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What is a record?
ORC 149.011 (G) "Records" includes any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, created or
received by, or coming under the jurisdiction of, any public office of the state or its political subdivisions, which serves
to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office.
What is a public record?
ORC 149.43 (A) "Public record" means any record as defined in ORC 149.011 (G) that is kept by any public office with certain exceptions, such as medical records, trial preparation records, confidential
law enforcement investigatory records, intellectual property records, donor profile records, and records the release of which
are prohibited by state or federal law.
What is a public office?
ORC 149.011 (A) "Public office" includes any state agency, public institution, political subdivision, or any other organized body, office,
agency, institution, or entity established by the laws of this state for the exercise of any function of government. If you
work for any level of Ohio government, you are a public official.
What is BGSU's Public Records Policy?
BGSU's Public Records Policy can be found online.
How do I know what to keep and what to throw away?
Records can not be disposed of except as provided for by law under the guidance of the University Records Management Program.
Each office/department must have an approved Retention Schedule before records are destroyed.
What is a Records Retention Schedule?
A Records Retention Schedule is a form listing the records in an office and how long they must be kept based on requirements
of state and federal laws, audit procedures, and historical value. The Inter-University Council of Ohio's Records Retention
Manul gives guidelines for retention periods. Retention periods range from immediate destruction to permanent retention. The
University Archives will help offices identify the records being created and determine how long they should be kept.
How does an office dispose of records no longer needed?
Once an approved Retention Schedule is in place, records which have met the retention period must be listed on a Certificate of Records Disposal, signed by the office administrator and sent to the University Archives. The Retention Schedule and the Certificate of Records
Disposal are the two documents providing the paper trail necessary to demonstrate compliance with Ohio Law. Confidential records
must be secured in the destruction phase.
What is an electronic record?
Electronic records are informational files or data files that are created and stored in digitized form through the use of
computers and applications software. Electronic records are always machine dependent formats; thus electronic records are
accessible and readable only with the assistance of digital processors.
Electronic records information may be stored on a variety of magnetic and optical storage devices. The format of an electronic
document does not change the fact that it is a record in the legal and practical sense, but its electronic form and its dependence
on machines for creation and reference does change the way these records must be stored and managed. Ohio law clearly includes
all electronic information and record formats as public records.
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