Frequently Asked Questions

Employees at UFV create, recieve, handle, store and use records everyday to preform job related duties. A strong records and information management system will benefit employees at UFV by:

• Helping deliver services in a consistent and efficient manner
• Providing a framework for records ownership and classification
• Protect the rights of the university, its employees, and the public
• Provide continuity in the event of a disaster
• Protect records from inappropriate and unauthorized access
• Provide protection and support in litigation
• Allow quicker retrieval of information
• Support and document the memory of the instutition
• Free up office space for other purposes and avoid unnecessary storage of transitory information 
  
  

A record is information created, received, and maintained as evidence and as an asset by an organization or person, in pursuit of legal obligations or in the transaction of business. Records are subject to information management regardless of their format.

As a public institution, UFV is subject to laws regarding public records and transparency. The university has the legal responsibility to demonstrate the proper care and management of its records.

That means:

1. Keeping the record for the appropriate amount of time (the retention period)
2. Ensuring records are properly stored and accessible
3. Being able to produce copies in the event of litigation, audit, or public records request
4. Disposing of the records appropriately once the retention period has expired

A document governing the life cycle of a record or series of records. Records schedules provide a framework for length of time a record is to be retained and action for final disposition. Scheduling records also ensures the university documents which unit is responsible for the original record and follows a standardized classification system. Records that are scheduled include administrative, operational, historical, and vital records. Retention schedules ensure that records are not inadvertently destroyed.

Retention includes active storage, inactive storage, and disposition. Approved retention time periods typically apply only to the official, master record copies, not to duplicate copies.

• Photographs and audio-visual productions
• Newspaper clips, announcements, and news releases
• Appeals
• E-mails
• Maps, drawings, or plans
• Cassettes
• Unstructured electronic documents (i.e. .doc, .docx, .pdf, .msg, .JPEG, etc.)
• Some website content
• Text messages, Tweets or blogs (depending on the content)
• E-storage devices such as networks and shared drives, external drives, USB flash drives or web servers
• Reports
• Maintenance requests, building permits, or utility maintenance
• Contracts or partnership agreements
• Budgets
• Minutes
• Speeches
• Legal advice
• Policies
• Athletic facility memberships
• Alumni and donor files
• Financial documents such as accounting, purchasing, employee pension files, accounts payable and receivable
• Student files such as grades and exams, transcripts, admissions documents, awards and scholarships
• Recruitment presentations
• Human resource files, employee records
• Academic calendars
• Collective agreements

Transitory Records are records of temporary usefulness that are only needed for a limited period of time in order to complete a particular action. May include draft versions and convenience duplicate copies. It is a records context and content that determines whether it is transitory (not it's format). Transitory records can be purged when no longer needed and are not subject to records retention scheduling. Other examples of transitory records may include FYI communications or general notices regarding events. To determine if a record is transitory, consider it's business or legal value to the university.

Transitory records are not regularly filed with standard records or filing systems.

There is a strong relationship with FIPPA and records management. A solid records management system improves the university's ability to respond to FIPPA requests in a timely manner. It reduces costs to the university and the requester by making information search efficient. It also facilitates responses to requests for correction of personal information, reduces risk of a privacy breach and improves relationships with the community by supporting the public right of access and protection of personal information. Records management will also ensure compliance with section 69 of FIPPA relating to appropriate disclousure of the university's personal information holdings.

The same basic record keeping principles apply to all workspaces, regardless if you work in a traditional office, at home, a public space, or a mobile workspace. Public institutions need to create and keep complete and accurate records sufficient to document their decision-making and work activities, even while working remotely. This applies to all types of UFV records, including documents in all formats. Our Remote Working Guidelines for Records & Information Privacy‌ are aligned with provincial standards on records management and FIPPA.