W. Frank Steely Library

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Destroying Records

Whenever records are destroyed, a form must be filled out and filed with the state and with Records Management. This is the only record we have to prove that documents were legally destroyed as required by law.

NOTE:According to the retention schedule copies of many records are to be sent to the Archives. Due to space constraints, the material the Archives can accept is severely limited. Please contact Special Collections and Archives at x6158 before sending any material for storage.

Procedures for Destroying University Records

  1. Before destroying any records, authorization should be established by checking the Records Retention Schedule for "print" documents or the Electronic Records Retention Schedule for "born digital" documents. You will need the "record series number" and "length of retention". If the records don't seem to appear on either schedule, please contact Records Management for help.
  2. Complete the form, available in PDF format. Instructions for completing the form are listed below.
  3. Print out two copies of the completed form, one for Records Management and one for your own records.
  4. Send one copy to:
    Records Management, SL106
  5. Please include your name and phone number on a note, and Records Management will call to tell you when the records are cleared for destruction.
  6. After receiving notification from Records Management, proceed to destroy the records.

If you have any questions regarding the form or its use, please contact Records Management.

Litigation Holds

A litigation hold is a temporary order to halt destruction of specific records, regardless of retention period. This halt is issued by the Office of the Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel in order to preserve records needed for pending litigation.

Legal Affairs will send electronic notices to all department heads on campus informing them of the nature of the records to be held. When these records are no longer needed for litigation, the Office of Legal Affairs will remove the hold and notify department heads electronically.

Once a litigation hold has been issued, the affected records cannot be destroyed for any reason until the hold is removed by Legal Affairs.

Unlisted Records

Records which are not expressly listed on either retention schedule cannot be destroyed without consent. A department wishing to destroy such records must receive permission from KDLA to do so. The department must complete a Record Description and Analysis form which describes the nature of the records. This form is sent to KDLA, who determines the appropriate retention time for the records. The form and instructions are available from Records Management.

Instructions for Completing the Destruction Certificate Form

The form requires you to list the amount of records being destroyed in terms of volume with measurements in cubic feet. To easily calculate cubic feet, use our volume equivalents chart. In the case of electronic records, volume is measured by MB of computer space.

Fill in the data on the Records Destruction Certificate moving from Number 1 through Number 10, as follows:

  1. Date: Enter the month, day, year the Certificate is prepared.
  2. Division: Academic, Administrative, Student Affairs, etc...
  3. Branch/Unit: The name of your office. i.e. History Dept., Bursar, etc....
  4. Destruction Date: Indicate the date you'd like to dispose of the records.
  5. Destruction Method: Using the pull-down menu, indicate the method to be used to dispose of the records, i.e., landfill, trash, recycle, shred, etc.
  6. Series No.: Enter the series number from the Records Retention Schedule for the record(s) you are destroying. Note: More than one series can be recorded on the same Destruction Certificate.
  7. Title Records: Enter the title of the record(s) exactly as shown in the Records Retention Schedule. If you refer to it by another name, include that title also.
  8. Date Span: Give the inclusive (oldest and most recent) dates of the records to be destroyed. Make sure the most recent date corresponds to the minimum retention listed for that record series.
  9. Cubic Feet: Indicate the cubic feet of each series of records destroyed. The formula is width x length x height. All measurement must be in the same unit. Example: A stack of papers 8.5” x 11” x 10”(deep) = 935” divided by 1728” (inches in a cubic foot) = 0.54cubic feet. An approximated amount is fine. If you are destroying electronic records, indicate the file size in K, MB, etc.
  10. Total Volume (C.F.) of Records Destroyed: Enter the total cubic feet of records destroyed. In the case of electronic records, this is the total volume of data to be deleted.

STOP HERE

Approvals and Certifications: The University's Records Officer signs and dates the form, certifying destruction of the records. Leave this line blank, Records Management will fill this in.

Contact Records Management if you have any questions.

updated: Tuesday, 07-Nov-2006 10:24:02 EST

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