Strategies & Tips

  • Keep an inventory of the types of records you use to execute your business functions.
  • Destroy duplicate records that no longer serve an administrative need.
  • To the extent possible, organize your files/records (electronic too!) by record series and date.
  • Avoid piling records into storage boxes and stashing away. You’ll forget what you put in there and the destruction authorization process will be increasingly difficult. Furthermore, you may retire or leave and your replacement will be put in an unfortunate circumstance of cleaning up what you left behind. Try taking a more efficient approach and properly destroy your records before you leave or transfer to the appropriate staff member.
  • Label correctly. It’s tempting to save a file as the first thing that comes to mind, but be strategic. Pick a name that captures what the document is or its function, whether or not it is the final version, and include the date.
  • Execute the record destruction process on a routine basis (quarterly, semi-annually etc.)
  • If you rarely reference certain records with permanent historical value, talk with the University Archivist to determine if it would be appropriate to transfer such records to the University Archives. If accepted, you may still visit or contact the Archives if you ever need to consult the records.
  • If your office realizes that the state’s minimum retention requirement is too short for your business needs, create definitive longer standards that do reflect your business needs. The state’s requirements are just a minimum, however it is not good practice to keep most records indefinitely. Establishing administrative retention criteria will help you to strike a balance between saving what you need to while avoiding an unnecessary build-up of records.
  • Make sure records are secured properly. Anything with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) on it should be behind lock and key with access given only to those who absolutely need it to do their job.
  • Use box labels to help stay organized during a record clean-up effort (for example).
    • Keep
    • Shred
    • Shred with Permission (a copy of the submitted RC-108 form may work well)
    • May have Historical Value–contact University Archivist
    • Dumpster