Welcome! This forum has a treasure trove of great info – Scouters helping Scouters! Just a heads up, though - all content, information, and opinions shared on this forum are those of the author, not the BSA.
Our Troop recently had to switch over from TroopMaster to Scoutbook. Although reporting advancement to Council is now easier, Scoutbook’s Individual Advancement Record which we refer to for Board of Review meetings needs some improvement.
For comparison, I have attached an Advancement Report from Scoutbook as well as from TroopMaster.
Scoutbook’s report is lacking: the Scout’s age, the date he joined the unit, Activity Totals (camping, hiking, service hours), Special Awards, National Outdoor Awards, Training Courses and LEADERSHIP.
Is it possible to add these important elements to Scoutbooks report?
Although not required, the info provides an overview of the Scout and his experiences. In cases of an Eagle Board of Review, some of the Council leaders may be meeting the Scout for the first time and it is helpful to provide them with as much information as possible regarding the Scout’s journey.
Sounds like overkill to me. I don’t have any idea why any BOR would care about a Scout’s age or when the Scout joined the BSA. Also, while the other stuff is interesting, I don’t see how not having a list of special awards or training taken by the Scout impairs doing a BOR…
I wouldn’t be concerned if I were on an EBOR and someone tossed one of these reports at me – a little confused, though, since it doesn’t really add anything that I need to know for the EBOR.
I have the Scout’s own words about their life goals and ambitions. I have letters of reference from multiple adults that DO know the Scout very well. I have the Scout’s Eagle Project Planner, which tells me a whole lot about the Scout’s interests, maturity and commitment. And, I have the actual EBOR discussion. If all of that isn’t enough to tell me about the Scout and what they’ve achieved, a generic form isn’t gonna make any difference.
Our Council switched to Scoutbook for reporting advancement. Prior to that we reported to Council using Scoutnet’s Internet Advancement. We use TroopMaster for keeping track of other internal records.
Our troop also uses TM rather than SB because many of it’s reports are more robust and useful. It also has fewer ‘glitches’. You can report the advancement recorded in TM by using Internet Advancement 2.0 rather than Internet Advancement. It then synchronizes that advancement information with SB, so you don’t have to do double entry. TM also gives the Advancement Coordinator more verification and control of what is entered.
Kathleen, your council CAN’T require any forms to be attached to an Eagle application packet that aren’t required by National. Hasn’t everyone learned this by now? Nothing more is required than the BSA rules call for and nothing less.
Is this the same issue posted in the thread below, or is the issue you’re referring to in this thread related to problems updating advancement records earlier than May 2020?
