University Records Retention Schedule Pilot

In November 2022, the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) updated and published the University Records Retention Schedule. The Records Retention Schedule provides the minimum length of time that a record must be retained by the university.

Ken Liddle, Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant General Counsel, brought a new perspective to the schedule, suggesting that the minimum retention periods should also serve as the maximum retention periods. By safely disposing of sensitive records that no longer meet the requirements of the schedule, the university’s risk of accidental data loss, or disclosure is reduced. It was concluded that a repeatable process that divisions can implement to assess their records that are on the schedule and guide them on how long to retain and when to safely dispose of records would ultimately reduce the risk. Actionable insights were needed before implementing this new operational process.

In January 2023, Public Safety participated in a pilot to help develop actionable insights. Those involved included: Public Safety (Greg Che, Jordan Smith), UDS (Jacqueline Moore, Mark Chambers), OGC (Ken Liddle, Lin Qin), OIS (John Clarke, Melissa Dyer). Records for their department included on the schedule were identified and the maximum retention period based on federal, state, and local regulations was determined. Additionally, records that are no longer owned by their department were removed and new records were identified.

A second pilot with Bouvé College of Health Sciences is going to be conducted to validate and enhance the findings from the first pilot. The goal is to have a repeatable process available to departments that have records included on the schedule.