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RMP-2, Records Disposition Program and ProceduresJuly 1, 1987
I. REFERENCE
Business and Finance Bulletin RMP-1, "University Records Management
Program", revised November 1, 1985.
II. INTRODUCTION
A. Background
The ability to control records has not always kept pace with the
ability to create them. Duplicating machines grind out thousands
of pages of copy in a day, and data-processing equipment turns out
tremendous quantities of records in both paper and microfilm form.
These technological developments have accelerated the accumulation
of records and intensified the problem of disposition of records
that have outlived their usefulness.
B. Scope
As part of the University's Records Management Program (see Business
and Finance Bulletin RMP-1), a records disposition program has
been established. This program is coordinated by the University
Records Management Committee. The policies, procedures and
responsibilities enumerated in this Bulletin are mandatory,
applying to all units within the University.
C. Definitions of Terms
Records Disposition: refers to the destruction or systematic
transfer to archival storage of records no longer needed for
everyday operations, or frequent reference, or to satisfy
requirements of external agencies.
Retention Period: the length of time a record needs to be maintained
to satisfy the purposes for which it was created, and to fulfill
legal, fiscal and administrative requirements of the University and
interested external agencies. At the conclusion of the retention
period the record may be destroyed or transferred to archival
storage depending upon the action prescribed in the records
disposition schedules.
Record Disposition Schedules: are official documents published by the
University Records Management Committee showing all actions to be
taken in relation to the disposition of records. Schedules
enumerate the title of the record, record number (if any), Office
of Record, and the disposition schedule (retention period, in
years) for the record copy and other copies of administrative
records. (See Exhibit A.) Disposition schedules for records found
on more than one campus are collected in the Records Disposition
Schedules Manual.
Records Disposition Schedules Manual: to effect the orderly
disposition of administrative records on a uniform basis throughout
the University, the Records Management Committee has established
the Records Disposition Schedules Manual. This document, updated
at least once each year, formalizes the decisions on retention
periods and provides guidance for all University departments and
offices in administering the retention or disposition of their
records. The Manual contains disposition schedules or records
classified by functions: Administrative, Auxiliary and Service
Enterprises, Fiscal, Medical, Personnel, Physical Plant, Students,
Library, and Administrative Electronic Data, and is available from
Records Management Coordinators. The formal procedures for
establishing a Records Disposition Schedule for a record are
prescribed below in the Appendix.
Record: the written, visual or audio documentation of any
action or activity generated or received by an operating unit
of the University. Records may include correspondence, other
types of papers, cards, forms, maps, tapes, magnetic tapes,
films, prints, exhibits, catalogues, pamphlets, etc. (See
statement on University ownership of administrative records in
Business and Finance Bulletin RMP-1.)
Non-Record Material: material which should never reach a filing
cabinet or any other type of records housing and is of immediate
value only. Some examples of non-record material are:
-envelopes, routing slips, worksheets, rough drafts, request for
printed material, reminders;
-shorthand notes, dictating tapes, which have been transcribed;
-short-lived publicity or advertisements regarding meetings,
community activities and other events not pertaining to the
issuing office;
-stocks of publications or forms which are kept for supply
purposes only;
-duplication materials, superseded vendor catalogues and
brochures.
RM-2 Form: entitled "Request for the Establishment of
Disposition Schedule" is the formal written mechanism by which
a disposition schedule is initiated or modified. A sample of
this form can be found in Exhibit B. Any staff member may
secure a copy of Form RM-2 from a Records Management
Coordinator and initiate a disposition schedule review. (See
Section V., below.) All requests for establishment of
disposition schedules will be reviewed by the University
Records Management Committee for legal, audit, and archival
value.
Office of Record: that office which is designated as the primary
repository for a record, and has the primary responsibility for
producing the record if needed for audit or other purposes. The
retention period for the record copy of a document will
ordinarily be longer than that prescribed for other copies of
that document located in other offices. The office of record
is not necessarily the office of origin.
Other Copies: copies of records retained in offices other than
the officially designated office of record. "Other copies" are
generally retained for a shorter period of time than the
official record.
III. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the records disposition program are:
-to protect the University and its component parts by ensuring that all
legal, historical, fiscal, and administrative requirements are
satisfied before records are destroyed (see Section IV.A., below);
-to conserve valuable staff time managing records by removing inactive
or obsolete material from office files;
-to conserve resources and space by avoiding the purchase, lease, or
reservation of equipment and facilities to file unneeded records, and
by releasing surplus equipment and facilities for other uses;
-to maintain a regular, controlled flow of records from offices to
destruction or archival storage.
IV. RECORDS-PURPOSE AND APPRAISAL
A. Purpose of Records
Records which reach a file or other housing should have either
administrative, legal, fiscal, research, or historical value.
1. Administrative Purpose
Records which are created to help accomplish the functions for
which an office is responsible have administrative value as
long as they assist the office to perform current or future
activity.
2. Legal Purpose
Records have legal value if they contain evidence of legally
enforceable rights or obligations of the University, or
constitute items to fulfill legal requirements. Examples of
these are records that provide the basis for action such as
leases, deeds, and contracts, and records of action in
particular cases such as claim papers and legal dockets.
3. Fiscal Purpose
Records of fiscal value are those that pertain to financial
transactions such as budgets, ledgers, payrolls, and vouchers.
After records have served their basic administrative function
they may still have sufficient fiscal value to justify their
retention for a time to protect the office in accounting for
the expenditure of funds.
4. Research, Historical or Archival Purpose
Some records have enduring value to the University because they
reflect historical events or document the history and
development of an office. The procedures established to assure
retention of such records are discussed below under the section
entitled "Archival Review."
