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Find information about records management at Ohio State Newark:
Records Management
Overview
The Ohio State University recognizes the need to
effectively manage its dynamic, complex
decentralized organization, while at the same
time preserving its history. Therefore,
Ohio State seeks to manage the retention and
disposition of its records in order to:
1.
document
our management decisions
2.
provides
historical references of transactions and events
3.
demonstrate regulatory compliance, especially
with Ohio Revised Code and federal laws
4.
enhance
our organization’s operational efficiencies
5.
provide
litigation support
6.
preserve
the university’s institutional memory
WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT
OUR RETAINING AND MANAGING OUR RECORDS? Because
they are our organization’s institutional memory
that…
-
Document our management decisions…
-
Provide historical references of transactions and events…
-
Enhance our organization’s operational efficiencies…
-
Demonstrate regulatory compliance…
-
Provide litigation support…
What is a Record? A
record is a document, data, or set of data that
is created or received in the course of an
organization's business.
-
has Content,
that is the
text, data,
metadata,
symbols,
numerals,
images, and/or
sounds that make
up the substance
of the record
-
has Structure,
that is the
physicality and
internal
organization of
the Content.
-
has Fixity,
that is the
quality of the
Content being
stable and
resisting
change.
- has Context, that is the organizational, functional, and operational circumstances surrounding a record’s creation, receipt, storage, or use, and
-
is maintained
as Evidence of
an
organization’s
activity(s). Click
here for
more
Information.
Transient Records:
click here for a description of Transient or
Transitory Records.
Non-Records: click
here for a description of Non-Records.
If
one needs advice as to whether the document is
transient, non-record or not, please contact OSU
Legal Affairs...
7 Elements of an
Effective Records Management Program: click
here for more information.
Records Lifecycle:
click here for information about the lifecycle
of a record.
Beware of the Pac-Man® Effect
A
significant amount of documents that we handle
on a daily basis have a very short retention
span (Transient/Transitory) or no retention
requirements (Non-records) at all. When we
routinely and appropriately dispose of these
records, we can more effectively expend our
energies on managing those records of
intermediate, long term, and indefinite
retention that require our attention. As
demonstrated in the illustration below, if we do
not perform these routine disposals of records
with extremely short retention periods, we run
the risk of generating such large volumes of
these documents, that we will overwhelm our
ability to effectively manage our records of
consequence.
In handling of these
documents one needs to consider how they handle
their "snail mail" at work and home:
-
Review the documents content; this may mean thoroughly reading the document, but more often than not one is able to judge just by the look of the document or a subject line: If it is a non-record, then toss it into the garbage or recycle bin (analog or digital) immediately;
-
If it is a transient/transitory record, then place it in a file or sub-file (analog or digital) that is designated for periodic review and dispose of as soon as allowable.
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Records Management |
