How do I organise my records?

Step Two

Here are some questions to ask yourself, when working out the best way to manage your records:

In relation to the records you want to manage - did you or your office create these records?

IF NO - then who did create these records?  Are these records being registered into a university system by someone else?  Should they be?  If you don't know, ask around.  If someone else is already maintaining the master copy of the records, you may not need to be keeping duplicates.

IF YES - Do these records belong to a university system?  Will others need to access these records over time?  How long do they need to be kept?  Can they be maintained locally and then destroyed in accordance with a disposal sentence?  Can they be managed in paper or should they be digitised?  Are they 'born' electronic eg. created in a MS Word document, PDF, or Excel spreadsheet?

Understanding where the records belong, who is responsible for them, who might need them and how they might need to be accessed over time are all important considerations when determining the best way to organise your records.  Step three discusses how a high level audit might assist in the process of managing your records