records management lunch & learn, 24 january 2013 chris halonen university records manager
TRANSCRIPT
Records ManagementLunch & Learn, 24 January 2013
Chris Halonen
University Records Manager
Intro & Overview
• I tell you who I am• Info & records management at Waterloo• Guiding principles of RM program• Getting a handle on “transitory records”• WatClass: records retention schedules & their use• Steps to follow: managing the records lifecycle from
creation to disposal– Some suggestions for managing paper & electronic records
• Questions? Suggestions?
University Records• All information created, received, & kept by
the university, its units & employees, documenting university activities, regardless of format/medium, including:– Email– Letters & memos– Minutes of meetings– Photos, digital images, video– Social media: tweets, Facebook pages
University Records• Records are always managed as a system
– It’s information tied to a process/activity, so records are always interconnected with other records
• Records are a university resource & asset– We need to document what we have, in
consistent manner– Available to the university – not just
individuals – if/when the need arises
What isn’t University Records?
• Faculty members’ teaching materials, research, scholarly works (Policy 73, IP rights)– Only documentation from assigned tasks are
university records
• Personal email & documents, clearly identified & stored as such
Info Management Policies & Guidelines
• Statement on Information Management– Includes list of all IM policies, procedures &
guidelines
• Policy 8: Information Security
• Policy 12: Records Management
• Guidelines for Confidential Information
• Guidelines on Managing Student Information for Faculties, Depts. & Schools
• Policy 8– Information security classification
• Confidential– Restricted– Highly restricted
• Public
– Roles• Stewards• Custodians• Users
• Policy 12, your responsibilities:– “Individual employees must ensure that records for
which they are responsible are managed in accordance with the university’s records-related policies, procedures, and guidelines.”
Records Management Goals
• Meet internal needs for information as efficiently as possible
• Demonstrate accountability to our constituencies– Our competence is reflected through responsible &
documented management of our information
• Comply with statutory/regulatory requirements• Provide evidence of processes or transactions,
admissible in legal proceedings• Preserve history of the university
Guiding Principles• Records have a lifecycle
– Created or received in some work activity or process,
– Kept for current work, reference, or to meet external requirements (e.g., FIPPA, CRA),
– Destroyed when no longer needed by the university.
• Of historical value: part of University Archives
Guiding Principles• Organize records by work activities/processes
• Document the records you have, their lifespan, and their destruction.
• WatClass retention schedules provide guidance on records lifecycle, organization, & responsibility– (approx. 60% complete)
• We set priorities for the RM issues we deal with first, but the RM policy & program applies to all university records
Destroy Transitory Records!!
• Records of temporary value– Working documents, drafts, copies and reference materials. – “cc”, FYI, & broadcast e-mails.
• Keep only as long as needed for your work.• Some estimates: up to 75% of all info in offices is
transitory.• Transitory records should be destroyed when you no
longer need them.– Secure destruction if they contain confidential info– No need to document their destruction unless they contain
personal information.
Document the Destruction of Personal Information
• Document destruction of copies of records containing personal information, such as student information.
• These are transitory records, but FIPPA requires that we document their destruction.
Records Destruction Form
• End of retention period: secure & authorized destruction– Manager or delegate signs off on destruction– Central Stores secure shredding– Shared drives: delete computer files & folders – SharePoint: be sure to empty recycle bin
• Use the records destruction form to document records destruction
• Keep these forms on file as a permanent record
WatClass: 12 University Functions• Core University Activities:
– Research Management (RS) [bold font = completed…for now]– Student Management (ST)– Teaching and Learning (TL)
• “Housekeeping”: common to many organizations:– Administration (AD) – Campus Services (CS)– External Relations and Communications (ER)– Finance (FN)– Governance (GV)– Human Resources (HR)– Health, Safety, and Security (HS)– Information Management (IM)– Property and Facilities (PF)
• Research Management (RS): – Research ethics, grants & contracts administration,
controlled goods and technology
• Student Management (ST): – Recruitment, admissions, student records, financial
aid &scholarships, student grievances, discipline, appeals
• Teaching and Learning (TL): – Calendars, program reviews & accreditation, co-op &
continuing ed programs, course management, student work & grading, exchange programs, internships & practica, professional development and training, class/exam schedules
• Administration (AD)– general correspondence, subject files, planning, reports & stats,
administrative committees and faculty councils, legal records (contracts, legal opinions, IP records), policies & procedures
• Campus Services (CS)– non-academic services: ancillary services, athletics/recreation,
parking, WatCard
• External Relations and Communications (ER)– donors, alumni, gov’t and inter-institutional relations, events,
media relations, marketing, outreach, publications, images, speeches, and the website
• Finance (FN): – accounts payable/receivable, p-card transactions, banking,
budgeting, investments, financial audit, procurement, and taxation
• Governance (GV)– Board of Governors and Senate
• Health, Safety, and Security (HS)– Conflict management & human rights, health & counselling,
occupational health, safety, access & key control, police services
• Human Resources (HR)– Faculty & staff appointments, employee records, promotion and
tenure, pension & benefits, employee discipline & grievances, position descriptions, salary/payroll, work schedules & leave management
• Information Management (IM): – FIPPA, info systems management & security, libraries, museums,
and galleries, and records management
• Property and Facilities (PF)– Buildings, capital construction projects, space management, asset
management, utilities, equipment & supplies, maps & plans
WatClass Examples
• Human Resources
• Student Management
• Teaching & Learning– If you’re unsure of the meaning or scope of a
retention schedule, or can’t find the one you need, call me
Steps to Follow
• Separate your records from transitory records– Regularly destroy transitory records
• Classify records by activity, using WatClass• Identify retention periods, using WatClass• Document what you have: file plan or folder
listing• Destroy records at the end of their lifecycle• Document the destruction of your records
Helpful Hints
• Keep a list (spreadsheet, database, Word table…) of what you have!!– WatClass record class– Policy 8 security classification– File title or type
• For paper files: date span of the file
– Description (if needed)– How organized (alpha, chrono, some kind of code)– Retention period, from WatClass– Additional indexing keywords, if you want them
Helpful Hints
• Start a new file (or folder) every year!!– Makes it easier to pull records for destruction
• Set up rules for naming files/folders– There’s no right or wrong way, but you need
to be consistent– For e-records, think of sorting issues:
• e.g., for dates, use 2013-01-24, not Jan 24, 2013
Future Plans
• Model file plan & Excel template– Folders for Outlook
• “How to” for (re-)organizing shared drives
• With IST: more support for SharePoint site design & records management
• Records of long-term value: integration of SharePoint & OnBase– SharePoint as “front end” for work & OnBase for long-
term storage
Topics for Another Day
• Are you creating all the records you need to document your processes & decisions?
• Paper vs. electronic as the “official record”– For now, check WatClass– See Standards for imaging (scanning) paper documents
• Email management (no easy answers)
• Social media & web content as university records: Twitter, Facebook, etc.
• Managing videos & digital images
