Records Management at the University of Florida

A retention schedule describes a type of record, or a group of related records, and identifies the minimum amount of time they should be retained. Retention schedules are based on federal and state statutues, professional organization or association requirements, and isntituional policies. The University of Florida abides by many different types of retention schedules: those created by the State of Florida (GS1-SL, GS4, GS5, etc.), those created by the federal government, and those created uniquely for the University of Florida (UF.)

University of Florida's Record Retention Schedule is accurate as of it's last update. If you cannot identify a record retention schedule that accurately and wholly reflects a record or set of records, please refer to the State's unabridged retention schedules. If you are still unable to locate an applicable schedule, please contact the University Records Manager for further assistance. Please refer to the links below for area specific retention schedules and for the University of Florida Record Retention Schedule.

An electronic record is any information that is recorded in machine readable form. Electronic records include numeric, graphic, audio, video, and textual information which is recorded or transmitted in analog or digital form such as electronic spreadsheets, word processing files, databases, electronic mail, instant messages, scanned images, digital photographs, and multimedia files. Electronic records that meet the definition of a public record must be managed and made available according to applicable laws and rules. Record schedules apply to records regardless of their physical format.

UFIT's Electronic Files webpage has more information on relevant policies and guidelines if you aren't already familiar with it.

Where is the best place to store electronic records?

UFIT recommends that electronic records and/or data should be stored on network drives or through approved online services such as GatorCloud. Official business records should never be stored on your desktop or any other temporary location (including removable storage devices) which may be lost or corrupted. As a reminder, only records and information stored on network drives are backed up by UFIT.

Is my email considered a public record?

Yes! As an employee of a public agency, your email is subject to Florida's Public Records law. It is recommended that you save any relevant email correspondence (including attachments) in a new Outlook folder not affected by Outlook's automatic deletion schedule. UFIT outlines this very well here and includes suggestions on how to save email for longer than three years.

How do I dispose of electronic records?

In order to properly dispose of electronic records or data, the records will need to be identified using UF's Record Retention Schedule or other area specific schedules from the State of Florida. (Please remember that you are not required to submit a disposition request for records assigned a retention period of 'retain until obsolete, superseded, or administrative value is lost.') Once you have identified applicable records, you will complete a Records Disposition Request form. The only part of the form what will differ is how volume is reported in Box 7, Column E. Rather than listing cubic feet or the number of boxes, the file size (KB/MB/GB, etc.) of the records and/or data being disposed of will need to be indicated for each item.