1. Records Management Lunch & Learn, 24 January 2013
Chris Halonen
University Records Manager

2. 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?

3. University Records
All information created, received, & kept by the university, its units & employees, documenting university activities, regardless of format/medium, including:
Letters & memos
Minutes of meetings
Photos, digital images, video
Social media: tweets, Facebook pages

4. 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

5. 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 & documents, clearly identified & stored as such

6. 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

7. Policy 12, your responsibilities:
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.”

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Destroy Transitory Records!!
Records of temporary value
Working documents, drafts, copies and reference materials.
“cc”, FYI, & broadcast s.
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.

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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

16. External Relations and Communications (ER)
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

17. Health, Safety, and Security (HS)
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

18. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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 , not Jan 24, 2013

23. 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

24. 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
management (no easy answers)
Social media & web content as university records: Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Managing videos & digital images

25. Questions?
Call or
Ext