Retention Guidelines

Records rention refers to the requirement to store certain inactive records for a period of time to satisfy legal and administrative requirements. The University System of Georgia (USG) provides a as a guideline for USG Institutions. 

ÈâÈ⴫ý (KSU) has a policy that authorizes the use of a Big Bucket system of classifying and determining the maximum amount of time records may be kept. The retention system consists of five retention buckets.

  • Records with little or no documentary or evidentiary value.

    • Common Examples: Internal memoranda and correspondence that require no administrative action, policy decision, or special handling; interim workpapers; drafts, raw data incorporated into another system, file, or document.
    • Disposition: Destroy after no longer useful, up to two years after creation.

  • Records that support general operations and administration but do not substantially document specific programs or ongoing mission of the organization.

    • Common Examples: General accounting records; routine administrative reports.
    • Other Examples: Student athletes medical records; student advising records.
    • Disposition: Destroy five years after student separation from KSU; destroy five years after the record is classified inactive at the end of the calendar year.

  • Records that document and protect the legal rights, responsibilities, and interest of individuals or the institution.

    • Common Examples: Institutional strategic proposals and plans; personnel files; general ledger reports; legal case records.
    • Other Examples: Bids, expired contracts, and agreements; syllabi and course descriptions; events administration.
    • Disposition: Destroy ten years after the record is classified as inactive, at the close of the calendar or fiscal year.

  • Records that document activities and circumstances that are based on variable retention terms as defined in statutes, policies, or regulations.

    • Examples: Programs serving minors; hazmat records; certain criminal investigation files.
    • Disposition: Destroy after specific retention is met.

  • Records appraised by an archivist to have sufficient documentary value to the organization to justify enduring preservation.

    • Examples: College course catalogs; commencement and graduation publications; department and college administrative and teaching histories; final summary reports; final annual budgets and financial statements; accreditation reports; presidential and cabinet-level meeting minutes, significant correspondence.
    • Disposition: Transfer to institutional archives or maintain in historical recordkeeping data system.


    The US National Archives and Records Administration estimates that only 3-5% of the volume of federal records are archival. Each organization must how much of its cultural heritage to preserve.

Common Questions

  • The RIM team will consult with you to determine your big bucket retention. 
  • The Big Bucket system collapses multiple retention periods into one "big bucket." This means that in some cases, you may be storing paper records for a longer period of time than before. These records may be transferred to off-site storage for the duration of retention to free up valuable office space. 

 

Records Retention

Definitions

  • Records retention - the requirement to store certain inactive records for a period of time.

    Retention period - the amount of time to store inactive records before disposition.

    Retention schedule - a list of commonly held records, their descriptions, cutoff dates, and retention periods.

    Classification - Delegating items into particular groups based on similar characteristics, purpose, or value, usually within a hierarchy.

    Cutoff date - the date or event that triggers the retention period, usually end of fiscal or calendar year.

    Data - Smallest meaningful units of information. Information in any form on which computer programs operate. Any form of information whether in paper or electronic form.

    Disposition - the final action taken on inactive records: to destroy or to transfer to an archive.

    Transmittal - a list of boxes holding records to be put in offsite storage to fulfill their retention requirement before disposition.

  • Recorded information comes in so many different forms and shapes that it's nearly impossible to get everyone to agree on a standard definition of the term "record," in the sense of "information that has been recorded."

    Sometimes we recognize a record by its appearance - a legal document stamped and notarized (easy!) - and sometimes simply by its content and purpose - an online news release with embedded images and links (not-so-easy).

    We assume a record should be fixed, trustworthy, authentic, and reliable; a frozen snapshot in time of an event or transaction or decision that conveys a "package" of information. But these traditional characteristics are not so easily recognized in digital records.

    Whether or not we can easily identify records, we've come to rely on them heavily. To illustrate, take a quick look at a list 150 types of and synonyms for "record."

  • Traditionally, an archive is a climate-controlled, access-restricted area to store and preserve selected records that have historical and enduring significance to an institution or community. It is an intentional investment to preserve our cultural heritage.

