Internet Advancement Training - National Capital …BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA® Overview • Purpose: Internet Advancement is provided to assist units with recording ranks, merit badges,

BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA®

Prepared by:

National Capital Area Council

Advancement and Recognition Committee

Internet Advancement Training

1


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

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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


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 9.0 or below – If using IE10 or IE11, change browser settings to Compatibility Mode

– Additional instructions are on the opening page!

• 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

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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


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, which means that all updates are deleted

– The roster returns to the roster downloaded from ScoutNET

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Submitting Reports

• BSA recommends submitting a report every month,

but many units do updates in conjunction with award

events (e.g., 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

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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

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Limitations

• Nominated awards, such as meritorious action

awards, 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

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Internet Advancement Website

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Two ways to get

to Internet

Advancement


Welcome Page

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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”

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The First Time

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Confidentiality Statement

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You are about to view information confidential to your

unit and Boy Scouts of America. 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.


Your Registration

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• 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


Returning User Log In

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Stage 1 - Load Roster

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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, depending upon the size of your unit

18


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

– [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]


Loaded Unit Roster

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• Review Unit Roster • Unit Advancement Summary • Member Summary • Review Advancement Report • View Previous Advancement

Reports

• Print Membership Cards

• Multiple Person Entry


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) 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

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• 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

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• 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

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Starting Over!!!

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When All Else Fails, Reset Your Data To The Last Submission To NCAC!


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

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Reviewing / Editing Youth Ranks

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• You can change the dates

• You can add dates to empty

rank fields

• But you cannot completely

delete dates!

Software Follows

Advancement Rules


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

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Recording Youth Awards

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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


Notes on Youth Awards

• In the text boxes, enter the date the youth earned the award, then click “Save”

• Note: 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

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Recording Youth Merit Badges

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• 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 !


Notes on Youth Merit Badges

• In the text boxes, enter the date the youth earned the merit badge, click “Save”

• Note: Click Reset to return screen to the original information

• Click Eagle to see a list of the merit badges available for the rank of Eagle Scout

• Guidelines for Youth Merit Badges – 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 merit badges for a future month

– Youth members must be currently registered in unit to receive merit badges

– If your unit is a lapsed unit (past its unit expiration date) you may only submit merit badges with a date earlier than the unit expiration date

– Merit badges may only be awarded to eligible members of troops, teams, crews, and ships

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Submitting Updates To Council

• Once all ranks,

merit badges, and

awards have been

entered then select

“Next”

• You will have the

option to review

your advancement

report, which we

strongly encourage,

or submit it directly

to council

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Uploading An Advancement File

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Let’s Start With TroopMaster or PackMaster!


Generating TroopMaster Advancement

File

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• To get to this screen

in TroopMaster, go to

Reports,

Awards/Advancement,

Court of Honor/4403

• Select Unit

Advancement Report,

make sure ScoutNET

report is selected, and

enter appropriate

dates


TroopMaster Advancement Report

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• Double check

this report to

make sure

everything looks

right

• If not, cancel out,

fix the problem,

and start again

• Save this report

using the “Disk”

icon at the top

and selecting the

“ScoutNET

(*.csv)” option


Saving The ScoutNET Transfer File

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• TroopMaster will ask

you where you want

to save the file

• Use the Explore icon

to navigate there

• Make it easy, like

your Desktop!

• Click “OK”

Warning! Do not open or rename the ScoutNET

Transfer File!!


Uploading The ScoutNET Transfer File

to Internet Advancement

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• Browse to the file

location where you

saved the ScoutNET

Transfer File

• Click “Upload File”

once and then wait!

• Watch the green

progress bar at

the bottom of the

screen!)


Uploading Instructions - 1

• At the Upload Advancement File page, click Browse – In the dialog box, locate and select the correct file on your computer, and

click Open

– Then click Upload File

– Internet Advancement verifies the data file is an approved version and data format

– Depending on file size, unit size, and time of day, the data upload can take some time - just be patient!

