Disposition Of Records

Part of any effective records management program is the timely disposition of obsolete records and the documentation thereof.  The General Records Retention Schedule and unit-specific retention schedules commonly use four disposition options, as described below.  

Destroy:  Records can be destroyed when that disposition is indicated (a) once the retention period has passed and (b) if there is not an ongoing legal hold or discovery request from General Counsel affecting the records.  According to BGSU’s Data Use and Protection Policy (Policy 3341-6-18) and the accompanying Data Access Summary any record not designated as “public” must be confidentially destroyed.  In the case of paper records, this is most commonly done by shredding and BGSU has contracted with a shredding vendor for this purpose.  Contact the University Archivist for more information about these shredding services.  Records that are designated as “public” may be destroyed simply by being put into recycling or trash bins.  When in doubt as to whether a record is “public” or not, place it in a shred bin.

Whenever records are shredded/purged/destroyed, a Certificate of Records Disposal (CRD) should be filled out by the individual overseeing the records disposal.  Completed CRDs should be kept in the office of origin for 10 years.  A copy of the CRD should also be sent (in paper or by e-mail) to the University Archivist.  Due to the low informational value, high volume, and frequency of disposal, a CRD does not need to be completed for the routine disposal of records identified as transient or superseded in the retention schedules.

Permanent [Indefinite]: Records series that have a demonstrated legal or administrative need to a particular unit on campus to be maintained permanently within that unit or department.

Archival Review: This disposition option is for record series that have selective content that may be of value to the University Archives in documenting Bowling Green State University’s history.  Record series with this designation should be submitted to, or discussed with, the University Archives prior to destruction.  Note that not all materials marked for Archival Review will be kept permanently.  Based on the professional assessment of the reviewing archivist, materials with limited or no long-term administrative or historical value will be destroyed.

University Archives / “archive”: Records series that are known to have significant value in documenting BGSU’s history must be transferred to the University Archives. If the unit has determined that records should be transferred to the Archives, please follow the transfer instructions on the University Archives website.  Please contact the University Archivist before the actual physical move of any records to the University Archives.