Introduction

The record retention policy was approved by the President's Council on Oct. 4, 2005. It is an administrative policy established to support NYIT's mission, reduce institutional risk and ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.

The purpose of the policy is to ensure college records and documents are adequately protected and maintained; and, that records no longer needed by the college are discarded in accordance with retention schedules and guidelines. Other benefits include optimization of storage space, reduced costs, better response to litigation, and improved customer service.

Department heads should periodically review retention schedules to ensure they reflect current requirements. Updates and changes can be sent to your record administrator for approval by the vice president of your department.

Record Retention FAQ's

Do I need to retain documents I process on a daily basis?

Yes, if they are listed on the record retention schedule for your department in this policy.

What about email correspondence?

The value of an email message is determined by its informational content and is subject to the same retention requirements as records referenced in the relevant Retention Schedules.

Does the record retention policy require that I keep draft copies of documents and records?

No, the record retention policy applies to final drafts of records and documents retained by record owners.

What about documents not included in the policy but are valuable to my department and NYIT?

Use discretion regarding documents of value to NYIT and follow up with your supervisor and record administrator to determine if these items should be included in the next update of the policy. Record administrators are assigned to departments that have determined their record retention requirements. Departments that have not submitted their record retention requirements may contact the record coordinator for information on obtaining an administrator.

Am I required to retain documents in my possession if I am not the record owner?

No, but you are responsible for making sure these documents are sent to the record owner to ensure they are handled in accordance with the record retention policy and procedures. If you do not know who the record owner is but know the appropriate department, contact the record administrator of that department for assistance.

Should I send all of my documents and records offsite?

Use discretion and review considerations pertaining to offsite storage included in this policy.

For further assistance contact your record administrator. Record administrators are assigned to departments that have determined their record retention requirements. Departments that have not submitted their record retention requirements may contact the record coordinator for information on obtaining an administrator.

Types of Records

Permanent Records (P)
Permanent records are records NYIT intends to retain indefinitely as required by law or by the college as having historical and administrative value. Permanent records stored locally for a specified period of time are called "active" records. Once the active period has expired, these records become "inactive" and may be archived on-site, if appropriate storage is available, or off-site for the remaining life of the records. Specified periods for active/inactive records may be defined by record administrators based on space available and departmental needs.

Non-Permanent (NP)
Non-permanent records are records NYIT intends to retain for a fixed period of time. Non-permanent records stored locally for a specified period of time are called "active" records. Once the active period has expired, these records become "inactive" and may be archived on-site, if appropriate storage is available, or off-site for the remaining life of the records. Specified periods for active/inactive records may be defined by record administrators based on space available and departmental needs.

Note: Expired non-permanent records stored off-site that meet the guidelines and procedures for outdated records should be destroyed off-site to avoid permanent removal fees.

Guidelines

1. Considerations for new retention requirements:
   
   • If a record needs to be retained for more than one purpose, retain record for the longest period of time required by applicable laws or regulations.
   • Consider statutes of limitations when deciding how long to retain records if there are no requirements governing those particular records. Records should be retained at least one year beyond the applicable statute of limitations. Questions should be referred to the Office of the General Counsel. In the event of potential, threatened, or ongoing litigation, the Office of General Counsel may direct that certain documents, or categories of documents, be preserved until further notice.
   • Take into account general business needs in deciding which records to keep as well as where and how long to keep them.
2. Records relevant to potential and/or ongoing litigation or government oversight activity (such as investigation, review or audit) should be retained at least until completion of the litigation or government oversight activity. Questions should be referred to the Office of the General Counsel. In the event of potential, threatened, or ongoing litigation, the Office of General Counsel may direct that certain documents, or categories of documents, be preserved until further notice.
3. If your records are stored on tape, microfilm and/or other magnetic media, make sure you have made the necessary arrangements with Information Technology Services to ensure your records are being retained as per your specifications.
4. Expired non-permanent records stored off-site should be destroyed off-site to avoid permanent removal fees.

Email Retention Policy

Email is another form of communication, equivalent to written correspondence. Proper e-mail management places considerable responsibility on the recipients and senders of messages. Senders and recipients of email are responsible for identifying those email messages and attachments which have record or documentary value and to retain those messages as part of the relevant record type. Those messages and attachments must be either printed and filed with the associated record type or maintained electronically in folders for the same retention period as the record type it is associated with.

In the event of potential, threatened, or ongoing litigation, the Office of General Counsel may direct that certain emails, or categories of emails, be preserved until further notice.

