I don’t like that ranks and merit badges entered by parents are showing on Scout profile page before they have been marked leader approved
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@JenniferOwen - could you screenshot some examples, especially the advancement page specifically for those items ?
This is how the system works. Once something is marked complete it appears on the Scouts profile
I’m inclined to agree with @JenniferOwen that it should show when approved, rather than simply based on marking Completed, given that anyone with Edit Advancement or greater permissions (including the scout and his or her parents) can mark something Complete. Marking Complete doesn’t actually mean that it’s been reviewed and approved by a leader. The current behavior gives the impression that the award/rank/etc is actually complete, whereas (as I’ve been reassured many times) that’s not what “Completed” means. It means “ready to be tested”.
I can replicate the behavior using a test scout for whom Leader Approval isn’t even an option (because the account doesn’t sync):
ETA: Grammatical changes to reduce my run-on stream-of-consciousness scribble.
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Not comfortable sharing a specific scout info.
One example is a first aid merit badge marked completed by the parent so it is included in the needs approval report but also shows on the profile page just like it has already been approved. Scoutmaster confirms he has a partial currently.
Other example is an Eagle rank that shows on the profile but has not gotten final approval from national yet. I entered the Board of Review date and it shows as though it has been recorded but still needs final approval . Eagle badge is already on his profile page like all his other ranks.
Confusing to the casual viewer who would assume everything on the profile page has been approved - maybe is not officially approved -
This could get to be a big problem now that we are encouraging scouts and parents to enter their own advancement progress
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One additional comment is that the pop-up on hover says “ earned the rank on ” whether the rank is Leader Approved or just marked “Completed”. Again, see the example from my test scout.
At the very least this message should read differently between Completed and Leader Approved, particularly if the official line is that Completed != earned.
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Yes I foresee parents who want to know where all those patches they put in are at the court of honor. To me if they are on the Scouts’ home page he or she should have them as it appears so
Would be nice if they could appear on the profile but are -perhaps in a muted/shadowed tone -until leader approved -to show they are pending
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There is an item in the backlog for this but we cannot predict if or when the BSA will schedule it for implementation.
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Thanks for letting us know it’s “on the list”, @edavignon.
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Me too but the advancements not approved are green and those approved are blue, This gives you a chance to question the boy to see if he understands the requirement. Also you can check with the parents. You will learn which parents you can trust and those who are just checking a box for advancement. You can always not approve the advancement. I have had the most problems with newer Scouts coming from Cubs where parents are allowed to sigh off advancement.
Charlie
As one of two data entry folks on our Troop’s Committee, I have ensured that there are a very limited Number of adult leaders with admin/full control rights. None of our ASMs and the Scoutmaster have admin/full control rights. One of my biggest concerns since transitioning from Troopmaster to Scoutbook has been that all parents have full control rights (by default) for their scout(s) based on being a connected parent and I as an admin/full control person cannot change that to their being someone who only view their Scout’s advancement and profile information. In my opinion that undermines the integrity/quality of the data entry (potentially) if a parent chose to exercise that ability. In my opinion Parents should only have view rights to their Scout’s advancement and profile information and any registered adult responsible for the administration of Scoutbook (having Admin/Full Control) should have control over the permissions of all Scout parents, in addition to all other users in Scoutbook for their Troop.
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The Scoutmaster should ALWAYS be a unit admin. It is the Scoutmaster that is responsible for Scout advancement, not anyone on the committee. The Scoutmaster and the Assistant Scoutmasters (with the Scoutmaster’s OK) should be approving advancement in Scoutbook, the same as they sign off in the Scout’s handbook. The Guide to Advancement gives the Scoutmaster the full authority to decide who in the unit may approve advancement. The Scoutmaster cannot, however, abdicate the responsibility to approve advancement as it is the Scoutmaster who is ultimately responsible for all approvals.
BSA policy says that parents have full control connections to their children. A parent who is not a leader in the unit is not able to approve anything (other than for Cub Scouts during the coronavirus pandemic per BSA policy). Leaders who are parents can approve their child’s advancement, however, I have never had an issue with this happening once I educate the leaders.
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