In conjunction with Administrative Policy AD35, all University records that have retention schedules (see General Retention Schedule and Financial Retention Schedule of the General Forms Usage Guide) can be stored at the Inactive Records Center.
Records without retention schedules can be stored with us, provided the department agrees to the development of a retention schedule for records that is approved by the Records Management Officer. Records designated as non-office (department copies of fiscal records, blank forms, magazines, books, private material, etc.) are not accepted into the IRC unless there is a special circumstance that requires the retention of such items.
Records stored with us remain under the control of the originating department. Our staff will not allow any individual, except Penn State auditors, to access department records without the permission of the department. Each department has a list of individuals who are authorized to access such records. Auditors will notify the department of any need to access a department’s records from us prior to reviewing the records.
All records are stored in a secure and climate-controlled facility. Offices can access these records at the IRC during regular office hours, or records can be delivered as needed. Pick up and delivery services for storage and the delivery of any records that need to be returned to an office are available. We also provide for the storage and disposal of confidential material, microfilming, and recyclable records.
Given the confidentiality levels of some records, all IRC staff and couriers are certified under the Health and Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guidelines, aware of Department of Defense (DoD) requirements, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), and the Privacy Act of 1974.