A clearly defined plan for record retention and disposition is a vital component of a complete records management program. This section of the website will look at the records retention schedule, and how it works to ensure that records are kept neither too short, nor too long a period of time; and that they are disposed properly and deliberately.
What is a retention schedule?
A retention schedule is a simple document that lists the names of the record series produced by your office, along with their agreed retention periods and disposition methods. (For an example of this document, see Appendix E.)
By using a Retention Schedule, Records Management can ensure that all records are retained and disposed according to a plan that is agreed to by your office, Records Management, and other authorities on campus who have a stake in how long records are kept. This section of the website details how this document is created and implemented.
The scheduling process.
The first step in formulating a records retention schedule is for the Records Manager to examine the material currently held in the Records Management facility. This is done periodically to ensure that new record series that have been created since the last round of retention scheduling are covered, and to verify that current retention decisions should remain in effect. Very often in this process inconsistencies in the electronic catalog of material are discovered (usually due to changing record keeping systems within the originating department) and the records inventory for each department is made as accurate as possible.
Once the Records Management inventory has been completed, the Records Manager will contact the Records Custodian. The following information is verified on the retention schedule:
- Record series names
- Series descriptions
- Retention periods (based on material date or class year)
- Disposition methods
- Institutional access policies (see also Who can access my records in Section 5)
- Vital record status
In many cases issues are discovered that must be addressed within the offices, or must be researched to determine legal or standard practice issues. In these cases, follow up contacts are often necessary.
Once the Records Custodian and the Records Manager have reached agreement on the retention schedules for all stored material, the retention schedule is verified and signed by both parties.
| IMPORTANT NOTE: Retention periods are always measured from the actual date of the material itself, not the date the material was transferred to Records Management. The exception to this rule is for records maintained by Dartmouth class year. Retention and disposition for these records is measured in relation to that class year. |
The final step in the process is the presentation of the retention schedule to the Records Retention Committee. This committee is charged with reviewing and approving all retention schedules formulated by the Records Custodian and the Records Manager. The committee contains representatives from the following departments (in most cases it is the department director who sits on the committee):
- Archives
- Business Affairs
- Computing Services
- Controller
- Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action
- Human Resources
- Internal Audit
- Legal Affairs
- Records Management
- Special Collections
In most cases approval is quickly granted and the retention schedule approved. However in some cases a member of the committee may provide additional information or voice concerns. In this event they may ask that a retention schedule be revisited. The Records Manager will then work with the depart ment and the Committee to ensure that all parties' concerns are addressed. Once this happens, the Records Retention Committee representative signs the retention schedule, and it goes into effect.
It is important to reiterate that no records will be disposed until all three signatures are on the Records Retention Schedule.
Safeguards against improper disposition.
It is important to remember that no record is ever disposed without a retention schedule that has been agreed upon and signed by the Records Manager, the Records Custodian, and a representative of the Records Retention Committee. Until this document is signed and in place, all records are retained. The Records Manager is only authorized to dispose of records for which the retention scheduling process has been properly followed.
In addition, once the schedule is in place, the Records Custodian will be notified in advance of any records to be disposed, and be given the opportunity to place those records on hold if necessary. See Section 8 for more information on the record disposition process.
Vital Record and Institutional Access Status.Records Management will soon begin evaluating all record series and assigning "Vital Record" status information. A vital record is defined as any record that would be vital to the reestablishment of operations after a disaster. Vital records must have backup strategies and protection plans, formulated by the Records Custodian and Records Manager. Records Management will also begin assigning "Institutional Access" status to specified record series. Institutional access status may be granted to those records which should be made availableto individuals outside of the originating department. Only record series specifically flagged with this status are given this type of access. All other records must be accessed via a request to the originating department. |
How long should we keep our records?Unfortunately, there is no universal guide to record retention periods and disposition methods. Each record series needs to be examined individually in regard to usage patterns, departmental needs, historic value and legal issues. Records Management currently holds material anywhere from 1 to 75 years, depending on a variety of factors. Even records that may appear similar between two departments often have very different usage patterns, and thus require very different retention strategies. However, the following two approaches may help you to formulate proper retention policies. The "HALF-Life" ModelMany Records Custodians have found it helpful to evaluate each record series based on the "HALF-Life" Model. In this model, we find that a record typically displays value in each of four categories:
After evaluating a record series in each of these four categories, in most cases you will have a good sense of how long the record series should be kept. It is also important to keep in mind that a record series does not need to have lost all value in order to be disposed. There are many cases where a record still has some minor administrative value, but it is not enough to offset the storage and maintenance costs associated with maintaining the record. (This is most often true with very large sets,with very low access frequencies.) In these cases, it may be appropriate to dispose of the record, despite the continuing administrative value. If you would like more guidance in determining record retention times and disposition methods, contact the Records Manager. The Robek ModelA more “textbook” approach is provided by Robek, Brown and Stephens, recognized authorities in the area of Records Retention: 1. Avoid the “Every Conceivable Contingency” syndrome. 2. Information should be retained if there is a reasonable probability that it will be needed in some future time to support some legitimate legal or business objective, and the consequences of its absence would be substantial. 3. Retention policies should generally be conservative, in the sense that they should not expose the organization to an inordinate degree of risk. 4. Remember, the presence or absence of information can be either helpful or harmful; therefore the best way to minimize the risks is to provide for systematic disposal immediately after the expiration of a document’s value for legal and business purposes. 5. A retention period is most likely to be valid if it is based on a consensus of the opinions of persons most knowledgeable about the value of the information and the costs, risks, and benefits of its disposal. —Robek, Mary F.; Brown, Gerald F.; and Stephens, David O.; Information and Records Management (New York: McGraw Hill, 1995) |