University Archives General Retention Schedule
See the Department list for specific Retention Schedules
The permanent copy of all university records belongs to the office of origin. All other copies should be retained/destroyed according to the following guidelines.
Accounting and Fiscal:
- MASTER COPY: Accounting Services
- Copies of: invoices, receipts, checks, vouchers, contribution letters, projections, estimates, membership dues records.
- Retention: 7 years
- Copies of: audit work papers, bank deposits and statements, budgets, earnings registers, gratuities, expense reports, labor cost records, ledgers, logs, petty cash records, travel expense vouchers and requests for authorization to travel.
- Retention: 3 years unless combined with any of the above. When combined with any of the above the longer retention applies.
Administrative:
- Correspondence: ALL correspondence at the Dean/Director levels and ABOVE is a permanent record. If you direct a program, etc. that is unique, your correspondence may also be permanent. Please check with University Archives. All other correspondence has a retention of 5 years.
- All of the following are permanent records of the offices of origin: master forms, policies, procedures, directives, meeting minutes. Copies of these may be destroyed after 3 years of after they are superseded.
- Architectural plan are permanent records.
Contract Administration:
- MASTER COPY: Usually in Grants and Contracts
- Contracts and agreements not pertaining to employment or purchasing.
- Retention: 20 years after termination of contract.
Supplies and Services:
- Inventories: 1 year
- Inspection records: 2 years
- Work orders: 3 years
Personnel:
- MASTER COPY: Human Resource Management
- Faculty/Staff personnel records: Retention: 2 years after termination or until final disposition of charge or civil action.
- Student worker personnel records and graduate assistant personnel records: Retention: 3 years after termination or until final disposition of charge or civil action.
- Accident reports, injury claims, settlements: Retention: 30 years after settlement.
- Attendance records: Retention: 7 years.
- Equal Opportunity reports, timesheets, W-2s: Retention: 3 years.
- Job descriptions, leave slips, W-4s: Retention: 2 years
Purchasing:
- MASTER COPY: Purchasing
- Bids, contracts, purchase orders, requests for services, requisitions, internal transactions: Retention: 3 years,
- Acknowledgments, quotations: Retention: 1 year.
Student:
- MASTER COPY: Student Records and Registration
- Grade books, course examinations, recommendations, rejected student applications midterm and final grade reports, permissions, grade cards, Dean cards, drop/add slips, advisor cards, schedules: Retention: 1 year after term submitted. If any of these are kept in the student files, the longer retention period applies.
- Class lists, doctorate award files, graduate student admission files: 3 years.
- Student files, GRE reports, correspondence: 5 years after graduation or term of last attendance.
- Student loans and grants: 5 years after award year has ended.
