Indiana University South Bend

Record Retention and Destruction

These record schedules were officially approved by the Academic Officers Committee (AOC) on January 31, 2003. This means IU administrators, faculty and staff can implement these retention schedules and be in total compliance with Indiana University legal guidelines and best practices.

The retention periods for each record series represents the MINIMUM period of time the records must be retained. After that specified time, the records can be destroyed, but they are not required to be. If there are good administrative reasons for retaining these records for a longer period, then by all means, do so. Please remember, however, that maintaining records has a price tag; costs for storing, managing, accessing and preserving records can add up quickly.

The schedules are divided into originals and copies. In most cases the original record will be stored and managed in the Office of Academic Affairs in the Administration Building, and the copies will reside in the individual department, school or administrative office. However, for some types of records, the individual office, department or school will have the original, and no copy will be available in the Office of Academic Affairs.

The prominent pattern for records with short-term retention periods is to retain the original for at least 5 years and the copies for at least 2 years. Exceptions to this general rule exist for some of the promotion and tenure records and for the graduate AI records.
A good many record series are designated as permanent, with the instruction to send the records to the Campus Archives in Schurz Library, Room 204A. However, in some instances the individual office, department or school may retain their original, permanent records – most often these are personal records of personnel and/or of financial nature. In these cases, office personnel should contact the Campus Archivist at telephone extension 4392 regarding the disposition and transfer of this material. Please see the following chart to see which records to keep and which to send onto the Campus Archives.

Finally, some record series may not be included on this schedule. In these cases, please contact the Campus Archivist, who will help create a disposition schedule for those record series.

Academic Personnel Records Disposition Schedule

Approved by the Academic Officers Committee (AOC) on January 31, 2003