Records management at RRU

If your department is not in the process of responding to a Freedom of Information request or legal discovery, and you come across

• an unneeded draft,
• an unneeded copy, or
• a record entirely unrelated to your work,

you're likely dealing with a non-official record. Non-official records can and should be destroyed immediately – no documentation of the destruction necessary. 

To be certain your record is non-official, consult our helpful decision tree.

I have an official record. Now what?

Many official records must be kept for a defined period of time due to legal, regulatory or business requirements.  These requirements have been synthesized into an official guide that lists 115 major types of records.  For every major type of record, the guide provides:

• a statement that defines the length of time the record should be kept, and
• a statement that describes the action to be taken at the end of the record's life (either destruction or transfer to the university archives).

In addition to legislative and regulatory compliance, standardized destruction brings many benefits to the university:

• Costly file server space is reduced.
• Current records can be located quickly.
• It is clear to the public why some types of older records are not available.
• The volume of records involved in a possible breach is reduced.

To determine the length of time you should keep each official record in your custody, visit the Time limits for official records, identify the type of record you have, and follow the instructions.