New quarterly report attendance - primary; each month vs. every month; fixing Q1 2021

[tatemike]

Summary:
This post is intended to update us on the details of the new quarterly report logic that counts attendance totals automatically for youth and adults. It also discusses how to fix Q1 2021 for those that accidentally let attendance recording slide during Q1 2021 for whatever reason. I have read all other related forums that I can find and hope that I am not duplicating.

Questions:
1. Does the report (as built in the code, not as currently documented) count primary attendance... A. based on member-entered into attendance, or B. is it still calculated by statistical / historical information, as was the case in Q1 2021? If "A", then in which quarter of 2021 did/does that become effective?


2. Does the report (as built in the code, not as currently documented) count youth/adult (possibly primary, see #1 above) attendance by... A. counting those who attendance once per month, or B. once during March? The Global Service Center (a couple of agents) have told me that Q1 2021 and Q2 2021 count those who attend once per month (they say that this is despite documentation still stating that only the last month of attendance is counted in the quarterly report*). I wanted to see if those who have played with the reports a lot feel that this is accurate (i.e. that the report only counts members that have attended at least once per each of the three months of the quarter).

3. Due to many factors, my understanding is that a lot of Q1 2021 quarterly reports have accidental bad attendance numbers. My understanding is that this impacted the per-person budget allocations to those wards for Q3 2021 (not by a ton, but maybe enough to justify a recovery/fix). In response to this, the Global Service Desk is helpfully willing to correct those quarterly report attendance numbers manually if requested to mlssupport@churchofjesuschrist.org (for a presumably limited time). GSC also told me that it is possible that a second Q3 2021 adjustment allocation will be made based on the new/fixed Q1 2021 numbers. Is this consistent with what others have heard or experienced? I believe the GSC, but also want to hear some detail on how this has played out for others.



*See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/hel ... t?lang=eng, which is linked to from the current LCR quarterly report banner:
"Last Updated: 3 June 2021 at 15:41

Policy and Principles
The Quarterly Report includes information for only the last month of each quarter. However, the stake president or bishop may request this information monthly.

The ward clerk or an assistant ward clerk prepares the report under the direction of the bishop. By the 10th of the month following the end of each quarter, quorum and auxiliary leaders or secretaries give attendance information for the previous month to the clerk so he can include it in the report."

[tatemike]

3. Due to many factors, my understanding is that a lot of Q1 2021 quarterly reports have accidental bad attendance numbers. My understanding is that this impacted the per-person budget allocations to those wards for Q3 2021.

Scope: For #3, my intent and interest is to educate us on how to fix Q1 -- with less focus on causes of Q1 issues, and more on solutions. My guess is that many wards, like mine, are already good to go on how to get attendance right for future quarters.

[garystroble]

Budget allowances are based mostly on sacrament meeting attendance.

After that, budget also includes allowances for the number of YM, YW, YSA and older Primary children in the unit. To my knowledge budget allowances are not based on YM, YW, YSA or Primary attendance, just on gross numbers.

[eblood66]

To my knowledge budget allowances are not based on YM, YW, YSA or Primary attendance, just on gross numbers.

YM and YW allowances have been based on actual attendance at Sunday Aaronic Priesthood and Young Womens classes (as entered on the quarterly report) for many years and I'm sure continue to be.

YSA numbers used to be estimated based on the percent of sacrament meeting attendance of the ward multiplied by the number of YSA in the ward. Similarly senior primary attendance was estimated based on the percent of total primary attendance multiplied by the number of children 8 and over.

Now that person specific attendance is being entered it's possible they could change that to use actual attendance numbers for those groups.

[scgallafent]

For 2021Q1, Primary attendance was estimated using the same method as prior quarters. All other class attendance was calculated from the class and quorum attendance report.

For 2021Q2, all class attendance, including Primary, is being calculated from the class and quorum attendance report.

The calculation looks only at the last month of the quarter (March or June, depending on which of the two quarters we are talking about).

We are working on a change that will allow clerks to directly update class and quorum attendance for 2021Q1.

[dmand91]

This would be nice. I can't update the quarterly report manually

[garystroble]

Regarding my July 17 post above about budget calculation and attendance, I sit corrected.

[tatemike]

Thanks for your time on these answers, everyone.

That makes sense now that the final month of the quarter is all that is counted, thus is obviously consistent with the documentation.

I learned a lot and appreciate the great work that you do here in the forum, and on LCR, etc. You are very dedicated, knowledgeable, and great at what you do.

[scgallafent]

This would be nice. I can't update the quarterly report manually

I think that wasn't clear on my part. The change being made right now is to allow you to update class and quorum attendance for 2021Q1 in the class and quorum attendance report. That will then propagate to the quarterly report, which will eliminate the need to call the GSD to correct attendance that wasn't entered.