• Note: If there is an error at file uploading, please note the error message you receive – It might be necessary to create a new advancement file

– Be careful to follow the instructions provided by the unit-management software (UMS) vendor on how to do this

– If difficulty continues, contact the user support for the UMS vendor who sells and maintains your software and ask for assistance

– A properly named advancement file is ADVxxxxx.csv where xxxxx represents the unit type and four-digit unit number

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Load Roster Confirmation

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• Check The List To

Make Sure Each

Scout Was Loaded

• For Unmatched

Members You Will

Be Able to Manual

Enter The

Advancement

Information


Uploading Instructions - 2

• Once started you may Cancel Upload if you do not wish to continue – Upload stops and data will revert to the last roster from NCAC

– Start Over can be done to return the user to Load Roster stage

• After processing, you will receive a Load Roster confirmation page – Check the list to make sure each scout was loaded

– For unmatched members you will be able to manual enter the advancement information

– Click “OK”, the Update Member stage will open at the roster for Select Members for Advancement

– If the advancement file was not an approved version and data format, an error message displayed and processing did not occur

– View the error message and take the appropriate steps to correct the error

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Review Advancement Report

• At Select Members for Advancement (Slide 19), click on Review Advancement Report and view the results of the file processing – Compare the results of the processing to the advancement that was

selected for upload

– Any member who was not updated may be entered manually

– If records in the file were not recorded there are several possible reasons

• The exact first name and last name match with council information did not occur,

• The exact date of birth match did not occur, or

• A member in the file is not currently on the unit roster

– Contact the NCAC Registrar to make corrections

– If a specific badge was not recorded, it may not be in the pick list to be recorded

• Complete all advancement entries and click Next to continue with report submittal

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Submitting The Report To Council

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Pay Attention to

the Warning!

This is Your

Last

Opportunity to

Make

Corrections!


Notes on Submitting the Report

• Once all advancements have been entered, you can submit the advancement report to the council

• To submit the advancement report – Click “Submit Report”

– Click “Print the Advancement Report”

• The advancement report will appear in a separate window as a PDF file

• You must have Acrobat Reader in order to view the file

• You must print the report or save the report before you log out

– Obtain the appropriate signatures, and deliver the signed advancement report package to the NCAC or Scout Shop

• Warning: Once you submit to NCAC, you can only make date changes through Internet Advancement

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Congratulations, Print, and Save!

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Help!

• Frequently Asked Questions

– Link appears on banner at top right of each page in Internet

Advancement and displays the current FAQ for unit users

• Internet Advancement Help

– The Help link on the Welcome page or Help link on the right of

all other pages reaches Internet Advancement Help

– Help contains an contents, index, and search functions

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Change Password

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• You can the change the password in either Stage 1: Load Roster or Stage 3: Submit Report

• To change the password:

• Click the “Change Password” link

• In the fields provided, type in the old password

• Type in the new password and repeat it exactly

• Click OK

• Result: The password is changed - at your next log in, enter the new password


Forgotten Password

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• To reset the password:

• Click “Password” on any page where it appears

• At the Password page, enter the following information:

• Unit ID (unit ID provided by the council)

• E-mail (e-mail address provided during registration)

• Click “Reset”

• Result: A new password is sent to the e-mail address

IMPORTANT: The unit advancement

processor must enter the e-mail

address provided during registration

• For security reasons, Internet

Advancement requires the unit ID

and the e-mail address that the unit

advancement processor initially

registered

• If you forget the password and do

not know the unit ID, contact the

NCAC for assistance


Changing Your E-Mail Address

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• You can change the e-mail address in either Stage 1: Load Roster or Stage 3: Submit Report

• To change the e-mail address:

• Click the “E-Mail” link

• In the fields provided, type in the old e-mail address

• Type in the new e-mail address and repeat it exactly

• Click OK

• Result: The e-mail address is changed

• If you later use the Forgot Password link, the new password will go to the new address


What Next?

• Appoint the unit advancement processor

• The unit advancement processor will then: – Obtain the Unit ID from NCAC, District Executive, or District

Advancement Chair

• Go to the council website or log-in to the BSA website and enter Internet Advancement – NCAC: Home Page Popular Links, Internet Advancement

– BSA: Log-in to MyScouting, My Tools

• Review instructions, Help, and FAQ

• Register as a new user

• Review current Unit Advancement Summary

• Gather youth advancement records and begin entry

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THAT’S ALL!!! QUESTIONS??

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Documents

Internet Advancement Training - National Capital …BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA® Overview • Purpose: Internet Advancement is provided to assist units with recording ranks, merit badges,