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Information and Digital Group (IDG)

Information Management: Records Retention Schedule update

Managing information and records is everyone’s responsibility and the RRS explains how long the records you work with need to be kept.

Please visit the Information and Records Management webpage to see our newly-updated Records Retention Schedule (RRS v2.5) for guidance on managing records throughout their lifecycles.

The RRS is an important compliance tool because it transparently demonstrates to third parties how the University complies with certain of its data protection and other regulatory obligations to manage records by making provision for the time periods for which records are retained by the University.

What are the key points to note from the current update?

  • The RRS has been reduced in size by 32 pages from 184 to 152 whilst also expanding its coverage of the University as set out in some of the points below.
  • The RRS is a comprehensive collection of all the University’s retention periods but for individual departments or business units their entry in the retention schedule typically spans just 2 pages and 7 retention periods.
  • There are four new substantive sections including: Core Student Record, Campus Cleaning Services, Warwick Volunteers, Security and Information Management.
  • The version control document published alongside the RRS contains a summary of all of the changes made to the RRS overtime.

And looking forward?

  • In terms of next steps, we plan for this to be last version of the RRS published as word document and intend to recreate the RRS as a web-based document to improve accessibility and search-ability.
  • As a web-based document, the RRS can be a more fluid document – giving us the ability to make changes instantly whilst maintaining version control.
  • Looking further forward, we intend to reduce the number of individual retention periods in operation at the University; to introduce standardised terminology for each retention period (potentially using a range of options from a controlled set of terms) and, to reduce the number of entries that state transfer to the MRC (there are some that are unlikely to be of historical research interest).

Where can I find guidance to help me manage information?

This is the second in a series of articles on managing information as part of the University’s ongoing Information Security and Information Management programme. The University’s Information and Records Management web page contains guidance that can help you in identifying information that has value as an asset for a defined period of time, or perhaps permanently for historical research purposes.

Need more information?

The RRS is a living document and is subject to ongoing review and development at the University. If you find that a record that you are working with is not listed on the schedule then the Information and Records Management internet page contains guidance on how to use the schedule and a quick guideLink opens in a new window on how to set a retention period. In addition the Information and Records Management Advisor can help guide you through setting a retention period and other aspects of information and record lifecycle management.

Security & Information Management is Everyone's Responsibility