This document covers some of the particulars related to tracking Attendance, as well as logging Activities and Service Hours for various events.
Tracking Attendance
Event attendance can be tracked in one of two ways. For Calendar events where RSVPs are enabled, leaders who can manage the Calendar can mark attendance in the ‘Event Overview’ tab within the RSVP section for those who indicated they are ‘Going.’ A more comprehensive method for tracking attendance is via the ‘Track Attendance’ page. (This page and function will only be accessible to roles which have the permission added to manage attendance.) The ‘Track Attendance’ page can be reached by clicking the “Attendance” tile on the main Dashboard or by clicking the “Track Attendance” link under “Calendar” on the left menu.
The ‘Track Attendance’ page requires that an existing event is selected for tracking attendance. (The most recent event populates automatically, but can be changed if needed.) If needed, filtering can be done by Levels or Patrols. Sorting can also be done by Level, Patrol, or Alphabetical sorting.
*Important Note: while on the ‘Track Attendance’ page, boxes for attendance tracking can be checked and unchecked at will. However, as soon as you navigate to another page/area or the ‘Track Attendance’ page is refreshed, all check boxes previously checked will be locked in. Those already marked as attended will be grayed out and cannot be changed from the ‘Track Attendance’ page initially. A checkbox is present labeled “Lock attended” which protects previously recorded attendance. If a change needs to be made with previously recorded attendance, uncheck the box for “Lock attended,” and then you can remove attendance checks as needed.
If desired, you can check the available box to “Show only users that have RSVP’d” for events where RSVPs were enabled. This may help streamline the attendance process. Additionally, you will find a checkbox for the option of tracking Advancement along with attendance, if the specified event had Activity Plans added. More information on this integration can be found in the TLC Help document for tracking Advancement.
Troop Activities
Tracking Troop Activities is also tied to existing Calendar Events. Activities being tracked through Calendar Events can include:
- Service Hours
- Tent Camping Nights
- Cabin Camping Nights
- Hiking Miles
- Canoeing Miles
- Biking Miles
Each of the listed items will be familiar to those who create Calendar Events as options which can be specified when setting up the Event:
For any of the listed Activities where numbers are entered for an Event, the specified numbers will automatically translate over to the record of the Trailmen who is marked as having attended. Modifications can be made, if necessary, for those who do more or less than what is listed within the setup of the overall Event. The edits can be made on the ‘Troop Activities’ page which will be shown in the next section.
The ‘Troop Activites’ page can be accessed via the “Troop Activities” link under “Calendar” on the left menu.
The ‘Troop Activities’ page lists all Trailmen and their corresponding Activities. Trailmen will have multiple items, based on the variety of Events they have participated in. Dates of Events are also shown, along with the Event Type and at which Level the Activity took place. The numbers for each Activity are then shown, along with methods for deleting and editing (if Jeff only hiked 2 miles instead of 3, for example.) Each column is filterable and/or sortable to allow for custom views. (e.g., inspecting overall Activities for only one Trailman, looking only at Activities within a certain date range, etc.) Finally, the on-screen list can be exported to Excel or CSV file for inspection, planning, or other use outside of TLC. If any filters are in effect, the export will reflect those filters. (If the desire was to view activities for only Jeff Jones, then with the filter set to show only Jeff’s Activities on-screen – when the Excel or CSV button is clicked, the output would only show Jeff’s Activities for the Troop. Another example could be an export specific to a particular event.)
Outside of planned Calendar Events, another method for a Trailman to log Activities is through his profile in Trail Life Connect. Within the Trailman’s profile is a tab titled ‘Troop Activities.’ This tab will list a less detailed summary of any existing activities, and will also provide an opportunity to record a new Activity that is done outside of a scheduled Event.
If an existing scheduled Event did occur, but the Trailman wasn’t added via other methods, the option exists to first search for and select that existing Event. Otherwise, a new Activity can be created and submitted. *Activities can be added by Trailmen or Parents. In this case, the Activity is not automatically added to the Trailman’s record but is submitted to leadership for review and approval. Upon leader approval, the Activity is then added to the Trailman’s record.
