Transcript Records Management at UW-Green Bay Or, I am out of space and just want to throw some things away!

Records
Management at
UW-Green Bay
Or, I am out of space and just
want to throw some things
away!
What is records management?
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Records management is the logical and
practical approach to the creation,
organization, maintenance, use, and
periodic legal disposition of records,
regardless of the media involved
Benefits of Records Management
Identifies inactive records. It is estimated
that 90% of all documents generated have
a very short life-span.
 Allows for the legal destruction of obsolete
records
 Guarantees permanent retention of
records with historical, legal, fiscal, and/or
administrative value
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Even more benefits....
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Documents UW-Green Bay’s policy and decision
making history. Provides for greater continuity
and saves reinventing the wheel
Personnel cost savings because retrieval of
records is more efficient
Eliminates duplicate copies of records
Space and equipment savings
Do I Have To?
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As a state agency, the records we
generate and/or receive in the course of
operating UWGB, are subject to statutory
requirements.
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The primary portions of the Wisconsin
statutes effecting university records are
found in chapter 16.61, chapter 19.21, and
chapter 19.31.
Law Highlights
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Defines public records
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Books, papers, maps, photos, films, recordings,
optical disks
Regardless of physical format or characteristics
Received by state agency or its employees in
the transaction of business
Applies to virtually every item created or
received on campus
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More law highlights
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Public records may NOT be disposed of without
written approval of the Public Records and
Forms Board
Confidential records retain confidentiality when
sent to archives
Destroying public records without proper
authorization may result in legal action
Guarantees citizens’ access to public records
State statutes are echoed in University laws and
regulations
The Life Cycle of a Record
Disposed
Created
Evaluated/Scheduled
Stored
for Reference
Used
Starting out.....
1)
Complete inventory and analysis
worksheet
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2)
Definitions
Examples
Submit to archives
Waiting......
Archives staff reviews inventory
worksheets
 Archives staff creates records schedules
 Signatures obtained from departments
 Records schedules submitted to Public
Records and Forms Board
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Hooray! The paperwork is done
Records schedules approved by Public
Records and Forms Board
 Approved schedules returned to offices
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Disposal
Transfer
To
Archives
Confidential Destruction
Regular Recycling
When can I throw it away?
Records may be disposed of based on the
identified retention period
 Must always have the required number of
years in your files, plus the current year
 You may dispose of records when it is
convenient for your office
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Recycling
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Records that are not confidential may be
recycled per the normal campus recycling
procedures
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You must do this in accordance with the
retention period identified on the schedule
Transfer to Archives
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Send an e-mail to Deb Anderson indicating you
have records ready to send to the Archives and
how many boxes you will be sending
Records must be packed in regular-sized
Bankers’ boxes
Do not remove contents from folders
Contents and records schedule number should
be identified
Confidential Shredding
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Records with confidential information must be
shredded
Receiving Department and Archives coordinate
confidential shredding approximately once per
quarter
Only offices that have completed records
scheduling can use confidential shredding
Individual department shredders should not be
used
Myths About Records Management
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I have plenty of space in my new office and I
don’t need to worry about records
Records schedules only need to be done when
we want to throw something away
My records are not important so I don’t need to
do records scheduling
Someone might ask me for that document and I
should keep it
More Myths
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Office XYZ isn’t that good at keeping things so I
better keep copies of the documents they send
me.
I can just shred a couple pieces of records at my
desk and no one will know!
This takes too long and is a pain!
All of my stuff is on the computer and those files
aren’t records!
What would be the harm of keeping the records
until I retire?
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Archives staff can respond to
questions about records creation
and retention. Available for office
visits on limited basis
Archives staff will anticipate
questions that will be asked by
the Public Records and Forms
Board
Cheating is allowed
Future includes general
schedules for campus and UW
System; records management
policy for UW System; and
addressing electronic records
issues
We’re here to
help you
climb over
your
mountains of
papers!