Historical records, it would be great if we could add the historical accomplishments attained by current volunteers into there profiles. Awards such as eagle scout, religious awards, silver beaver. Etc. We can add the dates for there entry in the OA why not other stuff. I mean a web site such as this is just a data base with a visual interface.
I know you can add OA information. I don’t think the broader question is what can non admins see. The point of scout book it to track someone’s advancement and maintain those records. It seems a bit of an insult to all the adult volunteers who put in all the work and time to keep scouting going. But there accomplishments aren’t recorded. Quite frankly I’m much prouder of my eagle rank than my OA level that is displayed on my profile. But I can’t enter something I worked years on. But I can enter something that requires you to only be elected by your peers.
@Metageologist - I certainly understand what you are saying. One thing to keep in mind is that scoutbook was built as a unit advancement tool and not an adult tracker. So to insinuate that this is an insult is a bit strong implying that it is intentional offense.
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Adult awards will only be considered after all youth awards are included.
One issue with Eagle is that that Scoutbook is the National Advancement database. We can‘t just let anyone add Eagle to their profile because it’d change the official records. There would need to be a way to verify it.
Note that young adults who moved to an adult role in the last couple years do have all of their awards that were recorded in scoutbook still. There’s just no way to see them.
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If you are young enough that your advancement was recorded in ScoutNET and your BSA Member ID has not changed, your data should already be in Scoutbook. From My Dashboard click on Reports then Scouts BSA History Report. Enter your BSA Member ID to generate the report of your advancement in Scoutbook.
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Thanks for the info. I’m surprised all your awards haven’t been added at this date. This has been around for years at this stage i believe.
As far as just letting anyone enter there data this could be resolved by providing your NESA card, your certificate from your council to your council to sign off on the addition.
I personally and most of my piers predate either of those programs.
I can’t even get my old ID associated with my current one. There is a help ticket in with for that as well.
This isn’t just an annoyance that frustrates me. I hear gripes from numerous volunteers who have achieved eagle and like my self predate this and other electronic record keeping. I just seem to be more vocal about it.
I doubt the BSA will ever allow adults to enter their own Eagle ranks. I do know of some adults that earned Eagle in other Councils that have their Eagle on their current ScoutNET profile. You could ask your registrar if they can add it for you if you can provide proof it was earned.
The BSA Adult Application asks if you’re an Eagle Scout and for the date. I know that information is in Scoutnet because I’ve seen reports (generated by professionals) that include that column. That said, I have no idea whether registrars actually verify this information when they enter new adults.
Even though the BSA systems may not be great at making old data accessible, those who are concerned should know the data should still be in the system.
At one extreme, I know some DESA applications have to be verified with old paper records in the national office. Or at least they did for those who earned Eagle before the computer age.
Personally, when I picked back up with scouting a few years ago in my new council, they were able to merge my new ID (which is required if you switch councils) with my old ID that included some training I took in the late 90’s as a brand new adult. So the data is still there (assuming it was entered in the first place).
If you’re nice to your registrar, they may be able to dig out a copy of your old information too, and merge or update your profile.
But for all those who are worried about not getting credit or being able to show off their Eagle award in Scoutbook, I think it’s important to remember that Scoutbook is primarily an advancement recording tool for scouts (which is why we’re here). And while (oddly) you can enter OA information to show off on your profile, and one can argue you should be able to show off your Eagle, in the real world (once we get back to it), I think its far better for scouts to see your Eagle knot on your uniform than a virtual profile that most will probably never see anyway.
All that said, as a district volunteer, I would love to be able to see which awards adults have earned and the previous positions they have held to help in recruiting new volunteers. One day…
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I like this idea. Also, we are getting close to having all Scout awards in Scoutbook, so this would be a great place to start.
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