Records & Archives provides a comprehensive records management program for the University of Arizona. We assist departments in establishing efficient systems and procedures for the storage and retrieval of information, and in determining retention and disposition schedules that conform to legal, administrative, and fiscal requirements.
University Department Notice of Responsibility
Important: For information about the primary roles, responsibilities, and procedures guiding the proper handling of University Records per University policy, please review the Records & Archives Primary Roles, Responsibilities, and Procedures webpage located on our Policies tab.
Per A.R.S. § 41-151.15, all individuals who handle records of any type on behalf of the University are responsible for ensuring the records in their care are handled safely, securely, and properly. Moreover, these individuals must be cognizant that all records generated by the University (per Records & Archives definition of a record) are the property of the Arizona Board of Regents and are subject to the record retention and record destruction policies and procedures put in place by Records & Archives, the University of Arizona, and the State of Arizona.
Departments must notify Records & Archives immediately if any legal, administrative, audit, or other holds are placed on any records being stored by Records & Archives. For records being stored outside of Records & Archives to which a hold applies, e.g., in a digital records storage environment or other departmental records storage area, departments must make arrangements for those records to be held as well. Conversely, Records & Archives should be notified whenever any holds are removed from any records being stored by Records & Archives. See the Litigation Holds section of the Destruction of Records page for more information.
Life Cycle of a Record
While departments are responsible for the first part of the cycle (creation and usage), Records & Archives can assist with the latter part of the cycle (storage and disposition).
Create or receive the record.
Assign your records to their appropriate record series types so you understand their retention requirements and retention period start instructions.
This is a Unit level responsibility.
Use and maintain the record.
Follow your unit’s policies and procedures regarding the use, maintenance, and protection of records while they are considered active or prior to them being eligible for retention storage.
This is a Unit level responsibility.
Put the record in retention storage.
Place your inactive records into a secure record retention storage system that enables you to (1) locate your records while in storage, and (2) track when your records have completed their prescribed retention requirements.
Records & Archives can provide guidance and support.
Decide the record disposition.
Determine the disposition of your records once their required retention requirements have been met and act accordingly.
Your options include destroy, extend, or archive.
Records & Archives can provide guidance and support.
Contact Records & Archives for assistance with completing this step.
Units are responsible for securely maintaining the records in their care and keeping an organized account of all records management activities and decisions in a manner that is unaffected by employee turnover or unit consolidation.