When creating/adding a new Activity, the Trailman or parent will specify the date of the Activity, a description, the Activity type, and the Trailman’s Level at the time of the Activity. Then, enter the relevant data related to camping nights and/or hiking, canoeing, or biking miles. When all information is correct, press the green button to “Record Activity.”
When a new Activity is submitted, it initially appears in the Trailman’s Activity list as not yet verified.
Troop Leaders with permission to Track Advancement will see a Notification on their Trail Life Connect Dashboard for a new Activity that needs to be reviewed and approved.
Clicking the Dashboard notification will bring the Leader to a focused view of the ‘Troop Activities’ page and only display the relevant item(s) which need approval. If changes should be made, the edit icon to the far right can be clicked to adjust numbers or other information accordingly. If the Leader approves of the listed Activity, they can click the red X in the ‘Verified’ column to change it to a green check mark, and the Activity will then be verified and logged as part of the Trailman’s record.
The Activity now appears as approved, or verified, in the overall list on the ‘Troop Activities’ page.
Service Hours
Logging Service Hours is a very similar process and experience to logging Activities. Calendar Events contain a fillable field where the Event creator can add or specify Service Hours, and those specifications would translate automatically to the overall Activity record for any Trailman who is marked as having attended the specified Event.
Service Hours are shown in the overall ‘Troop Activities’ page in their own column and can be edited or removed as needed.
Much like Troop Activities, each Trailman profile also contains a tab for ‘Service.’ Any previously recorded, specific acts of Service are listed, as well as the ability to add additional Service items through an existing Event or ad-hoc. For adding a new Service item, the required fields include: the date of Service, a description of the act of Service, hours to be logged, and the Trailman Level at the time of the Service. Just like Activities, Service Hours can be submitted by Trailmen or Parents. Enter the relevant information and click the green button to “Record Service Time.”
When a new Service item is submitted, it initially appears in the list as not yet verified.
Troop Leaders with permission to Track Advancement will see a Notification on their TLC Dashboard of a new activity that needs to be reviewed and approved.
Clicking the notification will bring the leader to a focused view of the ‘Troop Activities’ page and display the relevant notification(s) which need approval. If changes should be made, the edit icon to the far right can be clicked to adjust numbers or other information accordingly. If the leader approves of the listed Service Hours, they can click the red X in the ‘Verified’ column to change it to a green check mark, and the Service Hours will then be verified and logged as part of the Trailman’s record.
The Service Hours now appear as approved, or verified, in the overall list on the ‘Troop Activities’ page.
Freedom Trail Information
Each Trailman’s entered attendance and activities will translate in its own way to sections of the Freedom Trail within the Trailman’s profile.
For Attendance: only Calendar events which are set as the event type of “Troop Meeting” will count towards attendance. The attendance section of the Freedom Trail is a simple calculation that looks to see how many “Troop Meeting” events are scheduled within a program year which the Trailman was invited to (denominator.) Then, of those “Troop Meeting” events, how many did the Trailmen get marked as having attended (numerator.) Each program year is broken down for granularity such that a leader can ignore any program years prior to the Trailman becoming a Navigator or Adventurer, or if a Trailman transferred from another Troop the leader can ignore any years he didn’t participate in the current Troop. The overall calculation for this Attendance box tallies all program years and attendance markings. As a result, the overall percentage may appear to be low due to a variety of factors known to the Trailman and/or leaders, which is why the breakdown for each program year is important.
For Activities: most other Calendar event types, as well as manually entered activities, are counted towards this total. The included event types are outlined within this section of the Freedom Trail.
For Service Hours: similar to activities, service hours entered for a Trailman will calculate within the Freedom Trail based upon the Level for which they were entered. This is a helpful visual for leaders to see how many total service hours the Trailman has logged as a Navigator and Adventurer.
