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RECORDS RETENTION MANUAL GLOSSARY ACTIVE RECORD - A record that is regularly referenced or required for current use. CONFIDENTIAL RECORD - A record where disclosure of information is limited or prohibited. (Refer to Exhibit B, Confidentiality and the Exception to the Public Records Act.) DISPOSITION - The final action recommended for a record series on the retention schedule, (eg., destroy, archives.) DUPLICATE - A facsimile or replica "produced by the same impression as the original or from the same matrix as the original by means of photography, including enlargements and miniatures, or by mechanical or electronic re-recording, chemical reproduction, or other equivalent techniques, which accurately reproduces the original." (Uniform Rules of Evidence) HISTORICAL RECORD - A record that provides evidence for a fact of history; showing the development or evolution in proper chronological order. INACTIVE RECORD - Records still needed by an organization, but not for current operations. INDEFINITE - A term used in records retention schedules to indicate the retention period for certain records that cannot be determined in advance and these records must be reviewed periodically to determine whether they can be destroyed. LITIGATION- A proceeding in a court of law to enforce a right. Same as a lawsuit. OFFICE OF RECORD - The department or office responsible for maintaining the official records for the total retention period. ORIGINAL - The "writing or recording itself or any counterpart intended to have the same effect by a person executing or issuing it. If data are stored in a computer or similar device, anyprintout or other output readable by sight, shown to reflect the data accurately is an original." (Uniform Rules of Evidence.) PERMANENT - The continued preservation of information or other matter forever, without any limit in time. A term sometimes used in laws to mean durable rather than forever. RECORD - The preservation of information on any media that can be retrieved at a later time. "Letters, words, sounds, or numbers, or their equivalent, set down by handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, magnetic impulse, mechanical electronic recording, or other form of data compilation," including still photographs, x-rays, x-ray films, video tapes, and motion pictures." (Uniform Rules of Evidence) RECORD SERIES - A group of similar or related records, used or filed as a unit. RECORDS DESTRUCTION - The process of totally obliterating information on records by any method to make the information unreadable or unusable under any circumstances. RECORDS RETENTION PERIOD - The period of time during which records must be maintained by the University because they are needed for operational, legal, fiscal, historical or other purposes. Records should be destroyed after the termination of the retention period. RECORDS RETENTION PROGRAM- Policies and procedures that determine the period of time for retaining records and controls the ultimate disposition of records at the appropriate time. RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULE - A document prepared as part of a records retention program that lists the period of time for retaining records. SUBJECT FILE - Sometimes known as the central file, general file or general correspondence file; consists of letters, memos, enclosures, reports and miscellaneous materials arranged by subject. VITAL RECORD - Records that contain information needed to establish or continue the University in the event of a disaster; those necessary to recreate the University's legal and financial position, those necessary to preserve the rights of the University, its employees and students. |