Commissioners are district and council volunteer leaders who help Scout units succeed. Commissioners coach and regularly consult with adult leaders of Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, Venturing Crews, Explorer Posts and Sea Scout Ships. They help maintain the standards of the BSA through maintaining regular contact with unit leaders, counseling leaders on where to find assistance, noting weaknesses in programs and suggesting remedies to improve. The commissioner is successful when units effectively deliver the ideals of Scouting to their members.
Where to recharter? https://advancements.scouting.org
- Commissioners can refer to the training webinar, FAQs, and User Guide if they need assistance.
- This is the Internet Recharter 2.0 step by step presentation from the 2021 College of Commissioner Science
OUR MISSION
Maybe you’d like to be a Commissioner?
It’s a great Scouting job, and very rewarding. Commissioners in the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council have many years of experience in Scouting, but that’s not a requirement! Even if you are new to Scouting, if you like working with people to promote good Scouting and solve problems, and you are willing to take advantage of the many Commissioner training opportunities put on throughout the year, you may be a great candidate for this area of Scouting service. Just contact Bill Guglielmi acting Director of Field Service, by, e-mail and you will be on your way. The Greater Tampa Bay Area Council Commissioner Corps is currently looking for volunteers at the Unit Commissioner level for all districts.
Commissioner Qualifications
- Trained Scouter (or willing to be trained)
- Meet basic Boy Scouts of America membership requirements
- Willing to visit and regularly contact Scout units
- Willing to attend district activities
- Be pro-district and pro-council
- Willing to attend monthly commissioner staff meetings
- Willing to live by the Scout Oath and Law
Commissioner Tools Updates (Commissioner Tools 2.0)
Commissioner Tools is available via the my.Scouting.org 
portal. Commissioner Tools helps commissioners perform by providing access to information critical to supporting units. Here are a few examples of Commissioner Tools capabilities:
- Assign commissioners to units.
- Record contacts. A commissioner is most effective through frequent contact with units to build a friendly and trusting relationship.
- Roundtable administrations. Plan, record attendance, and monitor effectiveness.
- Conduct assessments to help a unit improve. In concert with the Unit Service Plan and Journey to Excellence (JTE), the tool provides the ability to record the results and build action plans that may access and incorporate district, council, and other resources beyond the unit.
- Monitor a unit’s progress. Access unit information.
Commissioner Tools PowerPoint presentation.
Includes speaker notes that could be used for local training. Note: For the sake of completeness and to promote learning through repetition, there intentionally is some overlap between this presentation and the Unit Service Plan presentation.
Updates to Commissioner ToolsThis is the most recent update information regarding changes and improvements made to commissioner tools.
Unit Service Plan
Commissioner Resources and Manuals
Commissioner Assessment Forms
Pack Detailed Assessment Blank Form 
Team Detailed Assessment Blank Form
Crew Detailed Assessment Blank Form 
Team Detailed Assessment Blank Form
Ship Detailed Assessment Blank Form
Unit Assessment Forms
Pack Assessment Blank Form Troop Assessment Blank Form Crew Assessment Blank Form
Ship Assessment Blank Form Team Assessment Blank Form
Upcoming Training
You get one of these 4″ degree patches and the new CSP pictured below.
2023 College of Commissioner Science
- April 15th, 2023: 8:30am-5:00pm, Greater Tampa Bay Area Council’s Tampa Service Center, 13228 N. Central Ave. Tampa, FL 33612
Complete Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral courses on premises.
- Contact Doc Torres, by e-mail
- Contact Staff Advisor Alex Behrend, by e-mail
- On line registration: REGISTRATION FOR COMMISSIONER COLLEGE 2023
- Choice of lunch:
A) Two pieces fried chicken, potato wedges, coleslaw, desert and a drink,
B) Pulled pork, onion fries, coleslaw, desert and a drink,
C) Whole Veggie Wrap, desert and a drink.
Commissioner College Saturday 15th April, 2023
Greater Tampa Bay Area Service Center, 3228 N Central Ave, Tampa, FL 33612
8:15am: Check-in begins
8:30am: Opening Ceremonies & Recognition
9:00am – 4:50pm: 7 sessions of courses / lunch
5:00 Degrees presented, and Closing
Registration Fee: $15.00 ($10 Early Discount) includes, certificate, and course materials. Lunch will be provided.
