What is an Institutional Record?
An institutional record is evidence of work activity, capturing decisions made and actions taken, which exist in any formats (paper and digital information/data).
As an example, Brock’s Records Policy uses the following definition:
University Record means any record:
- in the custody or under the control of the University,
- created or received, and maintained as evidence of University decisions, transactions, and relationships; and,
- relevant to the administration and operation of University activities.
- The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), Section 2, defines a record as “any record of information, however recorded”, and then gives many possible examples of types of records
What is NOT an Institutional Record?
Transitory records have a temporary utility and are not required for statutory, legal, fiscal, administrative, operational, or archival purposes. Despite their short-term value they may contain sensitive and confidential or personal information and should be disposed of in a secure manner. Electronic formats should be permanently deleted, while paper should be shredded.
Examples of transitory records include:
- Convenience copies retained for reference (e.g., digital copies of the official record in paper form and filed as the official record; “cc,” “bcc,” or FYI copies.
- Copies of records retained when the original or primary record has been sent to another unit.
- Routine emails to schedule or confirm meetings or events
- Announcements and notices of a general nature
Where to store records?
Wherever possible, institutional records should be stored in secure locations, such as:
- Shared drive
- SharePoint
- Other departmental applications (such as Workday, etc.)
Records stored in temporary storage locations should be transferred to these secure locations as soon as possible. Temporary storage locations include:
- Laptop hard drive
- Removable media (USB sticks)
- OneDrive (good intermediate step)
- Microsoft Teams
- Paper records
These locations are not suitable for the long-term keeping of records as they are not readily accessible to other employees who may have a legitimate need to access them. Additionally, there are no controls or safeguards to these documents.
Key Points
- Check the University or College’s records retention schedule for information on how long to keep records
- Have reasonable measures in place to preserve records
- Store final versions of documents in an institutional system (e.g., SharePoint)
- Dispose of records securely
Learn More…
Institutions may have policies detailing:
- Records Management Policy
- Records Retention Schedule
- Disposition Procedure & Forms
Click here for the next module: Part 5 – Your Working Environment
