Managing Student Records Records Management at the University of Pittsburgh October 4, 2017

Introduction & Objectives Identify current institutional policies and procedures Define office of record Highlight role of Office of the University Registrar Provide guidance and benchmarks for best practices Align your recordkeeping practices with your business functions. *Creation of an effective and defensible approach to student records Eleanor Godbey, Records Manager, Office of the University Registrar Alex J. Toner, University Records Manager, University Library System - We don’t have all the answers! - Providing guidelines users can choose to employ to creation policies and approaches to create more effective and aligned student record keeping processes in their departments and units.

Definitions Office of the University Registrar University Records Management Systematic and administrative control of records throughout lifecycle to ensure efficiency and economy in their creation, use, handling, control, maintenance, and disposition. Institutional reasons: legal, fiscal, audit, historical Office of Record Organization or administrative unit that is officially designated for the maintenance, preservation, and disposition of record copies (SAA Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology) Student Records A record is a record Matriculation not academic (essays, exams, etc…) Transitory vs. Substantive Records Little or no documentary or evidential value and that need not be set aside for future use. Records that relate to the operational activities an organization takes to accomplish its mission Records management is defined as the "systematic and administrative control of records throughout their lifecycle to ensure efficiency and economy in their creation, use, handling, control, maintenance, and disposition." The University Records Management program assists offices and departments in managing records to meet the administrative, financial, legal and historical needs of the University of Pittsburgh.

Transitory vs. Substantive University of Washington, Records Management Services: All About Student Records. http://finance.uw.edu/recmgt/training/presentations

Activity!

University Records Management Alex J. Toner, University Records Manager

Getting Started What policies or guidelines are you adhering to? What procedures do you follow? What is the function of the record? What records interactions do you have? Policies – departmental, professional organization, etc…. Procedures – imaging, separating certain document types, rotating based on year, etc… Function – what value does the record provide your office beyond it’s retention period? Interactions – (are you making copies of something? Are you the office of record?)

University General Retention Schedule Guidance on records retention and disposition for management of certain groups and types common to most offices. Differs from department or office specific schedule No distinction between undergraduate and graduate records Majority “3 year after student’s last activity”

“Big Bucket” Approach Undergraduate “The application of appraisal criteria to related groups of information, usually based on function, to establish a uniform retention period” (SAA Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology) Undergraduate Five years following last activity of the student (graduation, date of last attendance) Graduate 10 years following last activity of the student (graduation, date of last attendance) - Big Bucket Approach: Retention periods applied to series of records rather than each record type within a series - Periods when students or administrators are primarily most likely to request information

“Big Bucket” Examples Record Types Academic suspension letter Acceptance letter from schools Add/Drop forms Admittance letter Application for graduation Financial aid documents Grade change request High School transcript Internship agreement Advisor letters Late withdrawal requests Other University transcripts Pitt registration forms Course Repeat forms FERPA waivers - Big Bucket Approach: Retention periods applied to series of records rather than each record type within a series Periods when students or administrators are primarily most likely to request information Adopting this method within parameters of Pitt would be an approach Negatives; FERPA requests, storage and maintenance

Game Plan Survey: What student records are you currently managing? Function: What function do they serve? What transactions to they document? Office of Record: What records is your department responsible for retaining and providing? What are records you do not need to manage? External mandates: Professional schools i.e. Med School needs to provide 75 years at least as hiring practice/school, must verify resume, certs, training, reviews of activities/clinical. Internal mandates: Time period a student has to return to Pitt to get credit for previous course work towards and incomplete degree. Funaction: Transitory v. Substantive Examples of records most departments do not need to manage: The Registrar manages Transcripts Institutional Advancement maintains post-graduation, Alumni information Duplicate database reports Financial records Pitt Stadium: View of Pitt Stadium construction, looking south. Pitt Stadium construction began August 7, 1924 and was completed September 1, 1925. The Pitt Panthers played their first game at the stadium on September 26, 1925 and their final game on November 13, 1999. Located at the present site of the Peterson Events Center, it had a capacity of 56,150 people.

Managing Student Records Eleanor Godbey, Office of the University Registrar

Office of the University Registrar Our move from a localized records management system to a centralized model Our current role at the University Student Services Record Keeping

We are the Office of Record for: Transcripts and Certification Registration Recording and Graduation Course and Classroom Scheduling

We are NOT the Office of Record for: School of Medicine Financial Records Admissions Records Transcripts from other Universities/Schools Advising Alumni Affairs

Records Retention, Imaging, and Storage Offsite storage at Access Imaging Records for preservation and access Permanent Records vs. Ancillary Documents Our Records Retention Schedule

Consider This! Are you maintaining official or convenience copies of records? Are you the office of record for said records? What is the functional value of the record to your department? (align your recordkeeping practices with your business functions) Are there external retention statutes or guidelines, based on that unit function, that need to be applied? (support your retention schedules with industry guidelines and best practices) Student conflicts and investigations

Create an effective and defensible approach to student records Takeaways Highlight role of Office of University Registrar Make sure to consider the function of the record following student graduation or last activity. Align your recordkeeping practices with your business functions. Support your policies with industry-specific guidelines, benchmarks, and best practices. Understand institutional procedures, policies, and office of record. Create an effective and defensible approach to student records Efficiency, costs, storage

Questions? Alex Toner Eleanor Godbey University Records Manager Archives and Special Collections Office of the University Registrar alexjtoner@pitt.edu ekg17@pitt.edu 412-648-3164 412-624-7625