With as many of our pre-registrations being out of state and/or ZOOM, and with
Please register and pay here: https://scoutingevent.com/089-63811
The college of commissioner science is an annual training event for registered commissioners. It is an opportunity to have a continuing education experience in a college environment. It helps the commissioner stay current in policy, techniques and application of commissioner service to units.
The purpose of the College of Commissioner Science is to provide supplemental training for all functions in the council and district related to commissioner service. It is recognized that commissioners are key to the continued health and growth of the units in the council.
BACHELOR OF COMMISSIONER SCIENCE DEGREE
Credit for a Bachelor of Commissioner Science Degree will be granted by this College if the participant Commissioner completes the following:
PREREQUISITES:
- Has up-to-date Youth Protection Training
- Has current BSA Youth Protection Training Certificate
- Completion of “Commissioner Basic Training”
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
- Completion of seven courses of instruction, at least five of the courses at the Bachelor’s program level.
MASTERS OF COMMISSIONER SCIENCE DEGREE
Credit for a Masters of Commissioner Science Degree will be granted by this College if the participant Commissioner completes the following:
PREREQUISITES:
- Current registration as a Commissioner
- Current BSA Youth Protection Training Certificate
- Has earned the Arrowhead Honor.
- Have received a Bachelor of Commissioner Science Degree or a Bachelor of Roundtable Degree, or has been awarded the Commissioner’s Key.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
- Completion of seven (7) additional courses of instruction (total of 14), at least seven of the courses at the Master’s level.
DOCTOR OF COMMISSIONER SCIENCE DEGREE
Note: Earning the Doctor of Commissioner Science Degree does not qualify you to receive the Doctorate of Commissioner Service Knot Award.
PREREQUISITES:
- Current registration as a Commissioner
- Current BSA Youth Protection Training Certificate
- Completion of Master’s Degree.
- Have been awarded the Commissioner’s Key.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
-
Completion of 10 additional courses of instruction (total of 24) at least five of the courses at the Doctorate or Continuing Education program level. Courses
may not have previously been counted toward other college degrees.
THESIS OR PROJECT:
-
It is recommended that the topic of a project or thesis be directly related to unit service. There may be specific circumstances under which a topic related to another area of Scouting would be appropriate. Local councils have the authority to approve topics related to another area of Scouting when selecting one directly related to unit service isn’t appropriate or practical. The council commissioner or designee may authorize an alternate topic. This can be on any topic related to Commissioner Service.
- The topic must be pre-approved by the college of commissioner science committee. Complete the thesis/project using the approved format as determined by the college. The topic and final paper must be approved by the doctoral review committee. All segments(proposal, proposal acceptance, thesis/project completion, thesis acceptance) of the degree must be approved by the college of commissioner science.
COMMISSIONER PERFORMANCE:
-
Serve for at least one year on the college of commissioner science staff (instructor or support staff), or work with training support for commissioners for at least one year.
DOCTORATE OF COMMISSIONER SCIENCE SERVICE KNOT AWARD
Credit for a Doctor of Commissioner Science Degree will be granted by this College if the participant Commissioner fulfills the following:
PREREQUISITES:
- Current registration as a Commissioner
- Current BSA Youth Protection Training Certificate
- Completion of Doctoral Degree in Commissioner Science
TENURE:
- Serve as a commissioner for a minimum of 5 years. (Years need not be consecutive). This service can be in one or more roles or positions commissioner of service.
RECRUITING:
-
Recruit or assist in recruiting at least three new commissioners during tenure as a commissioner.
FINAL APPROVAL:
-
Approval of council or assigned assistant council commissioner.
BSA SUGGESTED STATEMENT OF COURSE WORK RECIPROCITY
“The College of Commissioner Science accepts a Commissioner’s course work from any Boy Scouts of America College of Commissioner Science provided that an official transcript is made available.”
The College of Commissioner Science will credit courses from another council to be applied towards a College of Commissioner Science Degree if prior approval has been obtained from the current Dean of the College of Commissioner Science.
Classes taken at a University of Scouting that are not listed in the BSA National Curriculum (http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/commissioners/training.aspx) will not be accepted for credit. The College will also honor Commissioner courses taken at the Philmont Training Center. (Please submit a transcript to the College of Commissioner Science Registrar.)
DEGREE RECOGNITION
The College of Commissioner Science will continue to recognize degrees earned from other Boy Scouts of America College of Commissioner Science and Philmont Training Center College of Commissioner Science degrees provided that an official transcript is made available.
