Records Retention Schedules establish official retention periods allowing for the legal and orderly disposition of records. No University record may be destroyed, microfilmed, or transferred to the Archives & Records Center without an officially approved retention period.

General Records Retention Schedule

The General Records Retention Schedule provides a single master retention schedule that serves as both a guide and authority for the retention and disposition of records common to many University offices and departments.

Departmental/Office Records Retention Schedule

The Departmental/Office Records Retention Schedule serves as both a guide and authority for the retention and disposition of records unique to a University office or department. Office records not included on the General Schedule should be listed and approved on individual office Retention Schedules, prepared by the office Records Coordinator and the Archives & Records Center.

The Records Management Program at Western Washington University is based on the legal requirements of RCW 40.14, the state statute governing the preservation and disposition of public records; RCW 42.56 public disclosure legislation; and RCW 40.10, which provides for protection of essential records to provide continuity of civil government. Each university office and department has primary responsibility for the proper and legal management of the records in its custody.

Records Manager

The Records Manager is responsible for coordination and implementation of the University Records Management Program and Archives & Records Center services.

The Records Manager provides procedural orientation to administrative and academic units and assists Records Coordinators in all phases of records inventory, scheduling and yearly updating of office records schedules. In consultation with office Records Coordinators and appropriate University and government officials, the Analyst makes recommendations for records retention, based on administrative need and the satisfaction of legal, fiscal, and historical needs of the University and the state.

The Records Manager also represents the university before the State Records Committee, which approves all records retention schedules for state government. In these various roles, the Records Manager functions as the university's Records Officer as mandated in RCW 40.14.040.

Records Coordinator

The department head designates one staff member as the office "Records Coordinator." It is important that the person be chosen for his/her understanding of the function of the office and familiarity with the files and records.

The office Records Coordinator is responsible for the physical inventory of all office records holdings; analysis and evaluation to identify series titles and functions; and assessment of administrative need for office retention, Records Center retention, and total retention of office records holdings. The Records Coordinator acts as a liaison with the Records Manager to effect all phases of the program including annual updating, retrieval and disposition.

The Schedule form is prepared by the Archives & Records Center from the inventory and analysis of the office's records completed by the Records Coordinator.

Click for a quick download of the Records Inventory Form in MS Word format.

Following departmental approval of the Schedule, the Schedule is reviewed and approved by the University Records Officer, and forwarded to the State Division of Archives and Records Management for review and approval by the State Records Committee. Following committee approval, one copy of the Schedule will be returned to the office of record and one copy will be retained by the Archives & Records Center.

Upon receipt of the "APPROVED" Records Retention Schedule, the Records Coordinator implements the Schedule's guidelines. This may include:

• Immediate recycling of non-confidential records which have fulfilled their approved legal retention period.
• Transfer of confidential records to the Archives & Records Center for shredding.
• Transfer of inactive records (which have not fulfilled their legal retention period) to the Archives & Records Center, according to Schedule guidelines.
• Transfer of archival records to the Archives & Records Center.

The Schedule form is prepared by the Archives & Records Center after the completion of an inventory and analysis of the office's records by the Records Coordinator. After the department has approved the Schedule and returned it to the Records Center, the Schedule is reviewed and approved by the University Records Officer and forwarded to the State Records Committee for review and approval. A typical departmental retention schedule follows; this one is for the University Archives & Records Center.

An office records Schedule is developed in a three-stage process:

1. Inventory your office records. Instructions for filling out the form are found on the reverse side of the form.
2. Analyze the records and identify functional records series. The office Records Retention Schedule consists of one or more records series; each records series identifies a particular kind of records(s) maintained by the office and describes the function the record performs in the office.
   
   Records must be arranged by function before they can be scheduled. It is only by isolating office records holdings at the functional records series level that it is possible to ascertain appropriate retention periods.
   
   An analysis of the records holdings may show that they need to be rearranged by function before they can be scheduled. Please see Chapter 1-University Files Systems for information on establishing a functional files classification system.
3. Contact the Archives & Records Center for review of the inventory. The Archives & Records Center will prepare the Records Retention Schedule form from the inventory and send it to the Records Coordinator for departmental approval.

