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Date of BSA online advancement tool being turned off


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Does anyone have an announced date that BSA online advancement is being turned off? 

I'm asking as I want to learn when our troop needs to start using ScoutBook.  We'd like to like to start using ScoutBook for advancement at least a month before BSA ScoutNet Online Advancement interface is turned off.  

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49 minutes ago, NJCubScouter said:

I didn't know it was being turned off.  Is anything replacing it?

Scoutbook

54 minutes ago, fred johnson said:

Does anyone have an announced date that BSA online advancement is being turned off? 

I'm asking as I want to learn when our troop needs to start using ScoutBook.  We'd like to like to start using ScoutBook for advancement at least a month before BSA ScoutNet Online Advancement interface is turned off.  

According to Scoutbook, this is the announcement they are posting:

Effective Mar 1, 2018, all units are required to enable the Youth Advancement Synchronization (sync) with the BSA to approve advancements. To activate your unit and Scouts for the youth advancement sync, see the information in our forum thread.

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14 minutes ago, NealOnWheels said:

 

No date.  ScoutBook lite released 2nd quarter 2018 ... which means to me 2018.  ;)  .... the article says the existing platform will be retired.  I assume it's not the exact same day. 

So is BSA Internet Advancement to be turned off same day, same week, same month, same year?

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Just now, Col. Flagg said:

That just says existing ScoutBook units need to activate the automatic sync by March 1st.  No statement about ScoutBook Lite.  No statement about when BSA internet advancement goes away.  I'm being asked by an advancement coordinator how long he has until he has to switch.  I think he's asking as his son is aging out and he's stepping away when the scout ages out.

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1 minute ago, fred johnson said:

 

No date.  ScoutBook lite released 2nd quarter 2018 ... which means to me 2018.  ;)  .... the article says the existing platform will be retired.  I assume it's not the exact same day. 

So is BSA Internet Advancement to be turned off same day, same week, same month, same year?

According to their IT group it is 3/1/18.

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Just now, Col. Flagg said:

According to their IT group it is 3/1/18.

3/1/18 is 1st quarter.  BSA other announcement says ScoutBook Lite available 2nd quarter.  I assume units will not be left without a system to use.  So I'm just hesitant to trust dates yet.  

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25 minutes ago, fred johnson said:

3/1/18 is 1st quarter.  BSA other announcement says ScoutBook Lite available 2nd quarter.  I assume units will not be left without a system to use.  So I'm just hesitant to trust dates yet.  

They've done a horrid job of explaining this whole concept. As I understand it, Scoutbook Lite is the "free" version of SB. Essentially, if you signed up today for your free account you would establish your unit's account...very similar to signing in to Internet Advancement. Once you are validated (again, like you would be if you signed in to my.scouting) it *should* connect your profile with your unit's data. Anyone who signs in to SB would have to create an account, be "validated" and then they could see their stuff online.

Think of it like my.scouting and how that works today. The concept is essentially the same, just the back-end database and presentation layer (the application) will be different.

Now, that said, I have zero confidence this will go off without a hitch. Why? Because this is the time of year re-charters are being reconciled in the old system. No one in their right IT mind would do a system "cutover" during one of their busiest times. That would be like the IRS doing a system upgrade around April 15th.

We have taken an extract of Internet Advancement and pulled that in to TroopMaster. We are also putting a moratorium on reporting to IA until this cutover takes place. Our biggest concern is data/updates getting lost during this cutover.

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We can argue and debate about good or bad aspects of communication and ScoutBook.  I have a more basic need.  Does our existing advancement person have to learn a new system just before we try to find someone new to take the role?  Or can we delay until the next person steps in? 

We can't plan until we know a turn-off date for BSA Internet Advancement web page. 

In the unit I'm referring too, ScoutBook is a read only utility.  It's not used to record advancement.  So the March 1st warning saying we can't approve advancement is meaningless as it's telling us we won't be able to use something that we already don't use.  

Edited by fred johnson
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11 minutes ago, fred johnson said:

We can argue and debate about good or bad aspects of communication and ScoutBook.  I have a more basic need.  Does our existing advancement person have to learn a new system just before we try to find someone new to take the role?  Or can we delay until the next person steps in? 

We can't plan until we know a turn-off date for BSA Internet Advancement web page. 

In the unit I'm referring too, ScoutBook is a read only utility.  It's not used to record advancement.  So the March 1st warning saying we can't approve advancement is meaningless as it's telling us we won't be able to use something that we already don't use.  

Scoutbook (Full) is pretty intuitive, even if it is light on functionality. I have not played with SB Light.

The following is about Scoutbook (full) but I am sure it applied to SB light as well.

Advancement (MB, rank, awrds) can be entered by the youth, their parents and adult leaders.

Merit badges are approved by their MB counselor (assigned by unit admin in SB)

An adult leader must do final approval for awards, advancement and MB to be official and recorded. (though I am not sure if awards will be recorded beyond the local level)

The unit SB admin assigns who can approve what and at what level.

Currently BSA is doing a nightly sync between Scoutnet and Scoutbook. My understanding is that is a miserable process because of legacy issues with one or both systems. So I am sure BSA would like to end that as soon as possible. That said, the last thing they want to do is shutdown online advancement before SB is ready.

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35 minutes ago, fred johnson said:

We can argue and debate about good or bad aspects of communication and ScoutBook.  I have a more basic need.  Does our existing advancement person have to learn a new system just before we try to find someone new to take the role?  Or can we delay until the next person steps in? 

We can't plan until we know a turn-off date for BSA Internet Advancement web page. 

In the unit I'm referring too, ScoutBook is a read only utility.  It's not used to record advancement.  So the March 1st warning saying we can't approve advancement is meaningless as it's telling us we won't be able to use something that we already don't use.  

Yes, they will have to learn ScoutBook.

When will it go live? Appears in March some time BUT who knows. The project may get delayed. So I would expect you should train the new person rather than train the person leaving.

Planning? I'd train on Internet Advancement now, then everyone will have to train on ScoutBook anyway.

The March 1st deadline is for current SB subscribed units. HOWEVER, the rumors out there are that ALL units will be using SB in a "Lite" version shortly there after.

Recommendation: Train on Internet Advancement now and make the transition. When SB transitions everyone will have to train anyway. Training on IA now allows you to keep a timeline of your own AND allows for that timeline to continue should BSA delay IA's shutdown. Delaying puts you at the mercy of BSA project management.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I took over as Advancement Chair last fall.  Our Cubmaster had declared Packmaster too difficult to use, and moved us to a site called Scoutlander.  For months now, the advancement page has said 'in pilot, contact us if you'd like to use this feature'.  The Cubmaster says she has tried to do this, but hasn't received a response.  As a result, I've had nothing other than Internet Advancement and an Excel spreadsheet I created to work from.  For who-knows-what reason, we'd never heard of Scoutbook until about a week ago, and we had no idea that this was going to replace Internet Advancement.  (This forum is SO helpful.  Glad I found it, and that there are others here who can share their knowledge.)

I sat down this morning to take a closer look at Scoutbook, but we haven't signed up.  I've been reading some dismal reviews, but it looks like there's not going to be any getting around it, if I'm interpreting correctly.

Is there a thread on this forum about the details of using Scoutbook?  This new chair position has me having the old recurring nightmares about showing up for a presentation completely unprepared, lol.

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Or, if you're okay with using computers, just go back to packmaster until scoutbook is in better shape. They have good software. Tell the cubmaster you've got it, as she has more important things to do than deal with computers.

Scoutbook has become a third rail item at roundtable.

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