Maricopa Community Colleges

Public Stewardship

Records Information Management

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a record? What is not?

  • A.R.S. §41-1350 states records are: All books, papers, maps, photographs or other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics… made or received… in connection with the transaction of public business… Records may include computer-based records, voicemail, text messages, email, photographs, motion pictures, video and audio recordings, charts, maps, drawings, plans, micrographics and more.
  • A.R.S. §41-1350 states: …material made or acquired solely for reference or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience or reference and stocks of publications or documents intended for sale or distribution are not included within the definition of records…
top

What are records management, information, and information management?

  • Records management is the maintenance and disposition of records (Arizona Revised Statute, A.R.S. §41-1346.D defines records management as....the creation and implementation of systematic controls for records and information activities from the point where they are created or received through final disposition or archival retention, including distribution, use, storage, retrieval, protection and preservation)
  • Information is data that has been given value through analysis, interpretation or compilation in a meaningful form
  • Information management is the infrastructure, processes and technologies used to store, generate, manipulate and transmit information to support an organization
  • Other common terms used in relation to records management:
    • Records retention is the maintenance of documents for further use (includes security for confidential information)
    • Records disposition is the destruction of records with lawful authority based on an approved retention and disposition schedule by the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records Department
      • NOTE: Destroying public records without lawful authority is a class 4 felony (A.R.S. §38-421) as are destroying records while a legal investigation is in action/pending
top

What are public records?

  • All records made or received by public officials or employees of the state in the course of their public duties are the property of the state (A.R.S. §41-1347(A))
  • Public records shall be open to inspection by any person at all times during office hours (A.R.S. §39-121)
  • All public bodies shall maintain all records... reasonably necessary or appropriate to maintain an accurate knowledge of their official activities and of any of their activities which are supported by monies from the state or any political subdivision of the state (A.R.S. §39-121.01(B))
top

Are MCCCD records considered public records?

  • MCCCD is a political subdivision of the state
    • A political subdivision is a quasi-government agency with powers and duties established in the state constitution and in state statute.
  • Most records created by the MCCCD are considered public records
    • Disclosure: To reveal, to make known, or to make available for inspection. With the exception of student education records, the majority of records that are created are subject to review.
    • Non-disclosure: The act of, or decision made, to not disclose a record. Public officials cannot arbitrarily decide what information not to disclose. Requests may be denied based upon the requirements established by state and federal law. Denying access to public records may occur if:
      • The information is statutorily confidential or privileged (FERPA, HIPAA)
      • The information falls within an individual’s right to privacy (personal address/phone, social security number)
      • It is not in the best interest of the State to release it (to do so would seriously impair performance of duties)
      • The records are sealed by Court Order
    • Questions regarding disclosure or non-disclosure should be directed to the Office of General Counsel
  • Confidential information is protected from Public Records Requests (except during a legal discovery process)
top

What types of records are there?

  • Documents are considered records if they provide value to the MCCCD
    • Administrative: Records that are needed to conduct an office’s daily business (i.e., Procedures Manuals, Retention Schedules, Memos, Reports)
    • Fiscal: Records needed to document the audit trail of monies (i.e., Budget Records and Expenditure Reports, Wage and Salary, Benefits, Business Forms-Petty Cash Vouchers, Book Vouchers, Travel Requests, Expense Claim Forms)
    • Legal: Specific legal requirements to keep records for a given period of time can be found in the Arizona Revised Statues (ARS), United States Code (USC) and Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) or any document that shows an agreement between MCCCD and another entity or that MCCCD uses to regulate itself by aligning with State/Federal laws (i.e., Contracts and Agreements, Administrative Regulations, Governing Board Policies)
    • Historical: Any document that details the conception, creation, operation, and evolution of MCCCD and its community partnerships (i.e., Governing Board Minutes, Student Records, Chancellor/President Papers, College History, Photos, Plans, Architectural Renderings)
    • Academic / Instructional: Documents that are used in the process of instruction (i.e., course syllabi, instructional materials and student work–papers, exams, projects, portfolios, art work, performance pieces, etc). Although student work is not subjet to a retention schedule or release, it must be protected as confidential information.
top

Who is responsible for managing MCCCD records?

  • All Maricopans (whether full-time, part-time, OSO, OYO, temporary or adjunct) are responsible for the documents they create in the course of daily operations
  • All faculty, staff and administrators are responsible for knowing about records management, information management and public records
  • The Office of Public Stewardship provides training and guidance on records management
top

What does custodian of record mean?

