Part 4 – Records Management
1. What is a University Record?
A University record is evidence of work activity, capturing decisions made and actions taken, which exists in many formats (paper and digital information/data).
Brock’s Records Policy uses the following definition:
University Record means any record:
- in the custody or under the control of the University,
- created or received, and maintained as evidence of University decisions, transactions, and relationships; and,
- relevant to the administration and operation of University activities.
- The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), Section 2, defines a record as “any record of information, however recorded”, and then gives many possible examples of types of records
What is NOT a University Record?
Research records created by faculty does not fall under the definition of a University Record. Records related to activities planned and implemented by student run groups also do not constitute University Records. In addition, Non-Records and Transitory Records are records that are generated in the day-to-day work of staff.
Non-Records are documents that are generated or acquired that don’t have impact on University business.
Examples of non-records include:
- Emails or photos of a personal nature
- Documents relating to an employee’s personal life (medical information, financial information, etc)
- Catalogues or magazines from third parties
Transitory records have a temporary utility and are not required for statutory, legal, fiscal, administrative, operational, or archival purposes. Despite their short-term value they may contain sensitive and confidential or personal information and should be disposed of in a secure manner.
Examples of transitory records include:
- Convenience copies retained for reference (e.g., digital copies of the official record in paper form and filed as the official record; “cc,” “bcc,” or FYI copies;
- Copies of records retained when the original or primary record has been sent to another unit;
- Drafts of documents that have not been finalized yet;
- Routine emails to schedule or confirm meetings or events; and
- Announcements and notices of a general nature.
2. Record Lifecycle
Every record in the university has a “lifecycle” from the moment of its creation to its ultimate destruction. There are 4 stages of the document lifecycle.
Create: An information life cycle begins when useful or relevant information arrives at or is created within an organization in a wide variety of formats using different equipment and technologies
Use: Information is transmitted to those who need it and, upon receipt, is used in the conduct of University business
Store: Information is filed or stored according to a classification scheme to permit quick retrieval, housed in a storage location or device, and protected and maintained to safeguard the integrity of the information over time. During this stage, information is viewed as either active or inactive.
Destroy