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Sec. 1 Purpose
To provide a framework for the systematic management of University of Texas System Administration (“System”) records in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
Sec. 2 Principles
System is committed to conducting business with transparency and accountability. System activities, transactions, and decisions must be documented appropriately. Records must be retained for an appropriate length of time and maintained in a manner that ensures timely, efficient, and accurate retrieval of needed information.
Sec. 3 Scope & Audience
This policy applies to all System employees and contractors who create, manage, or maintain state records.
Sec. 4 Responsibilities & Procedures
4.1 Records Creation and Disposition.
a) Master records may be created or retained in paper or electronic formats. Convenience copies of master records should be destroyed when no longer needed and never retained longer than the master record.
b) A master record may only be destroyed when:
i. there is a record series certified for the record type in the University of Texas System Administration records retention schedule (UTSRRS);
ii. the record has met all retention requirements;
iii. a records disposition request form has been approved by the department head or delegee and the Records Management Officer; and
iv. any audit, lawsuit, Texas Public Information Act request, negotiation, claim, or other action involving the record has been resolved.
4.2 Departmental/Unit Level Responsibilities.
In cooperation with the Records Management Officer (RMO), each department head or delegee must:
a) Approve the final disposition of master records.
b) Designate a departmental records management coordinator (RMC) to complete records management training, serve as a liaison to the RMO, and disseminate records management news and information to other departmental staff.
c) Maintain a departmental inventory or file plan of records series created, received, and managed within the department. The inventory should include System records that are managed by a private contractor for the department, if applicable.
d) Oversee the development of a departmental records management plan (DRMP) that identifies the individuals responsible for records management functions within the department, outlines the department’s inventory or file plan, and includes procedures for storage and final disposition.
e) Ensure the timely disposition of eligible records in accordance with the UTSRRS, System records disposition procedures, and the departmental records management plan.
f) Ensure that records of departing employees are appropriately captured in official recordkeeping systems.
g) Assure that contracts with a private contractor that will create, manage, or maintain state records, expressly provide that the contractor will comply with applicable state laws and System policies relating to the management, access, retention, and destruction of state records.
4.3 Individual Employee Responsibilities.
Every System employee must:
a) Comply with the departmental records management plan.
b) Comply with the UTSRRS.
c) Complete required records management training on a periodic basis.
Definitions
Archival Transfer - The transfer of master records with enduring value, as indicated on the UTSRRS, to the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
Convenience Copy - A copy of a master record created for convenience, reference, or research. Convenience copies may be in any medium.
Departmental Records Management Plan (DRMP) - A department’s written plan identifying the types of records it maintains for operation, the ownership or responsibility for those records, and their retention and disposition requirements.
Final Disposition - Destruction or archival transfer of a master record.
Master Record - An authoritative System record that is retained in accordance with UTSRRS requirements. When the same record serves different business purposes in two or more departments, each department must manage the record as a master record. If a master record is captured as an image, the image may be retained as the master and the hard copy original becomes a convenience copy.
Records Management - The application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and destruction of state records. The term includes the development of retention schedules, the management of filing and information retrieval systems in any medium, and the adequate protection of records that are confidential, vital, or archival.
Records Management Coordinator (RMC) - A System employee designated by the department head or delegee to coordinate records management activities for the department.
Records Management Officer (RMO) - A System employee appointed by the Chancellor to administer the System Administration Records Management Program established under Texas Government Code, Section 441.183.
System Record - Recorded information, in any medium, that is created or received by or on behalf of System in the conduct of official business. Also referred to as state records, official records, and master records.
University of Texas System Administration Records Retention Schedule (UTSRRS) - A document listing all records of the agency and providing retention periods and other information necessary for the operation of an effective records management program.
