On the Record - March 15, 2021

March 15, 2021

Last fall, we announced the newest edition of the University of Texas at Austin Records Retention Schedule (UTRRS). The eighth recertification of the UTRRS, published as UTRRS 8.0, was adopted as university policy effective September 16, 2020.

This spring, we’re rolling out resources to help you make sense of all the changes.

Introducing UTRRS 8.0 Webinar

RIMS will offer two sessions of an introductory webinar for the UTRRS 8.0 later this month. Each session will contain the same information, with about 30-45 minutes for questions.

Login to UT Learn to sign up for one of the sessions:

  • Tuesday, March 30, 2-3 p.m.
  • Wednesday, March 31, 11 a.m. – Noon

Please reach out if you are unable to attend either of these sessions. If there is enough interest, we may schedule an additional session.

Recertification Change Notes

Since we announced the UTRRS 8.0, RIMS has been working to document the changes in detail to help you update your records inventories and records management plans. This week, we released the change notes as two separate PDFs as well as a combined workbook that has the same information on two tabs. All files are stored in UT Box and accessible via the UTRRS Resources page, but direct links are below:

Is it a Record?

RIMS has released a new resource to help you determine if what you have is a record. Designed similar to a decision tree, your answers to questions about how the item was created or is used will help you determine if the document, file, email, or item is a university record or not.

View or download the Is it a Record? (PDF).

Department records management contacts (DRMCs) will be able to print this out and share with others in their department.

Virtual Records Management Training

Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) has scheduled sessions in UT Learn for records management training through the fiscal year. The IG101 class canceled on Feb. 23 has been rescheduled to March 23 from 10 a.m. to Noon.

We offer two courses: 1) IG 101: Records and Information Management for Department Record Managers, a 2-hour class with hands-on experience for DRMCs and 2) IG 103: Records and Information Management: What Everyone Needs to Know about University Records, a 1-hour class for everyone else at the university. Visit our website to learn more about the learn more about the records and information management training courses, or visit UT Learn to find and register for one of the available sessions.

Consultations & Disposition

Here’s a friendly reminder to take some time this spring to review the updated UTRRS in preparation for summer or fall disposition projects. This summer or fall, spend time reviewing your paper or electronic files to sort, classify, and identify which records are eligible for disposition. If you are not able to go to campus safely, you can spend time cleaning up a shared drive or folder on UT Box or Austin Disk.

Remember, you don’t have to clean everything up at once: you can submit a request to dispose of records for each phase of your cleanup effort, and the disposition of convenience copies or transitory information does not require an authorized request to dispose.

RIMS is available to consult via Teams video or phone meetings to help you classify your files and categorize your records, and we can assist in completing a request to dispose of records. Reach out to us via email at rims@austin.utexas.edu to schedule a consultation.

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