Guidelines on Disposal and Destruction of University Records

• WSU Records Management and Retention Policy No. 2501 revised 7/1999 (http://www.wright.edu/wrightway/2501.html).
• Disposal/destruction of records must occur in a timely manner (i.e., once a year or more often depending on the needs of each office) and be approved by the University Records Manager and the Head, Special Collections and Archives (Certificate Of Records Disposal -CRD).
• University Records are disposed of or destroyed according to individual office retention schedules during the normal course of business unless there is pending legal action or audit.
• For records that should be routinely disposed off, a blanket certificate of disposal can be issued.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

• Disposal/disposition denotes/includes the purging of records without physically destroying them.
• Destruction denotes the irreversible process that results in complete obliteration of records.  Destroyed records--paper, film, or electronic-- cannot be reconstructed.
• Record media types: Paper, microfilm, computer files (including electronic mail).
• Records eligible for confidential destruction: confidential and restricted (minimal degree of access rights).  Examples of confidential records include student academic records, personnel records and, in general, any records with Social Security numbers, names, and personal identifiers.  Records eligible for destruction are marked with C or R in the individual retention schedule forms (RRS).
• Destruction methods: Shredding, maceration (pulverization), pulping.

NOTES ON DESTRUCTION PROCEDURES

• University offices are responsible for the timely destruction/disposal of their records, in particular those that are confidential, regardless of media type.
• When transferring original information from paper to another medium such as CDs or microfilm, the university office should make/attach a note on the CRD form explaining the standard procedure followed to ensure the integrity of the information (quality check) and the legality of the chosen medium, before destroying the original records. The same recommendation applies to erasure/deletion of electronic records within a records series included in the individual office records retention schedule.
• Records with potential historical value are marked with H in the individual records retention schedules.  For appraisal of records with potential historical value not included in those schedules, university offices should contact the department of Special Collections and Archives, before destroying the records in question.
• Before deciding on a destruction method, it is recommended that the offices contact the University Records Manager, Chris Wydman
• For information on recycling options, the offices are strongly encouraged to contact Physical Plant
• When using an outside destruction services provider, university offices should require a certificate of destruction from the company and attach it to the Certificate of Disposal (CRD) form.
• Small-size shredders are not recommended for destruction of large amounts of paper.  When purchasing an office-size shredder, it is recommended that offices buy a cross-cut model.