A record is any information created or received as part of doing business at the University of British Columbia (UBC). It can take all sorts of forms such as email, voicemail, hand-written notes, a record in a database, an electronic file, or a formal document. There are also records outside of work with personal and private information on them like a driver’s license, credit card, and pay cheque, which are handled carefully to maintain confidential information confidentiality. Same way, care must be taken when handling work records, especially those with personal information. There are legal requirements for retaining and destroying records containing personal information with consequences if the requirements are not followed.
Records created as part of one’s job at UBC belong to the university and cannot be taken with them if they change jobs or leave UBC. UBC has a policy governing how all university records must be created. Policy 117 describes the records management lifecycle, and it has three key elements: record creation, management and retention, and record destruction. The former includes documenting actions, transactions, and university business decisions. In record management and retention, records must be managed and retained to meet legal, administrative, operational, or other university requirements. The latter element entails that the destruction of records must be done securely according to the records management office’s retention schedules and approved by the University Archivist and Legal Counsel.
In summary, record keeping is an important aspect of any institution. Records can be in different forms, and either of them should be handled with care. The life cycle of records consists of their creation, management, retention, and disposition. Any information created or received by UBC is a record, and the university owns all this information in the form of records. Policy 117 governs how records are managed, including creating, storing, and disposing of records.