Record Retention and Disposition

Purpose:

To provide policy and procedures to govern the retention and disposition of college records as well as increase college-wide awareness and effectiveness of record retention and disposition, to create uniformity in these practices, and to ensure compliance with all applicable state regulations.

Definitions:

Agency records officer: the administrative and fiscal assistant senior to the vice president of finance and administration.

General schedules: policy documents of the Library of Virginia (LVA) that apply to the records of common functions performed by or for all state agencies (i.e., fiscal, administrative, and personnel records).

Public record: as defined by the Virginia Public Records Act, "recorded information that documents a transaction or activity by or with any public officer, agency or employee of an agency. Regardless of physical form or characteristic, the recorded information is a public record if it is produced, collected, received or retained in pursuance of law or in connection with the transaction of public business.” Formats can include paper, microforms, electronic records, magnetic tapes, maps, disks, photographs, film, and sound recordings.

Records series: a group or unit of related documents or information that is normally filed or kept together because it relates to a particular subject or function, results from the same activity, or documents a particular transaction or activity, such as correspondence, time sheets, contracts, ordinances, fiscal vouchers, project files, and minutes.

Retention schedule: lists records series and provides instructions and special guidelines for their care, including how long to retain them, how to maintain them, and procedures for disposing of them; and reflects the length of time that records have administrative, legal, fiscal, or historical value.

Specific schedules: policy documents of the Library of Virginia (LVA) that apply to records that are unique to a state agency and that identify records that an agency produces, collects, receives, or retains in carrying out its special functions.

Policy:

1. J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (Reynolds) follows the state records management program under the Code of Virginia, Title 42.1, Chapter 7, Sections 42.1-76 through 42.1-91, also known as the Virginia Public Records Act. Responsibility for the state records management program under the Virginia Public Records Act is given to the State Library Board, which delegates the operation of the program to the staff of the Library of Virginia in Richmond. Each state agency is required to designate a records officer to be responsible for the operation of the records management program at that agency.

2. The Library of Virginia issues two (2) types of schedules: (1) general schedules that apply to the records of common functions performed by or for all state agencies, and (2) specific schedules that apply to records that are unique to a state agency.

3. All Reynolds employees are required to comply with the Library of Virginia’s schedules and the record retention and disposal program. The following Library of Virginia schedules apply to the college:

   GS 101, Administrative Records

   GS 102, Fiscal Records

   GS 103, Personnel Records

   GS 104, Mailroom Records

   GS 105, Motor Vehicle Records

   GS 106, General Services Records

   GS 107, Food Service Records

   GS 108, Fire, Safety, and Security Records

   GS 109, Library and Museum Records

   GS 111, College and University Records

   GS 113, Information Technology Records

   GS 117, Law Enforcement Records

4. Before any of its records may be destroyed, the college must ensure that:

   1. records to be destroyed are listed on a LVA-approved retention and disposition schedule;

   2. minimum time periods for retention of the particular records, as listed on these schedules, have passed;

   3. all known audits, certifications, or investigations involving the records have been completed;

   4. all known investigations or court cases involving the listed records must be resolved before the records can be destroyed (Knowledge of subpoenas, investigations, or litigation that reasonably may involve the listed records suspends any disposal or reformatting processes until all issues are resolved.); and,

   5. a Certificate of Records Destruction (RM-3) has been signed by the approving official who is the employee’s supervisor, and submitted to and approved by the records officer for the agency.

   After approval of the RM-3 by the agency records officer, the form creator will receive an email confirming that the records can be destroyed. After the destruction of records has been completed, the form creator must open the email and take appropriate steps to affirm record destruction. All forms completed via this process will be available on the web.

5. By implementing a retention schedule, an agency or locality:

   1. ensures that records needed for legal, fiscal, or administrative purposes shall not be destroyed prematurely;

   2. allows records that are no longer useful to be destroyed legally;

   3. helps reduce the space and equipment necessary for filing records, thus saving money;

   4. releases electronic storage space on computer disks and video and audio tapes;

   5. determines when records may be transferred to inactive storage or to another repository for permanent storage;

   6. assists with making reformatting decisions (i.e., converting records to microfilm or scanning them for use on a computer);

   7. provides information for a vital records-protection plan;

   8. ensures the preservation of records with historical value; and,

   9. may indicate the privacy status of a given records series.

6. The retention and disposition requirements for electronic mail (email) are fundamentally the same as those for the same type of record in another format or medium and are dependent on the content and function of the email. Most email shall be considered a type of correspondence.

7. Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA) academic and student records retention and disposition shall be the responsibility of Brightpoint Community College (BCC) and shall be governed by the policies and procedures of BCC.

Procedures:

Procedure for Reynolds Policy 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition

Other Information:

Code of Virginia, Title 42.1, Chapter 7, Sections 42.1-76 through 42.1-91, Virginia Public Records Act

A Guide to the Virginia Public Records Act