Wheaton College Records and Information Management Policies and Procedures 1.0 Purpose:
The purpose of the Wheaton College Records and Information Management (RIM) Policies and Procedures document is to outline the principles and practices for effectively managing the College’s records in accordance with legal, financial, operational, and historical values of the record.
2.0 Approval and Review:
President’s Council will approve the initial Wheaton College Records and Information Management Policies and Procedures document. Once President’s Council approves the initial document, the responsibility will be delegated to the Records and Information Management Committee for any changes to the document. The policies and procedures document will be reviewed at least every two years to determine whether all aspects of the document are compliant with applicable laws and best practices. The document will be revised as necessary.
3.0 Revision History: Date Revision Number
Change Reference
Section(s) 1.0 New Records and Information
Management Policies and Procedures
Not Applicable
4.0 Scope:
4.1 These policies apply to all Wheaton College employees who create, organize, manage, use, transfer, and/or dispose of Wheaton College records.
4.2 These policies apply to all Wheaton College records, as defined below, regardless of format including paper and electronic records. Records are evaluated based on their content not their format.
5.0 Policy:
The policies of the Wheaton College RIM program ensure:
5.1 The records of Wheaton College are authentic, reliable, and useable.
5.2 The records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations and institutional policies and best practices.
5.3 The records are not destroyed when associated with an in-progress or pending investigation, legal action or proceeding, litigation, audit, or program review. 5.4 The records are created, organized, maintained, used, transferred, and
disposed of according to RIM specifications.
5.5 Wheaton College employees have opportunities to be educated and trained in current recordkeeping practices.
6.0 Definitions: 6.1 Records
6.1.1 “Information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.”1
6.1.2 Content of a record satisfies at least one of the following values: legal, financial, operational, or historical.
6.1.3 Includes information in all formats and all media types including electronic, microfilm, multimedia, and paper.
6.2 Vital Records
6.2.1 Records that contain essential information needed for the operation of the institution following a disaster.
6.3 Wheaton College records
6.3.1 All records, regardless of format that are created or received by employees of Wheaton College during the course of college business.
6.3.2 College records are the property of Wheaton College. 6.3.3 Exceptions: records that are not official college records.
6.3.3.1 Faculty records that they create or receive during non-Wheaton research or professional activities.
6.3.3.2 Staff records that they create or receive during non-Wheaton professional activities.
1 ISO 15489-1:2001(E) Information and Documentation-Records Management Part 1: General, 3.15
6.3.3.3 Personal documents created or received in the course of college business.
6.3.3.4 Personal information created for reference or research. 6.4 Records Schedule
6.4.1 A document identifying the responsibilities for, and titles, locations, retentions, and dispositions of records series. 6.5 Litigation Hold
6.5.1 “[T]he suspension of scheduled disposition or further processing of specific records that pertain to the legal action. Records that the organization believes may be relevant to the suit or investigation are placed on legal hold pending their request for discovery. Other records of the organization continue to be processed in the normal course of business. Once the legal hold has been lifted, records are evaluated, any court-ordered treatments are applied, and retention resumes its natural course2
7.0 Responsibilities
7.1 The Records Manager is responsible for remaining current with developments in RIM, and for advising on and providing assistance in the management of the college’s records through ongoing discussions concerning the creation and security of records, the creation of records schedules, and training
opportunities for Wheaton College employees.
7.2 The RIM Committee, consisting of representatives from each division of the College, the Records Manager, and the College Archivist, is responsible for advising the Records Manager on RIM decisions, determining and approving the appropriate retention and disposition of records, and promoting RIM to their specific divisions and departments.
7.3 All departments and offices are responsible for managing their college records from creation to disposition. The RIM Liaison is responsible for consulting with the appropriate records creators within their department and the RIM Committee in order to determine classification, retention and disposition of his/her department’s records.
2 “What is Electronic Discovery.” ARMA International.
7.4 All Wheaton College employees are responsible for abiding by Wheaton College’s RIM Policies and Procedures as well as managing the records that they create.
8.0 Procedures
8.1 The Records Manager, in collaboration with the RIM Committee, will work with College offices to develop records schedules according to federal and state laws and regulations and industry best practices.
8.2 College offices will appoint at least one RIM Liaison from each department, as appropriate, to be responsible for records of that office in collaboration with the RIM Committee.
8.3 Once a records schedule is established, records to be destroyed or transferred to the Wheaton College Archives must be approved by the RIM Liaison and the Records Manager. A list of records to be destroyed or transferred must be sent to both the RIM Liaison and the Records Manager for approval.
8.4 Once a records schedule is established, all records transferred to the Wheaton College Archives for historical and permanent retention will undergo the archival appraisal process and will be processed and described according to current archival standards. All college records will be open to researchers on a non-discriminatory basis in the absence of any restrictions. College records may be restricted only after consultation with the RIM Committee, or in accordance with legal restrictions, and only for a specific and reasonable period of time.
8.5 The Records Manager and RIM Committee will provide assistance, training and advice to Wheaton employees concerning efficient recordkeeping practices.
Appendex A: Departments with approved records schedules
Department Records Schedule Approval Date Reviewed Dates
Finance June 2009
Student Financial Services February 2010
Donor Relations April 2010
Office of the President August 2010 Office of the Registrar August 2010
Public Safety September 2010
Nursery School November 2010
Institutional Research December 2010
Dean of Students January 2010
Filene Center for Academic Advising and Career Services
February 2011
LIS Tech Support March 2011
SAIL April 2011
