When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, it won’t just mean the end of 2018.

It’ll also mean the end of any partial progress made toward position-specific training for Cub Scout leaders and Boy Scout leaders. (These courses, and many more, are found at the BSA Learn Center on My.Scouting.org.)

The courses are being updated, and the new versions will launch on Jan. 2, 2019. The new courses will feature closed captioning, updated content and a mobile-friendly format. Also cool: They’ll take less time to complete compared to the previous learning plan.

Any partial progress you’ve made toward your current training plan won’t carry over to the new one. That means you’ll want to complete any in-progress training by year’s end.

If you’ve already finished your training, you’re good to go. Sit back and relax. If you haven’t started, I’d recommend waiting until the new courses become available on Jan. 2.

For those who have started but not finished these courses, here’s what else you need to know:

Who is affected?

If you already started but didn’t yet finish your work on position-specific training (Cubmaster, den leader, committee chair, Scoutmaster, assistant Scoutmaster), you’re in the affected group.

You’ll want to finish that training by midnight on Dec. 31, 2018. Any partially completed progress won’t carry over to the new plan.

Why won’t current progress count in the new learning plan?

It’s not an apples-to-apples conversion. The learning plans are totally new and include content that reflects the BSA’s move to welcome the whole family.

If there’s new training coming out that replaces the old training, why should I rush to complete existing training?

This is a personal decision. If you have progressed through much of the current learning plan, you may choose to complete what you’ve started so you don’t have to invest extra time.

Alternatively, you may choose to let that partial progress expire and wait to take the new training when it debuts next month.

It sounds like the new training completely replaces the old, so will my existing training be valid if I complete it now, and if so, how long will it remain valid?

Once position-trained, you are always trained for that position. If you complete the plan now, you do not have to complete the new plan.

Note: If you change Scouting jobs, you will need to complete the training for your new position.