Board of Regents Guidelines for Academic Office Record Retention
The following is a list of sample record types that you may have in your office. For other records, please contact the Archives for recommended retention periods (x6289). The complete Board of Regents Records Retention Guidelines is available online at: http://www.usg.edu/usgweb/busserv/series/index.phtml
Series A: Administration and Finance
P-Card Charge Statements
NOTE: Business Services keeps all P-Card and AGS records for 5 years, so it is up to your department to determine how long to keep these.
Retention: 2 years is recommended.
A (39) Staff Meeting Records
Explanation: Meetings of the faculty and/or staff of a college, department, or office that sets policy and procedures for the unit. Participants at meetings may be composed exclusively of a mixture of faculty, staff, administrators, and managers; specialized and task oriented sub-committees composed of unit personnel are also documented as part of this record series. These meetings may concern routine matters of procedure and topics such as program development, planning, administrative and personnel management, and assessments of future needs. This series may include but is not limited to: meeting notes/minutes; reports; working papers; agendas; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy: Units.
Retention: Permanent for meeting notes/minutes, agendas, and reports; 5 years for all other records.
A (45) Equipment Maintenance Records
Explanation: Series documents the operation, maintenance, service and repair of institutional equipment. Records may include: purchase orders; lease agreements; warranties; instructions and operating manuals; vendor statements; service contracts; charge call bills; fax activity reports; service logs; invoices for equipment repair; purchase request forms; and memoranda.
Record Copy: Units.
Retention: 3 years after disposition of equipment.
A (91) Travel Records
Explanation: This series may be used: to document requests for and approval of travel by employees of the institution or the agency; to monitor travel expenditures; for planning purposes; to document changes in dates of travel, changes in the name of the traveler, changes in itinerary, or changes in funding sources within an out-of-state travel authorization; and to document approval for vehicle rental. Records may include but are not limited to: out-of-state travel authorization forms; travel itineraries; travel advance forms; travel reimbursement requests (employee and non-employee); receipts; approval memos; memos in place of itemized receipt; affidavits of lost receipt memos; authorizing signatures; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy: Business Office - Travel
Retention: 4 years
A (93) Budget Activity Reports Explanation: This series provides a record of departmental fiscal activity presented in summary form that may be used for budget planning. These records may be used to analyze budget cuts or restructuring of programs. Records may include: working papers; memoranda; final summary reports and spreadsheets; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy: Units
Retention: 10 years for year-end reports; 1 year for all other records.
A (94) Budget Maintenance Records
Explanation: This series documents the changes made in the initial unit budget as distributed by the institution's budget office at the beginning of the new fiscal year. This series may include but is not limited to: budget change request forms; budget change suspense records; budget change registers; authorization for budget change forms; copies of revised unit initial budgets; fund transfer notices; spread sheets; expenditure and obligation reports; allotment reports; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy: Units
Retention: 4 years
SERIES B. ACADEMIC AFFAIRS:
B (4) Class Scheduling Records
Explanation: This series documents the formulation of class schedules by academic departments for inclusion in the published schedule of classes. This series may include but is not limited to: the final edition of the schedule of classes booklet; requests from departments for class offerings; deviation from schedule forms; copies of course schedule maintenance forms; requests for class changes; working papers; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy: Registrar, Summer Session, and Distance Education.
Retention: Permanent for 1 copy of the schedule of classes booklets; 1 year for all other records.
B (6) Course Records
Explanation: This series provides a record of departmental course offerings and individual course contents. This series may include but is not limited to: syllabi; course descriptions; course outlines; course summaries; course requests and proposals; curriculum approval lists; lists of classes by term; bibliographies; reading lists; course announcements; handout materials; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy: Academic Affairs.
Retention: 7 years after obsolescence (i.e. after that particular syllabus is no longer used).
B (15) Course and Teacher Evaluation File
Explanation: This file contains the following documents: written and statistical evaluation of teacher and courses. These evaluations are done by students.
Record Copy: College.
Retention: Tenured and Non-Tenured Faculty, Retain 7 years then destroy.
SERIES E. INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS:
E (1) Intramural Sports Waivers
Explanation: This series documents the legally and medically informed status of students, faculty, and staff participating in intramural sports activities. This form affirms that participants have been informed that they are not covered by the institution for injury or other medical situations and have been advised to seek private insurance.
Record Copy: Intramural Sports
Retention: 3 years after the conclusion of the intramural sports season.
NOTE: CHECK RETENTION PERIOD WITH DEPARTMENT CHAIR.