Retention Schedules

For further information, see detailed record retention schedules by business area:

Academic Offices

Office of Admissions

Office of Development

Environmental Health and Safety

Facilities

Office of Financial Affairs

Office of Financial Aid

General Counsel

Human Resources

Magnetic Media

Magnetic media is managed by Information Technology Services based on the business requirements of the user community. Cumulative information is maintained for student and financial applications; however, history and audit trails required to support internal and external reporting are not always available.

All applications listed above are backed up daily. Weekly tapes are rotated every Friday, and are stored off-site at the Off-site Data Protection Center. Drop-off of prior week's tapes are stored on-site for the remaining Duration of the application as indicated by the chart above.
 

Planning & Assessment

Office of the President

Registrar

Security

Sponsored Programs and Research

Office of Student Affairs

Storage/Archive Procedures

Storing New Records

1. To store records off-site, record owners should contact the appropriate record administrator responsible for the tracking of records in your department to obtain boxes, if needed, barcodes and transmittal sheet(s).
2. To prepare boxes for pickup, record owners should affix barcode labels to the boxes and corresponding labels to the transmittal sheet(s) and complete the required fields as per the instructions. For instructions on completing transmittal sheet(s) and proper placement of labels, view Instructions for Transmittal below.
3. To make pickup arrangements, record owners should send a copy of their completed transmittal sheet(s) to record administrators to determine pickup location. Pickup location will be determined based on the ability of the vendor to load and unload boxes from your building, including the number of boxes to be picked up.
4. Record administrators will arrange pickup from your location if the building is an approved location.

Small pickups may be arranged by record administrators through the policy coordinator to minimize number of stops and costs associated with additional stops. Pickups, including re-files, are to be scheduled the first Tuesday of each month, no exceptions. Cut-off for small pickups will be the Friday before noon prior to the monthly pickup.

NOTE: Boxes picked up directly from your location should be accompanied by your transmittal sheets and should be numbered, "Page X of Y."

Instructions for Transmittal

Required fields, except where noted:

1. Customer ID: LH342
2. Customer Name: NYIT
3. Division ID: see list below
4. Department ID: see list below
5. Customer Box Number: same as barcode number (also called SKP box number)
6. Record Code: not being used by NYIT
7. Date Range/From, Date Range/To: identifies records for a specific period of time, i.e., timeframe of files in the box (Date Format, MM-DD-YYYY)
8. Alphanumeric Range/From, Alphanumeric Range/To: i.e., Jones to Smith, 100-200
9. Create Date: not required
10. Event Date: not required
11. Destroy Date: destruction date based on Retention Schedule (note: only records that have been properly authorized by NYIT may be destroyed; see Outdated Records)
12. Hold Date: used only by the policy coordinator to support outdated record procedures
13. Major Description: content description as it appears on the inventory report (30 alphanumeric characters)
14. Minor Description: secondary description as it appears on the inventory report (30 alphanumeric characters)
15. Reference #1: miscellaneous, alphanumeric field, i.e., previous vendor barcodes
16. Preparer's Full Name, Date, Department ID, Telephone Number

Division ID

The Division ID is defined as a six-character numeric field. The division code ties to the current accounting structure, as well as in the Oracle System, and will be used for reporting purposes.

• 111011 President
• 111311 Development
• 120111 Academic Affairs
• 125011 NYITCOM
• 131011 Student Affairs
• 111221 General Counsel
• 111500 Information Technology Services
• 140111 Financial Affairs
• 111290 Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs
• 120311 Planning and Assessments

Department ID

Department ID is defined a six-character numeric field. Departments should be supported by a record administrator. To establish a new department, contact the policy coordinator.

• 142211 Accounting
• 142212 Accounts Payable
• 131121 Admissions, Long Island
• 140131 Budgets
• 142213 Bursar
• 111311 Development
• 131211 Financial Aid, Long Island
• 125123 Financial Aid, NYITCOM
• 111221 General Counsel
• 111511 Human Resources
• 140141 Insurance
• 120311 Institutional Research and Assessment
• 140151 Internal Audit
• 142217 Payroll
• 141031 Purchasing
• 131131 Registrar, Long Island
• 120119 Sponsored Programs and Research
• 131011 Student Affairs
• 121011 Academic Record – Health Professions, Behavioral and Life Sciences
• 121211 Academic Record – Architecture and Design
• 121411 Academic Record – Arts, Sciences and Communications
• 121811 Academic Record – Engineering and Technology
• 122111 Academic Record – Management
• 121611 Academic Record – Education
• 123011 Academic Record – Professional Development
• 120600 Academic Record – Global Programs

