As a public sector organization, the Maricopa County Community College District frequently responds to records requests in accordance with Arizona Public Records Law. In order to facilitate the process and ensure a prompt and thorough search, the MCCCD is piloting new software that will establish a centralized approach for the search, retrieval and disclosure of records to be conducted at the District level when public records requests, subpoenas, or warrants that involve electronic communications have been presented to any Maricopa location as part of litigation, grievance, investigation, or general records request. The present method either relies on each email user or college IT to search and retrieve email messages. The new software will allow for consistent searches to be objectively performed and determinations to be made as to what is/is not subject to release in accordance with applicable laws and Governing Board Policy.

How will the search and disclosure of emails work?

The Office of Public Stewardship has been identified as the custodian on behalf of each college and the district office to perform searches of email accounts and produce the records when a college or the District is responding to a public records request, subpoena, warrant, judicial or administrative order, litigation, discovery request, or when locations must produce email records as part of a grievance, investigation, or review. In addition, the Office will coordinate the search with a records officer appointed by each College President or Vice Chancellor.

What is the responsibility of employees?

First, be mindful that college/district email accounts are to be used for college/district business. While the Technology Resource Standards administrative regulation allows for limited incidental use of computer and technology resources, the creation of personal or non-business related communications with your college/district email account is strongly discouraged.

Likewise, as public sector employees, college/district email accounts should be used when conducting Maricopa business. Personal email accounts should not be used as a means or an attempt to circumvent the disclosure of public records.

Second, retain email messages according to their “value.” Not all messages are created equal. Having a set time limit to retain all messages (i.e. 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, etc.) is not the proper way to save email. Communications should be retained based upon their content; either by their administrative, legal, fiscal, or historical value. For faculty, communications with students are not considered public records, yet they have an instructional or academic value and should be retained for the time period allowed for a student to grieve a grade.

How do I retain records according to their value?

The Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records (ASLAPR) defines four categories of value, to which we have added a fifth since we are an educational institution:

1. Administrative: Records that are needed to conduct an office’s daily business (i.e., procedures manuals, retention schedules, memos, reports)
2. Fiscal: Records needed to document the audit trail of monies (i.e., budget records and expenditure reports, wage and salary, benefits)
3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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 subject to a retention schedule or release, a general rule of thumb is to either return projects to students or to retain them through the time period in which a student has to submit a grade grievance.

• First, determine the value of the record using the definitions above.
• Second, based on the value, determine how long the records must be kept.  The only category of records that should be maintained forever is “historical.”  All other records have a definite date for deletion. Retention schedules are posted online at http://www.maricopa.edu/publicstewardship/pr/schedule.php.
• Finally, file records according to their retention time frame.  Do not leave them in your inbox. You may organize files within those broad categories, but the important thing is to keep what needs to be kept (for as long as the timeframe on the applicable schedule).

Does this mean I have to create 100+ folders for each individual time frame identified on the retention schedules? Am I expected to memorize the retention schedules?

No, you can streamline things by creating 3-5 categories, i.e., one year, three year, five year, 10+ years, and permanent/historical. To keep it simple, most day-to-day operational emails will have a limited administrative value (less than one year). Documents that fall in the historical category have been posted at http://www.maricopa.edu/publicstewardship/pr/historical.php. These are the only documents that should be maintained forever, all others should be deleted at the appropriate time. It shouldn’t be too difficult to determine the time frames for the types of records that you deal with on a daily basis. Plus, you can always contact the Office of Public Stewardship for help.

Why are you asking me to do this when I’m already so busy with my day-to-day work load?

The retention of records according to value has always been a requirement for public sector organizations. With the increased use and reliance on technology, this is a reminder that regardless of format, we are still required to retain public documents according to a schedule. Arizona Public Records law has one of the broadest definitions of what constitutes a record and most of the documents produced for MCCCD (or related to MCCCD even if created on a personally-owned device) are subject to release upon request. As electronic messages and other documents memorialize our operations, the public has a right to access those records.  The proper maintenance and retention of public records is part of responsible stewardship.

Can I print the email and then delete it so I don’t have to worry about this stuff?

A printed email is still an email. If a records request is received for email records, the printed email would be subject to release. If you print the email and delete the original … it wouldn’t be readily captured as part of the District’s search of electronic messages. While it would be permissible to retain hard copies, as part of the records search, the Office of Public Stewardship would also request that the respective email user submit any hard copy email messages documents that would fall within the scope of the request.

Can I put everything in one file and let the new system handle the disposition for me?  I think all records should be kept forever (or, conversely, not kept at all).

Every email does not have the same value and the management of it should be handled as with as any other work assignment.  But no one will be monitoring your use of the archiving system so if you choose to do this it might only come to light in the event of a legal action or public records request.  However, depending on the nature of the request, you may be held accountable if it’s discovered. Destroying public records without lawful authority is a class 4 felony (ARS §38-421), as is destroying records while a legal investigation is in action or pending (this includes public records requests).

What if the email has personal information included (i.e., health information, social security number, employee ID, etc.)?

The following information will not be shared in the event of a public records request. Such information will be redacted (blacked-out) or it will not be disclosed at all:

1. Information that is statutorily confidential or privileged (FERPA, HIPAA)
2. Information that falls within an individual’s right to privacy (personal address/phone, social security number, employee/student ID, etc.)
3. Information that is not in the best interest of the MCCCD to release (to do so would seriously impair performance of duties)
4. Records that are sealed by Court Order

Can’t IT take care of this for me?

Each department , division or college should review the retention schedules for community colleges in order to determine the timelines for how long to keep.  The new archiving system will allow the MCCCD to move toward a more automated system of retention and disposition of emails, but it still requires your input.