Archives of the University of Notre Dame :: Using Office-Specific Schedules

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Using Office-Specific Records Retention Schedules

Office-specific records retention schedules (also called office-specific schedules) apply to a particular office unit and are developed by the University Archives in collaboration with individual University offices. Office-specific schedules are more detailed than general schedules and include record series that are unique to a particular office or group of offices. University offices are required to comply with both general schedules and office-specific schedules. If there is a conflict between a general schedule and an office-specific schedule, the office-specific schedule should be followed.

Office-Specific Schedule Format

The standard format of office-specific records retention schedules:

University of Notre Dame
Office-Specific Records Retention Schedules
Office Name
Date of Publication

RECORD SERIES	DESCRIPTION	OFFICE RETENTION	OFFICE DISPOSITION	ARCHIVES RETENTION / DISPOSITION	REVIEWED BY GENERAL COUNSEL

Refer to the Glossary of Terms for definitions of terms used in records retention schedules.

Sample Office-Specific Schedules

Sample office-specific records retention schedules:

University of Notre Dame
Office-Specific Records Retention Schedules
Office of Hypothetical Schedules
October 2011

RECORD SERIES	DESCRIPTION	OFFICE RETENTION	OFFICE DISPOSITION	ARCHIVES RETENTION / DISPOSITION	REVIEWED BY GENERAL COUNSEL
Building Calendars	Scheduled use of office facilities for meetings and other events.	2 years	Destroy	---	[For training purposes only. Not reviewed or approved by General Counsel.]
Client Files	Records pertaining to regular clients, including contact information, correspondence, and purchase summaries.	3 years after last contact	Transfer to the Archives	Retain for 7 years, then destroy
Director's Subject Files	Strategic planning files, project files, and reference materials maintained by the director.	Up to 5 years	Transfer to the Archives	Appraise for retention / destruction
Meeting Files	Agendas, minutes and supporting materials related to monthly board meetings.	5 years	Transfer to the Archives	Appraise for retention / destruction

Interpreting the Sample Schedules

Building Calendars are to be destroyed in-office. During your annual records clean-out, destroy Building Calendars that have passed the 2-year retention period. Do not transfer them to the Archives.

Individual Client Files will be transferred to the Archives 3 years after your last interaction with a client. During your annual records clean-out, remove files for clients with which you have no contact for 3 years. Put those files in boxes, carefully maintaining the order of the files and labeling the boxes. Transfer the boxes to the Archives, where they will be stored for 7 years and then destroyed by the Archives.

Director’s Subject Files have an Office Retention of "Up to 5 years." This means that the office cannot retain the files beyond 5 years, but may keep them for less than 5 years. During your annual records clean-out, pull out files that are 5 years old, or that are less than 5 years old but no longer actively referenced, and transfer these files to the Archives. The University Archives will "Appraise for retention / destruction," or evaluate the records for their historical value. Historically significant records are designated archival records and are processed for inclusion in the University's permanent collection. Non-archival records (that is, records lacking historical value) are destroyed.

Meeting Files have an Office Retention of 5 years. During your annual records clean-out, remove files that are 5 years old and transfer these files to the Archives. The University Archives will "Appraise for retention / destruction."

Helpful Hints

In general and office-specific records retention schedules, the Office Retention begins at the end of the current year (fiscal, calendar or academic year, depending on your office practices).
Office-specific schedules are developed based on distinct Record Series maintained by the office. It is easiest to apply office-specific schedules when you maintain your files according to those Record Series. If changes in business processes dictate that you should change the established Record Series, please contact the Archivist for Records Management to update your schedules accordingly.
Remember that records retention schedules apply to records in any media or format. If you keep records both on paper and in electronic format, use a parallel filing structure and apply the proper disposition to both your paper and your electronic records at the same time. If your office is considering a new electronic recordkeeping system (for example, a document management system, a software or database application, or a web-based program), make sure that the system allows for appropriate records retention, archiving, and purging.
The term "Retain / process for inclusion" is used sparingly in records retention schedules. When the term does appear in the Archives Retention / Disposition column, the Archives will incorporate the records into the University's permanent collection of archival records. Archival processing may result in some changes to the record series, such as removal of duplicate materials, correction of misfiles, modifications to original order, and destruction of material without enduring value.
When records are transferred to the Archives for storage and eventual destruction, the Archives will supervise the secure destruction of those records at the appropriate time. Because records are destroyed according to records retention schedules, no notification to the originating office is necessary, nor does the originating office have to instruct the Archives to initiate destruction.
Please contact the Archives if your office does not yet have office-specific schedules, or if your office-specific schedules are incomplete or out-of-date.

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This page was last updated May 23, 2012