Our student records (at least the transcripts) are permanent - meaning they will be kept forever - for lack of a better word. Even if the organization ceases to exist the transcripts will live on - although I don't see us going away anytime soon, I have seen smaller private colleges cease to exist - and their transcripts are usually transferred to their state's education department or library/archives as student continue to use them to document their education.
I too do not like using "forever" in RIM. I'm often told by records custodians that they need to keep something forever, and when I press them about why, they often back down to a time period - funnily enough it's usually under 10 years. For me permanent means permanent (I relate it to carving something in stone and then taking some continued action to protect it for the long haul.
You may want to review the suggested retention of student records that was created by the AACRAO. I've found that most registrars follow these retentions and many state retention schedules used this publication as a reference to industry best practices for colleges and universities: http://www.aacrao.org/publications/catalog/records.cfm
Hope that helps,
Caroline
Caroline J. Walters, MA, MLS
University Records Officer/Records Management
Information Security, Policy, and Records Office (ISPRO)
Office of the Vice President/CIO
University of Virginia, 2400 Old Ivy Rd.
Box 400898, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4898
Phone: (434) 243-9162
Fax: (434) 243-9197
Email: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steven Whitaker
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 12:13 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: hello and a question
Permanent is as long as the organization exists; even if and after acquisition by another organization. Forever is a non-quantifiable concept; has no place in RIM jargon.
If you have records/information with a 30, or 50-year retention; it means just that.
I do not know of any college or university that has consciously destroyed student academic records.
I hate paper.
Best regards, Steve
Steven D. Whitaker, CRM
Records Systems Manager; City of Reno
>>> [log in to unmask] 8/28/2009 7:55 AM >>>
Though it's taken a while, I've been meaning to thank you for your message -- it was a big help in understanding the State publications regarding both paper and electronic records retention. However, I did have another question . . . .
Are there any guidelines on how long "permanent" is? Or is this just based on a records manager's judgement? I'm thinking about student records retention. Would 30 or 50 years be considered "permanent" or does it really mean forever. Of course, probably none of us will be around in 50 years :-), but it's something I'm curious about.
<snip>
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]
|
