Policy 5.3 - Records Retention and Disposition Schedule

Date: October 18, 2022

Supersedes:
February 22, 2016, Resolution #16-27

Purpose

This policy identifies the requirements of applicable federal and New York State law for
the retention and disposition of records and sets the expectations for SUNY Schenectady County Community College (the “College” or “SUNY Schenectady”) and its employees for the retention and destruction of records pursuant to such laws.

Policy

A. Definitions:

  1. Records: All paper and electronic documents, communications, and other materials maintained by the College.
  2. Records Retention: The period of time in which records must be retained by the College. Generally, records must be retained for at least six (6) years, unless there are different retention periods in the Schedule or if such records must be retained indefinitely for administrative, legal or fiscal purposes.
  3. Schedule: SUNY Schenectady follows the Records Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records, LGS-1 (the “Schedule”), issued pursuant to Section 57.2 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law and 8 NYCRR Part 185– Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. that contains legal minimum retention periods for local government records. All Records Retention Schedules are posted by the New York State Archives from time to time under Records Management. The 2022 version of the applicable Schedule.

B. Purposes of Schedule:

The purposes of this Schedule are to:

  1. Ensure that records are retained as long as needed for administrative, legal and fiscal purposes;
  2. Ensure that state and federal record retention requirements are met;
  3. Ensure that records with enduring historical and other research value are identified and retained permanently; and
  4. Encourage and facilitate the systematic disposal of unneeded records.

C. President’s Council Roles & Responsibilities:

Each President’s Council member shall:

  1. Ensure that all Department Heads in their reporting lines fully comply with this Policy.
  2. Meet with all Department Heads semi-annually to review any updates to the Schedule.
  3. Sign off on any document destruction and retention plans and implementation schedules for all Department Heads in their reporting lines.

D. Department Head Roles & Responsibilities:

  1. On at least a semi-annual basis, Department Heads shall review updates to the Schedule.
  2. By September 1st of each year, Department Heads shall:
  1. Complete an inventory of all Departmental records.
  2. Determine which components of the Schedule apply to materials within their Department.
  3. Review Departmental records to determine which records shall be disposed of and which must be maintained for administrative, legal, fiscal or historical reasons.
  4. Develop a plan for systematic disposal and archival of records to include setting a date by which all records will be reviewed, and determining which records should be disposed of and which records will be retained until a certain date.
  5. Obtain approval of such plan from the applicable member of the President’s Council.
  6. Implement the approved plan for disposal and archival of records within their Department. This includes:
    • Completing the Records Disposition Document for all documents that will be disposed of;
    • Marking boxes of records for storage with labels including the applicable department, information regarding the contents of each box,
      and a destruction date for such contents; and
    • Maintaining a log of all boxes that are stored.
    • Provide of a copy of the document box log to the Office of Administration on an annual basis.

The Records Storage Form, sample label, and a Records Disposition Log are available from the President's Office.