  • The party or area at a college or at the district office designated as being responsible for the maintenance and/or retention of specific records
  • The custodian of record will also oversee the review of records prior to release as well as the reproduction of records when requests for copies are made
top

Who is the custodian of record?

  • It depends on who created it, the purpose and who has jurisdiction over the final product …
    • Performing a records inventory can help determine which records a department / division / group are responsible for
    • Knowing the process each document goes through is also valuable in determining who holds the official record
top

How long do I keep my records?

  • A retention and disposition schedule approved by the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records for Arizona Community Colleges and Districts can be found online at http://www.lib.az.us
  • In the event documents in your department / division / group are not listed as part of the schedule, a new schedule can be created by working directly with the Office of Public Stewardship
top

How do I dispose of records?

  • Check to see if there is a pending or imminent litigation, audit or government investigation
    • If there is a question, do not destroy anything even if the schedule says it’s time
  • If there is no action pending:
    • Non-confidential records may be recycled or thrown away
    • Confidential records must be shredded or burned in a manner which maintans confidentiality
    • Non-record copies should be destroyed at the same time as the record
    • A Certificate of Document Destruction form should be prepared and sent to the Arizona State Library, Archive and Public Records
top

What do I do when there is a legal investigation / possibility of one?

  • Destroy nothing until the legal action, audit or investigation has been released or completed
  • You may box records and mark for destruction at a later date but they must remain available and accessible
top

How do we secure confidential records? Destroy them?

  • Confidential records should be kept in a location that provides limited access to approved individuals (those responsible for maintaining them)
  • This can be done either by securing them in a locked cabinet, locked storage area, or offsite in a storage facility that provides limited access to approved individuals
  • Confidential records must be shredded or burned in a manner which maintains confidentiality
top

Can confidential personnel information be included in adjunct faculty files?

  • Provided adequate security is provided, yes, with the following exceptions:
    • I9 forms
    • Medical information (i.e., FMLA requests)
top

Can we store our records offsite?

  • Yes, provided the vendor can adequately guarantee appropriate security for confidential records and relative ease to retrieve records in a timely manner (normal business hours)
top

Are there legal requirements to protect records from fire, smoke, or water damage?

  • There are legal requirements for MCCCD to maintain records but no specific laws stating that those records must be stored in fire-proof or water-proof containers; however, it's a good idea to make sure that they are reasonably protected
top

Who holds the official document when it passes multiple "hands?"

  • It depends on the document
  • In most cases, the creator of the document is considered the custodian of record; however, in instances where the document needs to be signed or in which the "original" is considered the official version, that document, wherever it ends up, is the record
top

Are copies considered records?

  • A copy is not a record, but may become one if the original is destroyed but the copy is not
top

If a paper document is scanned can the electronic file serve as the official record? Can the paper document be destroyed?

  • It depends on the document, what function is serves and how long the record needs to be preserved
  • If the document serves an historical or legal purpose, the paper document must be preserved (forever, in the case of documents with historical value)
  • If the document falls in the administrative or fiscal categories (i.e., invoices) then those may be destroyed once scanned as long as there are no statues or federal regulations stipulating otherwise
  • Areas interested in scanning documents need to fill out an Imaging Request form and ensure the vendor responsible for scanning the documents is in compliance
top

What are the standards a vendor has to meet in order to scan documents for us?