B. Records Appraisal
Appraisal of records in relation to their period of usefulness and
value to a unit is necessary in a sound records disposition
program. Appraisal helps to:
-establish reasonable retention periods if none are published;
-identify records that can be destroyed immediately;
-identify records that can be transferred to low-cost storage;
-identify records of lasting value that should be placed in Archives.
The purpose of records, as discussed above, should be assayed in any
appraisal of records.
V. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DISPOSITION SCHEDULE REVIEW
A. Departments and Offices
Within each office or department one individual should be assigned the
responsibility to monitor the records disposition program for that
unit.
Each department is responsible for:
1. initiating RM-2 forms for records in its possession for which
disposition schedules have not been established or for changes in
established disposition schedules;
2. destroying records in accordance with published disposition
schedules; and
3. maintaining an accounting of which records have been destroyed,
the period of time covered by those records, and when the
records were destroyed.
B. Records Management Coordinators
Each Records Management Coordinator is responsible for:
1. reviewing form RM-2, "Request for Establishment of Disposition
Schedule," originating at the campus or Office of the President
to make sure the forms are complete and accurate (see Exhibit B);
2. obtaining archival review for RM-2 forms originated by a campus
or Office of the President office;
3. forwarding RM-2 forms originated on the campus or by an Office of
the President office to the Chair of the Committee;
4. serving as a member of one or more functional subcommittees,
responsible for researching RM-2's submitted, and formulating and
supporting recommendations to the full Committee;
5. presenting in final form to the full Committee proposed
disposition schedules for records found only on one campus or
only at Office of the President;
6. presenting in final form requests for local exceptions to existing
schedules;
7. returning approved RM-2 forms to the originating department;
8. maintaining a file of RM-2 forms originated by the campus or
Office of the President;
9. reviewing with appropriate offices proposed disposition schedules
referred for review by functional subcommittees in preparation
for full Committee action; and
10. reporting each year to the Chair of the Records Management
Committee the accomplishments of the records disposition program
for the campus or the Office of the President during the
previous fiscal year. The details of this reporting requirement
are established locally by each Records Coordinator, and may
include summaries of yearly reports which may be required from
local departments, and may include reports on progress of any
other area of the Records Management Program.
C. Chair of the Records Management Committee
The Chair is responsible for:
1. forwarding RM-2 forms for records found on more than one campus to
the appropriate subcommittees for review and obtaining archival
review, if not already obtained by the Records Management
Coordinator;
2. signing and returning Committee approved RM-2 forms to the
Coordinator on the campus or at Office of the President from
which the forms originated;
3. maintaining a file of approved RM-2 forms for one year after
publication;
4. publishing revised pages to the Records Disposition Schedules
Manual to reflect the approval of new schedules and changes in
existing schedules;
5. distributing the revised pages to campus and Office of the
President Records Management Coordinators and other Records
Management Committee members; and
6. preparing periodic reports to top management on the accomplishments
of the University's records disposition program, or other areas
of the Records Management Program. (See Business and Finance
Bulletin RMP-1, Section VII)
D. Functional Subcommittees of the Records Management Committee
Each functional subcommittee is responsible for:
1. reviewing proposed disposition schedules and presenting its
recommendations to the full Records Management Committee for
action;
2. presenting to the full Committee recommended disposition schedules
for records in its functional area when it finds schedules have
not been established for such records or when it determines that
existing schedules need to be changed; and
3. signing RM-2 forms presented to it in the section entitled
"Review of Subcommittee or Campus Records Coordinator" and
returning these forms to the Chair of the Records Management
Committee.
E. Ex-Officio Committee Members
All ex-officio Committee members are responsible for:
-reviewing proposed disposition schedules for agreement with legal,
historical, audit, and administrative electronic data requirements,
according to their areas of specialization.
VI. ARCHIVAL REVIEW
To assure that records of historical value are not destroyed, each
"Request for Establishment of Record Disposition Schedule" (form RM-2)
is reviewed by the appropriate University Archivist on each campus
before it is submitted to the Records Management Committee. In June 1964
the University Librarians of several campuses were given
responsibility for the preservation of administrative documents which
deal with the history of the University of California. It was decided
that there should be a University Archives in the general library on
each campus, the one on the Berkeley campus to have custody of the
historical records of The Regents and Office of the President as well as
those of the Berkeley campus. A library staff member is appointed by the
University Librarian of each campus to serve as campus University
Archivist.
The Archives program should not be confused with the Vital Records
Program (see Business and Finance Bulletin RMP-4). Vital records are
current records which require special protection, and they may or may
not have historical value. If they are of historical importance, they
should be transferred to Archives when their current use expires.
Neither should Archives be confused with records storage; it is not the
function of Archives to store and service inactive (as distinguished
from historical) records for departments or offices without room for
them.
The following terminology regarding retention periods was accepted in
1971:
-"Permanent, transfer to Archives after xx years" means that the
Archivist has no option but to keep the records permanently after they
are transferred to his/her custody. According to archival practice,
these records will be preserved in their original order if the order is
evidence of administrative practice. The office of origin may specify
limitations of access to these records if absolutely necessary. The
records remain the property of the University; they are official
records, not general library materials, and decisions concerning their
disposition may not be made solely by library officials.
-"If xx years, then to Archives" means that the Archivist has the option
of keeping the records, or of keeping only parts of the file. At the
scheduled time, the records are sent automatically to the Archives where
decisions on permanent retention are made.
-"years, subject to Archival review" also means the Archivist has the
option of keeping or not keeping the records, or of keeping only parts
of the file. However, in this case the Archivist should be consulted by
the office of origin or office of record and a decision made before
bulky records are transferred.
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