Recommended Workflow for Paper Records
- Identify the individual responsible for reviewing the records (creator, creating office, OVPCC/Chancellor/Campus Records Manager, or designee).
- Review materials in comparison to the General Records Retention Schedule. Determine whether any records are transitory, as defined in Policy AD35:
Transitory/Disposable Records: University Records that have temporary value and, as a result, may be destroyed after they are no longer needed. In no event shall be retained longer than the official copy of the University Records as delineated on the Records Retention Schedule. Examples include photocopies of official University Records, a printed copy of a University Record that is held by the Responsible Party or within a System of Record, a spreadsheet containing data that is exported from or officially resides in another system, personal emails not related to University business or activity, and/or mass emails or communications.
For assistance determining which retention series apply, contact the Office of Records Management at RecordsManagement@psu.edu.
- Records which have met or exceeded the retention period specified in the General Records Retention Schedule and are eligible for destruction may be destroyed by a regional provider (i.e. Tri-State Shredding; Shred-It) or by sending them to the University’s Records Center.
- Records with a disposition of "Transfer to Archives," "Review by Archives," or "PERMANENT in Archives" will be considered for transfer to the University Archives. Refer to the University Archives' Campus Closure Guidelines for Offices webpage for more information. Use the transfer form to submit your request.
- Records which must be retained beyond the campus closure may be transferred to a continuing campus location and securely maintained by the responsible unit, or may be sent to the University's Records Center, as appropriate.
To transfer records to the Records Center, the responsible unit should designate a main contact person for the records' ongoing maintenance and/or destruction requests and contact the Office of Records Management at RecordsManagement@psu.edu to register and/or arrange for storage. Please see the Inactive Records Center website for more information on rates and forms.
Recommended Workflow for Digital Records
- Identify the individual responsible for reviewing the records (creator, creating office, OVPCC/Chancellor/Campus Records Manager, or designee).
- Review files in comparison to the General Records Retention Schedule. Determine whether any records are transitory, as defined in Policy AD35:
Transitory/Disposable Records: University Records that have temporary value and, as a result, may be destroyed after they are no longer needed. In no event shall be retained longer than the official copy of the University Records as delineated on the Records Retention Schedule. Examples include photocopies of official University Records, a printed copy of a University Record that is held by the Responsible Party or within a System of Record, a spreadsheet containing data that is exported from or officially resides in another system, personal emails not related to University business or activity, and/or mass emails or communications.
For assistance determining which retention series apply, contact the Office of Records Management at RecordsManagement@psu.edu. For orphaned digital records (i.e. no remaining authorized users), the designated reviewer should contact the Penn State IT Service Desk for access.
- Digital records which have met or exceeded the retention period specified in the General Records Retention Schedule and are eligible for destruction may be destroyed by deletion, physical media breakdown, or requesting assistance from the Penn State IT Service Desk or external database administrator as appropriate.
- Digital records which must be retained beyond the campus closure should be stored in a centrally managed location such as a Microsoft SharePoint/One Drive site or other applicable software system, which will be monitored by the responsible unit. Units may opt to create a new SharePoint/One Drive site, or reassign ownership of an existing site, as needed. Permissions/access should be shared appropriately to provide security and prevent loss if file creators leave the University.
To move files from your personal OneDrive into SharePoint or Teams:
First, Right-click a folder or file in OneDrive and select "Move." From there you can select a SharePoint site to move the data Then, Sync the OneDrive data and SharePoint Library to your computer and then use Windows File Explorer and then just drag and drop the files/folders from the OneDrive folder to the SharePoint folder.
File and/or folder names should meaningfully reflect the originating office and types of records and contain the disposition date. Include a document with additional record context and the disposition method alongside the files. For assistance setting up a new SharePoint/One Drive site, please contact the Penn State IT Service Desk.
For video recordings in Kaltura, appropriate permissions should be shared to allow for future transfer as needed. Due to file size, bulk transfer of video recordings from Kaltura into SharePoint/One Drive is not recommended. Please refer to the Data Storage Finder website for guidance.
For individually managed websites and social media accounts, appropriate permissions should be shared with the responsible unit to allow for future review/transfer as needed.
- Digital records with a disposition of “Transfer to Archives,” “Review by Archives,” or “PERMANENT in Archives” will be considered for transfer to the University Archives. Please refer to the University Archives’ Campus Closure Guidelines for Offices webpage for more information and use the transfer form to submit your request. University Archives personnel will also require permissions to the Microsoft Sharepoint/OneDrive site(s) in order to evaluate and transfer relevant records.
- Digital records which must be retained beyond the campus closure should be stored in a centrally managed location such as a Microsoft SharePoint/One Drive site or other applicable software system, which will be monitored by the responsible unit. Units may opt to create a new SharePoint/One Drive site, or reassign ownership of an existing site, as needed. Permissions/access should be shared appropriately to provide security and prevent loss if file creators leave the University.
Web Archiving
The University Archives has been actively preserving commonwealth campus websites since 2012, and archived versions of websites in the Internet Archive are available from 2000 forward. To verify if a website has been preserved, please visit the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine and search by URL.