On the Record

September 25, 2024

In This Issue

  • It’s a New Fiscal Year
  • Disposal Approved! What’s Next?
  • Updated Guidance for Shredded Paper
  • Upcoming Training

It's a New Fiscal Year... 

And that means records whose retention is based off the end of the fiscal year might be eligible for disposition. Series that have a fiscal-year end retention are indicated by the FE retention code in the UT Records Retention Schedule (UTRRS). This is a great time to clear out both physical and virtual spaces by reviewing records for disposition! 

How is the retention calculated? 

For records with an FE retention, the retention of any record created during a given fiscal year (e.g., FY2023 = 9/1/2022 – 8/31/2023) is triggered on August 31 of that year, and the retention countdown begins. The most common retention for FE series, by far, is three years (FE+3), but the range is one to five years. For a refresher on how to calculate disposition eligibility, see On the Record, October 2, 2023. 

What are some of the common record series whose retention is "triggered" by the end of the fiscal year? 

  • AALL279 Reimbursable Requests and Authorizations, FE+3 
  • AALL435 Accounts Payable Records and Information, FE+3 
  • AALL454 Credit Card Transaction Documentation, FE+3 
  • AALL455 Departmental Deposit Vouchers, FE+3 
  • BUD524 Budget Planning and Forecasting Records, FE+5 

What about convenience copies? 

Remember that you do not need a request to dispose for convenience copies. Once your unit's financial records are put into the Image Retrieval System (IRS), the copies you hold in your unit are convenience copies and may be disposed once you have verified their accuracy in the IRS. 

Disposal Approved! What’s Next?

In the disposition process, once you receive the signed Request to Dispose form and approval letter, there are still a few more steps for you to complete.

  1. For paper records, if there is confidential or controlled information in the records, you need to arrange to have the records shredded.
  2. If there is not any controlled or confidential information in the records, you may recycle them in a blue recycle bin on campus.
  3. For digital records, delete all the copies of the records from your repository(ies), and then empty the trash.
  4. Don’t forget to reach back out to RIMS to let us know when the records have been destroyed!
    • As the approval letter indicates, please destroy your records within 90 days of approval.
    • The date you put the records into the shred bin counts as the date of destruction.
    • Please include the control number from your disposal approval when you contact us with the destruction date. For example, DR24-199.
    • You can email us at rims@austin.utexas.edu with the destruction date, or you can fill out the disposition notification form on the RIMS Request to Dispose and Destruction Notification page of our DRMC SharePoint site!

Updated Guidance for Shredded Paper 

Do you do any paper shredding in your department? Shredded paper is no longer accepted by UT’s recycling vendor, but what about composting it? UT’s Resource Recovery is here to help!

If you want to learn more about accessing compost toters at your building, please reach out to RecoveryInterns@austin.utexas.edu. For more information about UT’s Zero Waste Program, visit https://facilitiesservices.utexas.edu/programs/zero-waste-program.

NOTE: If you utilize Document Solutions or another third-party vendor for your shredding, you may continue operations as usual. 

Upcoming Training

The following sessions are coming up and still have seats available. Get registered today through UTLearn.

  • IG101 Records and Information Management for Department Records Management Contacts
    • Required for all Departmental Records Management Contacts (DRMCs)
    • Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
    • Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
    • Presented virtually through UTLearn
  • IG103 Records and Information Management: What Everyone Needs to Know about University Records
    • Recommended for all UT Faculty and Staff
    • Tuesday, November 5, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
    • Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m
    • Presented virtually through UTLearn
  • IG110 Learning the Records Lifecycle: A Hands-On Workshop on Classifying and Destroying University Records
    • Our newest regularly scheduled training
    • In-person, introductory records management workshop
    • Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
    • Flawn Academic Center
    • Sign up in UTLearn

Resources

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