G. HUMAN RESOURCES
G (37) Residential Advisor (RA) Employees Records
Explanation : This series documents the selection process, requirements, and work history of residential advisors. RA's apply in the Winter Term for the following school year. After preliminary screening and approval applicants are required to enroll in a course designed for potential RA's taught by student housing staff. Records may include but are not limited to: application forms; transcripts; recommendations; interviewers' notes; notification letters; contracts which give duties and responsibilities, enrollment hours limitations, and signatures; papers or projects completed in the required RA course; staff evaluations of applicants and term-by-term evaluations of appointees; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy : Housing & Dining
Retention : 5 years after employee separation
G (40) Search Records [INCLUDES FACULTY SEARCHES]
Explanation: This series documents the selection process for academic, classified and student positions within the institution. Records may include but are not limited to: applications; curriculum vitae or resumes; academic transcripts; samples of writing or publications; approvals of recruitment proposals; candidate lists; position announcements; position advertisements; position descriptions; Certificate of Eligibles; copies of Affirmative Action Compliance Data Forms; Requests to Fill Academic Position Forms; interview materials such as schedules, rating sheets, tallies, screening and interview notes, review committee notes and memoranda; telephone conversation notes; and related correspondence such as cover letters and reference letters. NOTE: Application materials of successful academic and classified candidates become part of the employee's personnel file. Portions may be exempt from public disclosure.
Record Copy: Units.
Retention: 2 years after search completed for academic and classified search records; 1 year for student search records.
G (35) Promotion, Tenure, and Salary Increase Records
Explanation: Documents the periodic consideration of faculty who are eligible for changes in rank, tenure status, and/or pay. Records may include but are not limited to promotion and tenure dossiers compiled and presented by the faculty member as per instructions from Academic Affairs as well as other materials which are compiled and maintained for inclusion, analysis, and summarization into the dossier folders. The dossiers may include but are not limited to: candidate dossier cover form or checklist; prior service agreement; Confidential Waiver for letters of evaluation; current position description; letters of evaluation; current curriculum vitae or resume; activity summary and evaluations of teaching, curriculum development and advising from students, participants/clients, and peers; candidate acknowledgment of dossier review; student evaluations of faculty summary reports; committee signature sheets; committee findings; recommendations of administrative superiors; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy:Colleges
Retention: 7 years after end of employment
K. STUDENT RECORDS Final Grades:
NOTE: Permanent record copy at Registrar. No other copies should be kept due to privacy concerns.
K (26) Original Grade Sheets/ Class Lists Explanation: This series provides instructional units with an official record of students enrolled in courses taught and documents test scores and semester end grades of each student.
Record Copy: Registrar.
Retention: Permanent
K (38) Examinations, Tests, Term Papers, and Homework Records Explanation: This series documents student subject mastery in institution courses. Records may include but are not limited to: examinations and answers; quizzes and answers; homework assignments; course papers; term papers; and essay assignments. This series does not include graduate student qualifying or comprehensive examinations.
Record Copy: Units.
Retention: 1 term after completion for uncontested grade results; until resolved for contested grade results.
K (63) Student Advising Records
Explanation: This series is used to provide a record of an undergraduate and/or graduate student's academic progress within a specific department and or college program. Most of the components in this record series are reference copies of records maintained in the files of the Registrar's Office and/or the Graduate School and are maintained for the convenience of the student academic advisors. Records may include but are not limited to: applications for program admission; notices of admission; grade reports; in-house grade record cards; degree program requirement lists; departmental course waiver forms; program advisors' reports showing progress towards academic degrees; advising checklist forms; advisors' notes; copies of transcripts; Program Planning Sheets; advanced standing examination reports; official graduation audits; curriculum posting sheets; recommendation letters; suspension notices; re-admission notices; comprehensive exam results; awards; and related documentation and correspondence. Portions of these records may be exempt from public disclosure.
Record Copy: Academic advising offices.
Retention: 5 years after graduation or date of last enrollment .
K (64) Student Conduct Records/Disciplinary Action Records
Explanation: This series documents academic dishonesty and conduct violations among students. Records may include but are not limited to: incidents reports; final reports; evidence; notification of allegation; Timely Notice Forms; Conduct-Pending, Conduct-Restitution, and Suspension Lists; Quarterly Security Reports; disciplinary reports; informal discussion notes; formal hearing notes; final summary statements; decision statements; appeals documentation; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy: Student Conduct & Mediation Program
Retention: 5 years after graduation or date of last attendance
SERIES L. STUDENT AFFAIRS:
L (2) Student Housing Contracts Records
Explanation: This series provides a record of occupancy in all institution-administered housing -- residence halls, family housing, and cooperative housing. This series may include but is not limited to: residence hall/cooperative house/student family housing applications and contracts; proof of admission records; and related documentation and correspondence.
Record Copy: Housing & Dining Services, Resident Life, and Student Services
Retention: 7 years after expiration of contract
