What is Records Management?

Very briefly, Records Management is the systematic and administrative control of records throughout their life cycle to ensure efficiency and economy in their creation, use, handling, control, maintenance, and disposition.

Policies and Guidelines

The University of Wisconsin System, UW-River Falls, and the State of Wisconsin have existing policies and laws that affect the management of records. The UWRF University Archives also has best practices guidelines that can help you in managing your records.

Records Retention Schedules

ALL university employees are responsible for the management and retention of their records according to approved Records Retention Schedules. Records schedules tell offices throughout the state of Wisconsin how long to keep their records (called the retention period), and what to do with those records once that time has passed, generally either disposing of the records or transferring them.

Disposing of Records/Transferring Records

Disposing of records can include shredding, hitting the delete key, recycling. Records may also be transferred to the University Archives for long-term preservation.

Electronic Records

The value of a record is determined by its content, not by its format. Electronic Records must be managed as well as paper records. If an e-mail message or IM, for example, helps you conduct the substantive duties of your office, it too is a record and must be scheduled as if it were any other paper document.

Training Materials

The UWRF University Archives can assist your office with active records maintenance, records surveys and inventories, creating records retention schedules, confidential destruction, archival transfer, and records retrieval of documents already in the archives. We can also provide you with Training Materials and answer questions you may have about your records. For more information, contact the University Archives via e-mail or call 715-425-3567.