RECORDS / RECORD RETENTION POLICIES:
What are records? Do we have any in our department? A record is any written, photographic, machine-readable, or other information created or received that documents activities in the conduct of university business. (UT Records Management information page)
Before destroying any “master copy” of a record you must consult the U.T. Record Retention Schedule (UTRRS) to verify the length of time that the record must be maintained in the department. Even if your record has been kept as long as the UTRRS requires, you must get approval from The Records Administration Office to destroy a record.
Contact Ben Fest to get approval to dispose of official records. Do not dispose of official university records before you have written confirmation from Ben that we have been authorized to proceed. Shredding is the approved method of disposing of official university records.
The following is brief list of commonly held university records in our department and the UTRRS code you can use to look up the retention period. The retention schedule is the ultimate resource to determine whether a record can be disposed.
- Course Materials, tests, assignments, rosters – AALL350
- Applications for employment (not hired) – AALL191
- Applications for employment (hired) – AALL193
- Faculty recruiting records – AALL206
- Position and job description – AALL222
- Employee Contracts – AALL202
- Departmental Employee Folder – AALL207
- Graduate Student Files – AALL362
- Scholarship / Fellowship supporting docs – AALL399
- Accreditation files – AALL394
For those using scantrons in their courses (specifically those teaching TD301): Digital files of scanned results from Test Scanning Services at the Center for Teaching and Learning may be maintained as "master copies" in place of the physical scantrons. The original scantrons should be kept through the end of the semester in which the course occurs, but after grades are submitted, these originals may be shredded if the digital results are maintained for the time specified by the UT Retention Schedule.