Retrieving and Re-filing Records

Retrieve Records

1. To retrieve records stored off-site, the record owner should email the request to the record administrator responsible for the tracking of records in your department. The request should minimally contain the barcode number, date needed, and delivery location. Note, rush orders are very expensive and should be avoided whenever possible.
   1. The record administrator will log in the request and initiate the transaction. Requests to Iron Mountain may be made:
   2. Via the Internet, by connecting to Iron Mountain (must have a valid user id and password)
   3. Via telephone, by calling Iron Mountain Customer Service at 800.327.8345 (must have a valid user id and password)

Re-file Records

1. To re-file records, the record owner should e-mail the request to the record administrator responsible for the tracking of records in your department. The request should minimally contain the barcode and pickup location.
2. The record administrator will log in the request and coordinate the pickup with the policy coordinator for the next scheduled trip.

Record Administrators

For storing records off-site, contact your record administrator:

Considerations for Storage of Records

• cost to store and retrieve records
• access to records
• onsite storage availability
• onsite storage conditions
• security and preservation of records

Reporting

Record administrators are authorized to run reports from the Iron Mountain website Report Center.

Common reports include:

1. Activity
   • Retrieval History (pdf)
2. Retention
   • Destruction Eligibility List (pdf)
3. Inventory
   • Carton Inventory (xls)
4. Financial
   • Cost and Activity (xls)

Reports are available from the Report Center in three formats depending on the report (XML, CSV and PDF). CSV format allows you to import data into databases and spreadsheets.

Reports can take up to 24 hours to receive. You may find your reports in the Report Center once they are ready.

Outdated Records

Record administrators will notify record owners of outdated records stored off-site. Upon notification, record owners must determine whether outdated records should be destroyed or retained for a longer period of time. Outdated records, whether on-site or off-site, require proper authorization to destroy.

Outdated records that meet the guidelines of this policy may be destroyed based on established record retention schedules or retained for an additional period of time, if required under the guidelines.

On-site Records

1. Requests for the destruction of outdated records may be directed to the appropriate vice president, general counsel or president responsible for those records as defined by this policy.
2. Approved requests may be processed through the Oracle System and entered by the approving office to ensure approved vendors are used and proper authorization is obtained.

Off-site Records

1. Record administrators are responsible for notifying record owners of outdated records and providing them with a Destruction Eligibility List. View a Sample Destruction Eligibility List.
2. Record owners are responsible for reviewing the Destruction Eligibility List and completing an Outdated Record Form, as well as obtaining proper authorization from the appropriate vice president, general counsel or president responsible for those records as defined by this policy.
3. Completed outdated record forms should be sent to the record administrator who will forward all original documentation to the policy coordinator for processing.

Off-Site Archives

Magnetic Media

Iron Mountain Off-site Data-Protection
1165 Northern Boulevard
Manhasset, NY 11030

Hard Copies

Iron Mountain Branch/District Office
34 Harbor Park Drive
Port Washington, NY 11050

Roles and Responsibilities

For questions, comments or updates, please contact the Office of Internal Audit.

Policy Coordinator

Office of Internal Audit
Director of Internal Audit
Harry Shure Hall, Room 115
Northern Boulevard
Old Westbury, NY 11568-8000
Tel: 516.686.7915
Fax: 516.686.7919

Policy Coordinator:

• Perform vendor account maintenance, including access rights, new division and department codes, and shipping addresses
• Maintain the record retention policy and procedures in coordination with record administrators
• Periodically review compliance with the policy for the management of offsite storage

Record Administrators:

• Solicit and collect new requirements from faculty and staff annually
• Track activity to/from the off-site storage facility
• Reconcile activity to vendor reports
• Resolve discrepancies and notify Accounts Payable of expected credits
• Manage the budget process
• Manage the outdated record process

Record Owners:

• Pack and label boxes and complete transmittal forms as required
• Determine need to retain outdated records and obtain proper authorization to hold or destroy accordingly
• Determine annual record retention needs to assist record administrators with the budgeting process

Facilities:

• Facilitate pickups on campus and by Iron Mountain

All employees should review the Employee Handbook for guidelines pertaining to Confidentiality. In addition, record administrators and facilities personnel may be asked to sign an Employee Confidentiality Statement if they will have physical access to college records.