and award options Units will: Have one unit Advancement processor register to use Internet Advancement Access is made with a unit ID that does not change annually Enter ranks and awards appropriate to their unit type 4 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Unit Advancement Processor Unit designates adult member as Unit Advancement Processor Gathers all the information needed for recording advancements Navigates to Internet Advancement via the NCAC or MyScouting website Registers as Processor and logs into Internet Advancement If the unit appoints a new unit processor, just contact NCAC (301-214-9197) to reset the profile New unit Advancement processor registers as a first time user NCAC can reset the profile if the current processor wants to change information such as e-mail address or telephone Any Advancement entry in progress is retained 5 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Tips About Registering and Logging In You must register as a new user for each separate unit Includes cases where you are the unit Advancement processor for more than one unit Create a password that is easy to remember and do not keep it with the unit ID number You can begin updating advancements in Internet Advancement and stop before finishing - when you return, log in as a returning user The unit ID number does not change So long as the unit remains an active, registered NCAC unit NCAC can reset data in Internet Advancement .

3 Which means that all updates are deleted The roster returns to the roster downloaded from ScoutNET 6 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Submitting Reports BSA recommends submitting a report every month, but many units do updates in conjunction with award events ( , Court of Honor, Blue and Gold) Each December a final report with anything not already recorded for the year should be submitted before month end 7 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Unit and Council Benefits To Scouting Units Unit enters its own Advancement records Unit prints a final Advancement report for Scout Shop purchases Unit can correct existing ranks and awards, should the earned date displayed be incorrect according to the unit s records If you log out before you submit a report , your data will be saved Internet Advancement will dynamically return you to the Stage you were in when you left To the Council Youth member records are updated Advancement statistics are current - supports Journey to Excellence program Record keeping is simplified for all units 8 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Limitations Nominated awards, such as meritorious action awards.

4 Cannot be entered Eagle Scout rank cannot be entered with Internet Advancement and must be completed through the NCAC Program office Ranks must be added in sequence based on unit type and program 9 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Internet Advancement Website 10 Two ways to get to Internet Advancement BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Welcome Page 11 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA New and Returning Users If you are a new user: At the Internet Advancement home page, click the First Time User button At the registration page, enter your information into the following fields: Unit ID (the Unit ID number is provided by the District Advancement or council Program Office personnel) Unit Type (choose one from the drop-down list) Unit Number Click Continue Read the confidentiality statement - Click I Agree At the contact information page, enter your information - all fields are required Click Register If you are a returning user: At the Internet Advancement home page, click the Returning User button At the Log In screen, enter the Unit ID and the password Click Log In 12 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA The First Time 13 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Confidentiality Statement 14 You are about to view information confidential to your unit and Boy Scouts of America.

5 You accept the responsibility of maintaining the confidentiality of this information. You agree you will share this information only with individuals in your unit or the Boy Scouts of America on a need to know basis. You agree this information will not be distributed or shared outside the Boy Scouts of America I agree. I disagree. BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Your Registration 15 Complete all fields with your information First Name Last Name Password Re-enter Password E-Mail Re-enter E-Mail Phone Number E-Mail and Phone Number are used to contact you for password resets or help tickets BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Returning User Log In 16 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Stage 1 - Load Roster 17 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Loading Your Unit s Roster You must click Load Roster each time you log in after submitting a report to obtain your unit s current roster information Load Roster is required after each submittal but it may also be done to obtain a current unit roster or Advancement records If you are using unit-management software, you can upload Advancement information generated from the application, instead of entering it manually It may take more than a few minutes to load your roster.

6 Depending upon the size of your unit 18 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Handling Error Messages If you receive an error message when loading data, contact the NCAC Program office and provide the following information: The information in the message Copy and paste the error message into an e-mail Unit type (Pack, Troop, Crew, etc.) Unit number NCAC Program Office 301-214-9197 19 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Loaded Unit Roster 20 Review Unit Roster Unit Advancement Summary Member Summary Review Advancement report View Previous Advancement Reports Print Membership Cards Multiple Person Entry BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Unit Roster Menu Options - 1 Review Unit Roster Provides a PDF file of your unit roster like you receive before or after rechartering Alphabetically lists adults, then youth, with registration information Adult list also includes YPT date Unit Advancement Summary Provides a PDF file of your unit, alphabetically organized, with each Scout s advancements (rank, merit badge, award, etc)