  • The electronic/digital document imaging marketplace has been subject to rapid changes in technology, and the entry and exit of vendors. It is therefore necessary to have base standards to ensure the responsible implementation of these technologies. In order to secure approval from the State Library for a document imaging system an agency/office must meet the following standards:
    • “Permanent” records, pursuant to A.R.S. §39- 101, must meet the “Standards for Permanent Records Media and Storage” developed and published by the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. Electronic/digital document imaging systems do not currently meet these standards and should not be considered for preservation of permanent historical records.
    • An approved (pursuant to A.R.S.§§41-1347 and 41-1351) retention and disposition schedule is required for the records/documents being scanned into an electronic/digital document imaging system. A reevaluation of retention requirements may be necessary when electronic/digital document imaging is being considered.
    • A practical effective migration/exit plan must be part of the system strategy for an electronic/digital document imaging system used for medium to long term records with a scheduled retention of 5 years or more. System administrators must plan to budget 5% to 10% of original system cost annually to cover the cost of upgrading and migration. Vendor software source code should be put into escrow to ensure the ability to migrate or exit from the system in the event of the vendor going out of business.
    • A records purging/destruction capability must be in place to ensure enforcement of approved records retention periods. Simply “deleting” image headers or pointers does not provide for thorough destruction of the images. Images of documents must be expunged or destroyed so as to leave no traces of them.
    • Hardware and software for the electronic/digital document imaging system must conform to nonproprietary standards and be constructed in open system architecture.
    • TIFF image format with standard nonproprietary image headers is preferred. “Open PDF” may also be considered. Under some circumstances other standard or cross-platform readable formats may be approved. Be aware that both GIF and most PDF formats, though widely used, are proprietary formats belonging to America Online, Inc. and Adobe Systems Inc. respectively. Images or headers may not be encrypted. Non-standard proprietary formats and headers must be avoided.
    • CCITT Group 3 or Group 4 shall be the standard compression for all TIFF images. Non-standard proprietary algorithms shall be avoided.
    • Thorough system documentation is necessary for:
      • Hardware and software including brand names, version numbers, dates of installation, upgrades, etc.
      • Data structure and content, including the file layout and data dictionaries
      • Image enhancement algorithms.
      • Operating procedures including scanning; data entry; revising, updating or expunging images; indexing; backups; and quality control.
    • Image resolution shall be between 200 and 400 dpi (dots per inch). Resolution below 200 dpi will not yield sufficient quality and resolution greater than 400 dpi
      is excessive for documentary materials.
    • Bimodal scans shall be used for typical documents. Grayscale scans should be avoided, because of the size of the resulting files, except where absolutely necessary for image quality.
    • Indexing must be appropriate for the records being imaged and based on realistic variables upon which the records will be requested. More advanced and specific metadata locators may be necessary for some types of records. Indexing must be accessible using standard SQL queries.
    • OCR (optical character recognition) may be used for indexing if appropriate and feasible for the types of records involved. OCR is subject to relatively high error rates and is dependent on fonts used and the quality of the print. “Full text” OCR scanning may also give a large number of false “hits” on searches for words because context is not usually considered. OCR also adds time to the scan process.
    • Labeling of image media is especially important when the images and the index are retained on separate media. Optical media used for image storage shall be labeled so as to identify the agency that produced the images, the records on the media and the system and software requirements to read the records.
    • Backup media shall be sufficiently labeled so as to identify the materials backed up. Backup media shall never be retained longer than the prescribed records retention period for the records on the backup. Backup media shall be appropriately stored with other computer system backups.
top

How long should adjunct faculty personnel files be maintained?

  • Personnel files should be maintained for five years from date of separation; contracts should be maintained for three years after completion or cancelation
  • If the information in the files is duplicative of records held elsewhere, the college may dispose of the documents as designated by the department/division (they are considered "copies")
  • If the documents are not housed elsewhere, then the college is responsible for ensuring the records are maintained for the appropriate duration set by the retention schedule
top

Are student classroom assignments/projects considered records?

  • Student classroom assignments/projects are not items subject to a retention schedule or public release—however, they are items that need proper disposal or destruction
  • Faculty may choose to:
    • Return assignments/projects to students OR
    • Retain up to one year (the length of time a student has to put in a grade grievance) and then destroy as per confidential records
top

How long past a grant end do files need to be kept? Where should they be stored?

  • It depends on the type of grant and what part
  • Some parts, like the administrative sections which concern money, budget and allocation, can be discarded after the appropriate time limit (which are usually regulated by the grant funding source)
  • Other parts, like the written plan and final project report are considered historical and will need to be kept forever
top

Who is the custodian of grant records?

  • The grant manager is the custodian of record
top

What records have already been placed on the retention schedule?

top

Who prepares new Records Retention and Disposition Schedules? Does the District have to approve it?

  • Any department/division/group may prepare a schedule in conjunction with the Office of Public Stewardship to meet the needs of their area if they have not already been defined in the retention schedule
top

Who prepares and signs the Certificate of Records Destruction form?

  • The custodian of record
top

Are there district-wide services available to help with records destruction?

  • Several colleges have contracted to outside vendors to securely destroy confidential records or recycle non-confidential records and some colleges have shredders onsite; contact your college business office for more information
top