AWARD RECOGNITION
The College of Commissioner Science will honor all Commissioner Arrowhead, Commissioner Key, Distinguished Commissioner, and the Commissioner Award of Excellence in Unit Service, and the Doctor of Commissioner Science Awards.
COLLEGE STAFF
Greater Tampa Bay Area Council President – Benson Porter
Council Commissioner – Nick Digirolamo, G. T. B. A. C.
Dean of the College – Dr. G. S. Torres, G. T. B. A. C.
Dean of Bachelors – Chris Perry, G. T. B. A. C.
Dean of Masters – Matt Cordani, Ft. Brooke
Dean of Doctoral – J. Ronayne, Miccosukee
Registrar – Bob Huff, Pathfinder
Assistant Registrar – Matt Cordani, Ft. Brooke
2023 GREATER TAMPA BAY AREA COUNCIL COLLEGE OF COMMISSIONER SCIENCE
Dr. G. S. Torres, Program Director
April 15th, 2023
0815-0830 Welcome to the Greater Tampa Bay Area’s 2020 College of Commissioner Science
0830-0855 Opening ceremonies
Guest Speaker – Nick Digirolamo, GTBA Council Commissioner
Bachelors Degree Masters Degree Doctoral Degree
Period 1 BCS 103 MCS 303 DCS 501
0900 – 0950 Linking District Resources Man. Unit Service/District Level Selecting a Project /Thesis Topic
Presenter Eric Perron Nicole Hahn Dr. Eric Renker
Room Main Conf. Rm. Back Conf. Rm. Rose Conf. Rm
Period 2 BCS 114 MCS 304 DCS 503
1000 – 1050 Understand/Comm w/ Leaders Service to Units at Risk Developing Your Project /Thesis
Presenter Chris Perry Matt Cordani Bill Haggard
Room Main Conf. Rm. Back Conf. Rm. Rose Conf. Rm
Period 3 SND 100 SND 100 SND 100
1100 – 1150 Essent. Serving Scouts w/ Disab. Essent. Serving Scouts w/ Disab. Essent. Serving Scouts w/ Disab.
Presenter Warren Wenner, Nat. Chair Warren Wenner, Nat. Chair Warren Wenner, Nat. Chair
Room Main Conf. Rm. Main Conf. Rm Main Conf. Rm
1200 – 1300 LUNCH with NST 16 Commissioner James Thielen, Nat. Special Needs & Disabilities Committee Chair Warren Wenner,
Council President Benson Porter, Council Commissioner Nick Digirolamo, past Council Commissioner Bill Guglielmi
Room Cafeteria
Lunch included
Choice of:
A) Two pieces fried chicken, potato wedges, coleslaw, desert and a drink
B) Pulled pork, onion fries, coleslaw, desert and a drink,
C) Whole Veggie Wrap, desert and a drink.
Period 4 BCS 151 MCS 314 DCS 509
1300 – 1350 The Roundtable Comm Team The Commissioner and the Prof. Legacy of Servant Leadership
Presenter Nicole Hahn Tim Bobo Matt Kamat
Room Main Conf. Rm. Back Conf. Rm. Rose Conf. Rm
Period 5 BCS 153 MCS 316 DCS 512
1400 – 1450 Roundtable and Comm Tools The Unit Service Plan Recruiting for Diversity
Presenter Chris Perry Matt Cordani Theresa Ronayne
Room Main Conf. Rm. Back Conf. Rm. Rose Conf. Rm
Period 6 BCS 154 MCS 311 DCS 550
1500 – 1550 Roundtable Fundamentals All About the ADC’s Role Leveraging Roundtables in Unit Service
Presenter Matt Cordani Tim Bobo Charles Love
Room Main Conf. Rm. Back Conf. Rm. Rose Conf. Rm
Period 7 CED 712 CED 712 CED 712
1600 – 1650 Roster Mining for Recruiting Roster Mining for Recruiting Roster Mining for Recruiting
Presenter Bill Guglielmi Bill Guglielmi Bill Guglielmi
Room Main Conf. Rm. Main Conf. Rm Main Conf. Rm
1700 – 1720 GRADUATION – Bachelors, Masters Colleges and Doctoral Colleges
Room Main Conf. Rm.
Please register and pay here: https://scoutingevent.com/089-63811
