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Preamble

This policy outlines some basic records management procedures to be followed by the College in order to manage College records in an effective and accountable manner.

A record is defined by The Archives Act, 2004 No. 491 Administrative Records Management System 2014 as “a record of information in any form and it includes information that is written, photographed, or electronic”. Records are the “institutional memory” of the organization; they are necessary for decision making, policy development, program implementation and for almost every aspect of day-to-day office work.

An official record can be an original record, the only copy of a record retained by the College, or any copy deemed to be the official record. The official record is retained to satisfy legal, fiscal and administrative retention requirements included in this Policy. Any additional copies of official records can be disposed of when they are no longer needed, providing they contain identical information; an official record is identified; its completeness, authenticity and integrity is verified; and it is retained for the period of time required by this Policy.

The retention schedule is applicable to records that fall under the above definition regardless of format.

Certain material has no evidential, fiscal, administrative or historical value and therefore, is not subject to this policy. It can be destroyed when it is no longer needed without historical review by the Archives Board.

This includes:

• extra copies created for convenience of reference
• external Publications i.e., books, magazines, catalogues, advertising material
• blank forms, obsolete stationary/forms
• transitory records, i.e., drafts that do not document significant steps in the development of a document or are summarized or produced in other form.

Policy

Refer to ARMS 2014 manual for guidelines on Retention Periods, Disposal of Records and Listing of Records Series. See Appendix A: Listing of Records Series. www.saskarchives.com

2.24 - Records Retention and Disposal - Procedure

Refer to ARMS 2014 manual for guidelines on Retention Periods, Disposal of Records and Listing of Records Series. See Appendix A: Listing of Records Series www.saskarchives.com

• Records should be organized, retained for appropriate lengths of time and disposed of in a safe and secure manner.
• The same rules and retention periods apply to both electronic and hard copy records.
• When a department is purging files for storage, storage boxes should be clearly labeled with a description of contents and the appropriate date of disposal based on the disposal schedule. Each College department is responsible for annual disposal of its records.
• Records should be destroyed upon recommendation of a witness based on the Carlton Trail College Records Retention and Disposal Policy. It is recommended that all sensitive information be destroyed by confidential shredding services.
• If a particular record is not listed, use the retention period listed for a record that is similar in nature and kind. If you are unsure, the Executive Assistant will be responsible for contacting Saskatchewan Archives Board for direction.
• All records must be removed from College owned or leased equipment before it is transferred outside of the College or disposed of by any other means.

The Appendix A retention schedule is copied from the ARMS 2014 manual (Records Retention, Classification and Disposal Schedule 491).

2.24 - ARMS 2014 Records Retention, Classification and Disposal Schedule 491)