VCOM Institutional Policy and Procedure Manual

VCOM Policy and P rocedure

Policy # U021

potential evidence in a lawsuit, place VCOM in contempt of court, or seriously disadvantage VCOM in litigation. 2.1. Active Record An Active Record is any r ecord that is currently in active use by an office or function of the College . 2.2. Inactive Record An Inactive Record is a r ecord that is no longer an Active Record but sti ll must be maintained pursuant to the records r etention s chedule set forth by the department/division . Inactive Records are typically maintained at an off - site storage facility o r at other locations on campus. 2.3. Archival Record An Archival Record is an Ina ctive Record that has permanent or historic value and is not required to be retained in the office in which it was originally generated. 2.4. Principles Governing Records Retention and D isposal The goal of VCOM’s Records Retention Policy is to maintain a bal ance between extremes of risk from the retention of everything to the disposal of the vital. This policy ; therefore, describes several principles to assure consistency, safety and ultimately compliance with all federal, state and local laws governing reco rdkeeping. VCOM’s record retention policies and procedures are:  Governed by the need for compliance with institutional policy as well as local, state, and federal laws.  Applied across departments regardless of the record type.  Considered for long - term h istorical value as well as the accessibility of records.  Inclusive of provisions for machine - readable records that can be accessed only with specific technology (unique computer hardware or software, etc.).  Reviewed periodically and modified as mandated b y changing legal requirements and institutional policy.  Records that identify a person are more subject to direct legal action than statistical or generic records; therefore, retention and disposal of these records require priority attention.  All Records pertaining to ongoing or pending audits or lawsuits (including reasonably anticipated lawsuits) should not be destroyed, damaged, or altered, even if the records retention date has expired, until the matter has been resolved and you have been specifically advised by the President that such r ecords may be de stroyed.  Documents to be maintained once litigation has ceased should be those normally maintained and those that legal counsel has indicated must be maintained.  Records for which there is no legally specified period for retention should be disposed of s ystematically in accordance with VCOM’s record retention and disposal program. 3. DEPARTMENT / DIVISION RECORD RETENTION P ROCEDURE S Each department is to develop a records retention policy that is appropriate to their s pecific department/division . Eac h year, department or division administrators will meet with his/her reporting areas to review their specifi c record retention policy. Any recommended change in pol icy will be In addition, VCOM recognizes that:

VCOM Records Retention Policy

Page 2 of 4