JISC Records Management Project for UWE Pam Pearce Project Manager

Background UWE has no records manager University Document Management and Retention Group (UDMRG) produced a records survey and records retention schedule for the areas of Finance, Student Administration and Support and the Examinations process, using the first Study of the Records Lifecycle (SRL) report Same methodology used for JISC project

Aims To produce institutional records retention schedules for Widening Participation (WP) and Governance, based on the revised SRL To publish a report on the methodology used and issues raised by the project To raise the profile of records management within the University

Methodology Methodology evolved as work progressed on WP, also applied to Governance Defined boundaries of WP List of contacts Meetings with key people Others received interview pack by e-mail Semi-structured interview about business processes followed up by interview notes and records survey

Methodology Interviewees given guidance on records retention schedules Records transferred from records survey to retention schedule using UDMRG model Revised SRL retention recommendation included with citations where known Retention schedule sent to Manager for recommendation

Main Findings Institutions with a low records management profile may benefit from a concerted publicity campaign at the beginning of a project to engage future participants If records management training for admin staff is timed to coincide with projects it may motivate staff and encourage participation The informal interview about business processes is more suited to the short timescale that the paper-based approach

Main Findings The generic headings used in the revised SRL are not appropriate for an initiative which is project-based and evolving (like WP) Terms chosen for functions and activities in the tailored version of the model should be simple and commonly used within the institution The web-based retention schedule in the revised SRL could be improved by quick links between numbered sections and a search facility for functions and activities and/or records series.