    In information technology, an archive is an offline or near-line repository for non-current, seldom used data.

  • An offsite storage facility is a managed warehouse used primarily for storing temporary (non-permanent) paper records in cardboard boxes.
  • An inactive record is one that is no longer being modified, processed, added to, or frequently referenced. Also called "non-current record," it may need to be retained for reference for a certain period of time, or transferred to an archive for enduring preservation.
  • A temporary record is any record that is not considered of enduring value (permanent) and is assigned a retention period in a records retention schedule.
  • A transitory record is a temporary record with a short life span of usefulness. Typically anything with a retention period of "Useful life" or "Until obsolete or superseded" is classified as a transitory record.

Shred Bins

Guidelines

  • A permanent shred bin is a gray, box-like console measuring 19" x 16" x 35". It has a slot in the front for depositing paper documents and a key lock on the front panel.

    A temporary shred bin is a large, 65-gallon trash container. It has wheels, a slot on the top, and a combination lock to secure the lid.

  • Both the secure shred bins and the blue recycling bins are part of KSU's Sustainability Program.

    Shred bins and consoles are locked containers that must be ordered through the Office of Records and Information Management. Their purpose is to securely collect and hold sensitive documents that need to be destroyed.

    Recycling bins are unlocked containers that are placed and serviced by Facilities-Building Services. Their purpose is to collect clean, uncontaminated, non-sensitive, recyclable material of various media (paper, plastic, cardboard) to be recycled rather than end up in a landfill.

    KSU recycling bins are used for "single-stream" recycling of clean paper, flattened cardboard, metal cans (including clean food and drink cans), glass, and plastic bottles (#1-#7) and can all be recycled together in the same single-stream recycling bin.

  • SHOULD: Paper documents containing sensitive information, especially personally identifiable information that is not available in a public directory or website.

    SENSITIVE INFORMATION: Whatever should not be available to the general public.

    EXAMPLES: Social Security numbers; personal medical, bank, and credit card account numbers; employee resumes, applications, and job evaluations; rejection letters; legal and medical documents; graded and ungraded student exams and papers; instructional manuals with answer sheets; lists of students enrolled in classes; attendance records; patent applications; confidential research data and reports; any drafts of reports that are not for public release.

    NOTE: A small amount of metal is acceptable: Staples, paper clips, and baby binder clips are fine.

    SHOULD NOT: Plastic document sleeves, spiral notebooks, 3-ring binders, medium and large metal binder clips, file folders, and any type of publicly distributed, print materials.

    PUT THESE IN A RECYCLE BIN: Printouts of public web pages, magazines, newsletters, business cards, obsolete stationery, blank forms, junk mail, file folders, handwritten notes and doodles, mailing envelopes with a KSU or public address, drafts of reports intended for public release; copies of articles or chapters from textbooks and journals; fliers and brochures; posters; family photos; employee training certificates; promotional material; vendor sales kits; paperback books missing pages; paper items on department bulletin boards.

  • Depending on the type of information stored, dispose of portable computer media as follows:

    • Place in trash: Any obsolete, outdated software install disks or other types of media containing obsolete non-confidential, non-sensitive information.
    • Place in recycle bins: Printed user manuals of obsolete, outdated software.
    • Send or deliver to UITS: Per instructions from the help desk (x6999), arrange transfer of any media containing known (or probable) obsolete confidential or sensitive information.
    • Contact KSU Archives: Per instructions from the KSU digital archivist (x2695), arrange transfer of any media known to contain final summary reports of University projects, research, major events, and prominent figures in KSU history.

  • Our shred vendor collects the paper in large locked bins, transports it to their own shred facility, and shreds the paper into tiny particles. The particles are pulped, filtered, washed, brightened, cleansed again, de-inked, de-colored, washed again and pressed into sheets. These sheets can then be made into recycled paper products.

    Shred Recycling Process Workflow

     

Have a question not answered here? Please contact us at records@kennesaw.edu.