RECORDS RETENTION

Effective: August 15, 2024

Purpose: Emporia State University requires that different types of administrative records (not “academic” records as defined below) be retained for specific periods of time and has designated official repositories for their maintenance in accordance with legal or other institutional requirements or for historical value. The University has designated official repositories to manage the retention and disposal of these records according to procedures outlined in this document.

Scope: This policy applies to any individual charged with disposition of University administrative records.  It also applies to any individual with access or permissions enabling the destruction or alteration, deliberate or accidental, of University administrative records.

Responsible Office: Business and Finance; Student and Student Life; Information Technology; Human Resources; Academic Affairs; General University

Policy Statement: The University Records Management Committee is responsible for the development and ongoing maintenance of the Records Retention Schedule (“Schedule”).  The Committee is also responsible for review of new entries to the Schedule. Membership of the Committee is based on the categories including, but not limited to, Legal Counsel, Registration, Student Wellness, Information Technology, Information Security, University Archives, Human Resources, and Business & Finance.

The Chair of the Committee publishes and maintains the Schedule. The Chair also maintains copies of the Schedule that have been superseded to provide a historical record of the schedules that were in force at a given period in time.

The University Archivist is responsible for preserving records that reflect historical events or document University history, which have value to the University or to the research community. This includes the permanent maintenance of records designated in the Schedule as permanent retention, with the instruction to “transfer to University Archives.” Through representation on the Committee, the University Archivist reviews proposed new or revised entries to the Schedule and collaborates with other Records Managers on the preservation of long-term retention records.

It is the responsibility of the University leadership and administration  to bring to the attention of the Committee changes and developments in particular functional areas that may impact records retention. Recommendations for proposed new or revised retention schedules may be submitted to the Committee.

Each unit’s Records Manager creates, publishes, and maintains the Schedule for their business unit and maintains copies of schedules that have been superseded to provide a historical record of unit schedules. Records Managers may propose records for inclusion in the Schedule; on these and other proposals, it is the responsibility of the Records Manager to convey the interests of their business unit to the Committee. It is also the responsibility of each Records Manager to ensure that the policy requirements and Schedule are conveyed to the Records Custodian. It is also the responsibility of each Records Manager to document variations from the standard calculation of the disposition date that are not otherwise noted in the Schedule and to make decisions, consistent with these guidelines and University policy, on storage and disposal methods. Each Records Manager should collaborate with the University Archivist prior to transfer of any records to University Archives.

The Records Custodian is responsible for the maintenance of the records of the University.

The University Information Security Officer (ISO) is responsible for reviewing this policy annually.

The purpose of a Schedule is to retain administrative records long enough to satisfy internal and external requirements, but not so long as to incur unnecessary risk, costs, or burdens to the University. The aim is to accomplish these goals by:

• Identifying administrative records, and managing these records in accordance with the Schedule,
• Centralizing decision-making as practicable, while allowing for local decisions and practices to address unit-specific situations, and
• Providing tools, in the form of guidelines and the Schedule, to facilitate adherence to these principles throughout the University community.

The President or designee must approve any exceptions to this policy.

Definitions: All words and phrases shall be interpreted utilizing their plain meanings unless otherwise defined in another University or Board of Regents policy or by statute or regulation.

Procedures: All procedures linked and related to the policies above shall have the full force and effect of policy if said procedures have first been properly approved by the University’s administrator in charge of Information Technology.

[Information Technology procedures - coming soon]

[General University procedures - coming soon]

Related Policy Information: [coming soon]