|
Authority/Laws
In compliance with Section 149.33 of the Ohio Revised Code, Bowling Green State University, by the authority of its Board of Trustees, has established a Records Management Program
under the jurisdiction of the Center for Archival Collections for the purpose of insuring proper scheduling, storage and disposal
of university records. Records Retention for Public Colleges and Universities in Ohio: A Manual (Inter-University Council of Ohio, Nov 2000) will be used as the basis for Bowling Green State University's Records Management
Program. This program is designed to reduce the number of non-current records occupying expensive office space, provide records
center storage and access outside the office of origin, eliminate unnecessary duplication of records between offices, offer
a systematic method of records destruction and ensure that records with permanent archival value are preserved.
Rationale for Records Management
Every office and department on campus is faced with problems of storage space, as well as decisions about which records to
keep and which to discard. An ongoing Records Management Program will address these problems, provide for a more economical
and efficient means of filing and retrieving records, and protect the university against unnecessary litigation.
Economy and Efficiency
After personnel costs, record keeping is the largest expenditure of public offices. Record creation, maintenance, filing,
office storage space, filing supplies and equipment all contribute to the high cost of keeping records. Certain strategies
can greatly reduce these costs. Dispose of records as soon as legally possible. A small percentage of records are permanent,
most having a retention period of ten years or less. Store records with low reference activity in low-cost non-office storage
space.
Good records management makes records keeping easier and more productive. Having fewer files in the office filing system makes
individual records retrieval and refiling easier and more efficient.
Legal Protection
Records management reduces nuisance litigation by reducing the quantity of records that attorneys may subpoena through the
legal process of discovery. Following records retention schedules assures courts, litigants, and auditors that records are
being disposed of properly and in a routine manner, not maliciously or in a capricious way.
|