• Agency, Office, In-House ID: Identification numbers. (Those will be completed by the Archives & Records Center.)
• Agency Title: Western Washington University.
• Office of Record: The name of the office for which the Records Retention Schedule is prepared.
• Records Coordinator: The typed name of the person having responsibility for the records of the office.
• Signature: The signature of the Records Coordinator in black ink.
• Phone: The office's telephone number. (This should be a number that can be dialed from off-campus.)
• Date of Submittal: The date the Records Retention Schedule is prepared.
• No.: The number of each records series in consecutive order starting with the number 1.
• Records Series Title & Statement of Function/Purpose: A brief, concise and descriptive title of the records series followed by the purpose for which the record series is used in the office. A records series is a group of related records that may be filed as a unit, used as a unit, and transferred and disposed of as a unit. A records series may consist of copies of a single form or may be comprised of various types of documents.
  
  An asterisk following the records series title denotes the office of record has institutional responsibility for all or the most important documents included in the series. This identifies the primary or official University copy.
• OPR or OFM: "OPR" (Official Public Records) are the "official," or "primary" copies of records that a) are identified and required by statute, b) document legal actions or transactions, or c) fiscally or financially obligate the University as a whole. "OFM" (Office Files and Memoranda) are copies of "OPR's" and all other documentation. "OPR" records have a minimum retention of six years as mandated by the Public Records Law, unless otherwise approved by the State Records Committee.
• Location of other copies: The name of another state agency or University office having copies of the principal documents included in the records series. An asterisk (*) after the name of the other office denotes that office maintains the primary or official copy for the University.
• Cut-off: The cut-off is a point in time (or event) that signifies the end of the active, current phase and the beginning of the inactive retention period of a records series.
  
  Not all records series have the same cut-off. This is determined by the nature of the documents in the series and how they are maintained in the office; i.e., are the records financial with a fiscal year cut-off? For example, financial documents created or received in the fiscal year 1992-93 will be cut-off on June 30, 1993. On July 1, 1993, their inactive retention commences. New files are created for the fiscal year 1993-94.
  
  Cut-offs can be tailored to individual office needs. Common cut-offs at the University are "When Student Graduates" and "Academic Year."

Standard cut-offs, with authorized abbreviations, are listed below:

• Retention Periods: A period that a record is retained based on administrative need of the records-holding office and the satisfaction of legal, fiscal and historical needs of the University and state.
• Office Retention: Pertains to the storage of non-current records in the inactive files of the office following "cut-off."
• Records Center Retention: In accord with approved schedules, semi-active or inactive records are transferred to the Records Center for further inactive storage and disposition, usually, but not always, following a period of inactive storage in the office of record.
• Total Retention: The total of the office retention plus Records Center retention. The total is the minimum period of time, including all inactive storage, whether in the office or in the Records Center, that must elapse before a record is destroyed or is eligible for other disposition in accord with the approved Records Retention Schedule. Records designated as archival will be held indefinitely in the Archives & Records Center.
• Disposition Authority Number: Each records series reviewed by the State Records Committee is assigned a unique disposition authority number to show that the disposition of the documents in the series has been approved by the committee.
• Remarks: If the records are microfilmed, or are in microform copy, "Microfilm" will be listed. (NOTE: The provisions of RCW 40.14.020 require approval of all microfilm projects undertaken by state agencies by the State Archivist.)
  
  The University Records Manager, and/or the State Archivist, may designate a records series as "Archival," "Potentially Archival," or "Selected Files Potentially Archival."
• Agency Records Officer: The signature of the Records Officer indicates review and approval of each records series listed. After the Records Officer has signed the Retention Schedule, the Records Manager will forward it to the Division of Archives and Records Management for review by the State Records Committee.

Microfilming of records requires approval by the State Archivist in accord with RCW 40.14, the public records law. Those records must be listed on Records Retention Schedules. Offices considering converting records to microfilm should contact the University Archives & Records Center to list those records on Records Retention Schedules and for further information and/or assistance in preparing the SSA-61 Microfilm Request form.

The State Records Committee requires (as stated in RCW 40.14) an annual review of each committee-approved Records Retention Schedule. Notification will be sent by the Archives & Records Center to the Records Coordinator on an annual basis requesting the Coordinator to review the department's Retention Schedule. If changes have occurred, the Coordinator should indicate the changes on a copy of the Schedule and return it to the Archives & Records Center. The Archives & Records Center will forward a copy of the updated Schedule to the Records Coordinator for approval. Upon departmental approval, the Schedule will be approved by the University Records Officer (and the State Records Committee, if necessary). A copy of the approved updated Schedule will be sent to the Records Coordinator, and one copy will be retained by the Archives & Records Center.

The following may be considerations for updating the Retention Schedule:

• Records series added or new forms developed
• Record series discontinued
• Office name changed
• Office reorganized
• Automated systems implemented or revised
• Filing system revised or reorganized
• Acquired records formerly held by another office
• Considering microform application or changes