Commissioner Training

Orientation

Commissioner training starts with an overview for those who are new to Scouting and those who are new to commissioner service. New commissioner training begins with the following e-learning sessions:

Youth Protection — required to register as an adult volunteer
This is Scouting — for a basic understanding of the Scouting movement (if needed)
Unit Commissioner Fast Start — for a basic understanding of the commissioner role
UVTS Video — for an understanding of how to report unit visits

Youth Protection can be taken without logging into MyScouting. A MyScouting logon is required to complete the remaining courses. Links to all courses are in the e-learning section of MyScouting.

Basic Training

Basic training has been changed from one course for all commissioners to position-specific courses for unit commissioners, new-unit commissioners, district and assistant district commissioners, and roundtable commissioners. Council commissioner training is being developed. Each course is about three hours in length and should be conducted by an instructor.

Basic Training Courses (click to download):

Unit Commissioner Basic Training

New-Unit Commissioner Basic

District Commissioner/Assistant District Commissioner Basic

Council Commissioner Basic

Area Commissioner Basic

Region Commissioner Basic

Roundtable Basic

Continuous Training

District commissioners are responsible for seeing that every member of their staff receives adequate training. After completing basic training and being commissioned, commissioners should attend training at the monthly district commissioner cabinet meeting. It is the responsibility of the district commissioner to provide monthly training at the cabinet meeting. Thus, every month commissioners are enhancing their knowledge of the program and how they can best serve units through continuous training.

Annual Training Event

One of the principal responsibilities of the council commissioner is to see that a complete program is in place to train every commissioner in the council. In addition to enhancing their knowledge at the monthly cabinet meetings, a commissioner should plan to attend an annual training event, which can be in the form of a commissioner conference or College of Commissioner Science or both. Nationally developed courses, resource materials, and training recognition provide the structure for good commissioner training. It is the local council's mission to provide fun, sparkle, motivation, and frequent training opportunities so that commissioners will learn good unit service skills.

College of Commissioner Science Courses

Click here for a list of upcoming commissioner colleges.

The course and curriculum, as well as the course numbering, have been updated for the College of Commissioner Science.

To accommodate local courses and keep a consistent numbering system, it is suggested that the following course numbering system be implemented in each council:

Bachelors Courses
101—199 National courses	201—299 Local council courses
Masters Courses
301—399 National courses	401—499 Local council courses
Doctorate Courses
501—599 National courses	601—699 Local council courses
Continuing Education
701—799 National courses	801—899 Local council courses

Note that there is now a nationally approved set of Continuing Education courses.

Each course is in a zip file that is self-contained with all materials—course outline, teaching notes, PowerPoint presentation, and handouts necessary to teach the course. Simply click on the link and download the file. Most versions of Windows have a utility that will unpack zipped files. If you need an unzip utility, you can find a number of free versions by doing a Google search. Each zip file will include multiple files with the following prefixes:

001 — A list of the documents that should be in the file set; this is included so you can make sure nothing is missing after unpacking the files
002 — Course outline
003 — Teaching notes for the suggested primary and secondary teaching method
004 — A listing of materials needed for the class, such as flipchart, markers, Post-it notes, index cards, digital projector, laptop, printouts, etc.
010 — PowerPoint presentation of the course
011-025 — Handouts, data sheets, manuals, etc., used for the class

Please click on the level below to download courses.

The General folder contains a backdater spreadsheet, templates for college certificates, a sample budget, and a sample one-day course schedule. These resources make it easier for the dean and staff to conduct a college.

General

National Level Training

The national commissioner conferences that take place each summer at the Philmont Training Center near Cimarron, New Mexico, offer commissioners:

A mountaintop training conference with a top-flight faculty
The inspiring ambiance of a big sky sunset over a working ranch in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Family programs for all age groups from nursery through adult so the whole family benefits
Recreation and personal time in an area rich in history and natural beauty
A week of Scouting fellowship

2013 Philmont Conference Training

Training Overview

	Unit Commissioner	Roundtable Commissioner	District Commissioner and Assistant	Council Commissioner and Assistant
E-Learning
Youth Protection	Required	Required	Required	Required
This is Scouting	If new to Scouting	If new to Scouting	If new to Scouting	If new to Scouting
UC Fast Start	If new to commissioner service	If new to commissioner service	If new to commissioner service	If new to commissioner service
UVTS Video	Yes	Suggested	Yes	Suggested
Basic Training	UC Specific	RT Specific	DC/ADC Specific	CC/ACC Specific (pending)
Monthly Training	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Annual Training	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
National Training	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended

Feedback

As we all know, feedback is a gift. If you have any suggestions for how the courses can be improved, please fill out and submit the feedback form.

Commissioners