The University Records and Data Retention Policy requires university records to be disposed of or retained for specific periods per legal or other institutional requirements or historical value. The policy defines what qualifies as a university record, data and records stewardship and custodianship, and other important terms. The policy is coupled with records retention disposition schedules that describe how long the university retains different types of inactive records and how certain types of records are archived. Additionally, the policy refers to the Data Stewardship Committee, a standing committee to attend to issues of data standards, integrity, security, and reporting/analytics.
Compliance
Failure of the university to adhere to this policy exposes the university to business and operational risks. Record loss due to mismanagement may have financial repercussions. Additionally, there may be legal risk and regulatory compliance repercussions if records are not retained and/or disposed of appropriately.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a records disposition schedule?
A records disposition schedule lists different record types, and for each, notes which university department(s) typically CREATES the records, which department(s) STEWARDS the records (including archiving or disposing of them), and how long we keep the records once they become inactive. Links to the schedules are available in the appendix at the end of the University Records and Data Retention Policy.
Why should I be interested in this policy or the records/data disposition schedules?
You may be a records/data steward (see the definition in the policy). If that is the case, read through the policy and make sure you understand your responsibilities. If you're not a records/data steward, you may just be interested in the policy! Go ahead and read it. University data and records are ASSETS that support university operations. Everything from a note an advisor makes about an advising session with a student to information about building permits meets the definition... so we're talking about a huge variety of information in multiple formats (paper, electronic, etc).
What does the Data Stewardship Committee do and who is on it?
The Data Stewardship Committee is the standing committee that carefully considers how changes or additions to university data may affect the university. It has a diverse campus membership. In the past, the university had multiple committees: Data Standards, Data Integrity, and Data Analytics Committee. Due to the overlap in membership and purpose, the three were combined into one in the spring of 2024. The committee typically meets monthly to attend to data standards, integrity, analytics, and security/access/identity needs. Your division likely has at least one representative on the committee (staff). If you are faculty, you are represented both by a faculty member as well as by folks from Academic Affairs. The committee has a core group of leaders as noted on its dashboard. Note that not all data stewards are on the committee; however, all committee members are experienced data stewards.
This committee, as well as other data stewards around campus, assist in data/records policy creation and review, as well as in reviewing the records disposition schedules.