7 Listed and the date each was earned This summary only shows those items that are currently in the member records for this unit Advancements that have not been submitted to NCAC will not appear 21 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Unit Roster Menu Options - 2 Member Summary Allows you to select individual members for inclusion in a Unit Advancement Summary report The report comes as a PDF file Each selected Scout is printed on a separate page(s) Review Advancement report Creates an html view of an Advancement report currently in progress View Previous Advancement Reports Generates a selectable list of previous Advancement Reports for you to select, review, save, and reprint 22 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Unit Roster Menu Options - 3 Print Membership Cards Generates a PDF file of replacement membership cards for each adult and youth member whose memberships have been paid Multiple Entries Allows you to enter Awards and Merit Badges for multiple members in the unit Processor selects which merit badge(s), the date earned, and the Scout(s) earning the badge Be careful this can do a lot of damage to your unit s records if done carelessly 23 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Starting Over!

8 !! 24 When All Else Fails, Reset Your Data To The Last Submission To NCAC! BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Notes on Updating Youth Records Once you have loaded the roster, you can select members for Advancement You will see a list of all the youth members of your unit. Click Ranks, Merit Badges, or Awards to the left of the name for which you wish to record an Advancement If a rank, merit badge, or award has a date recorded but was not earned, you must contact NCAC to have this corrected If you remove a date from an existing rank, you will receive an error message when you click on another field or click Save - click OK and the removed date will return You cannot enter the same item twice For example, a Scout earns an Award multiple times, such as the Mile Swim, only the NCAC may enter each date After you have recorded all advancements, click Next 25 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Reviewing / Editing Youth Ranks 26 You can change the dates You can add dates to empty rank fields But you cannot completely delete dates!

9 Software Follows Advancement Rules BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Notes on Youth Ranks In the text boxes, enter the date the youth earned rank, then click Save Note: Click Reset to return the screen to the original information Guidelines for Youth Ranks Enter dates in mm/dd/yyyy format (acceptable forms of entry will be 06/01/2006 or 6/1/2006) The date earned must always be in the current month or a prior month and year Do not date ranks for a future month Youth members must be currently registered in the unit to receive a rank If your unit is a lapsed unit (past its unit expiration date), you may only submit ranks with a date earlier than the unit expiration date If there is a rank that you wish to record that is not on the pick list, submit the rank to the council on an Advancement report (No. 34403B) Ranks can be awarded based on the program level of the youth member: Tiger Cub: Bobcat and Tiger Cub Rank Cub Scout: Bobcat, Wolf and Bear Webelos Scout: Bobcat, Webelos, and Arrow of Light Boy Scout, Varsity, Venture, and Sea Scout: Units may award ranks based on the unit type of the registered member Explorer: No ranks to be awarded 27 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Recording Youth Awards 28 Available Scout awards are: BSA Lifeguard Boardsailing BSA Den Chief Service Award Emergency Preparedness 50-Miler Firem n Chit Historic Trails Interpreter Strip Kayaking BSA Leave No Trace Mile Swim National Outdoor Achievement SCUBA BSA Snorkeling BSA Totin Chip World Conservation Award BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Notes on Youth Awards In the text boxes, enter the date the youth earned the award, then click Save Note.

10 Click Reset to return screen to the original information Guidelines for Youth Awards Enter dates in mm/dd/yyyy format (acceptable forms of entry will be 06/01/2006 or 6/1/2006). The date earned must always be in the current month or a prior month and year. You may not date awards for a future month Youth members must be currently registered in the unit to receive awards If your unit is a lapsed unit (past its unit expiration date) you may only submit awards with a date earlier than the unit expiration date Youth awards may be awarded to eligible members of packs, troops, teams, crews, ships, and posts You cannot award in Internet Advancement any nominated awards, such as the meritorious action awards, and awards controlled by other organizations, even if permitted for uniform wear Each unit award pick list is based on the unit program 29 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Recording Youth Merit Badges 30 Merit Badges can be viewed in alphabetically groups or just those required for Eagle Make sure you Save after entering the last merit badge for a Scout !