Revised May 30, 2006
The purpose of this policy is to inform University employees and department management of the requirements and responsibilities for managing, protecting and disposing of electronic records. It pertains to the legality, retention, safeguarding, backing up and future accessibility of electronic records.
The University recognizes that electronic records, including electronic messages may constitute a public record like other documents subject to disclosure under the Missouri Freedom of Information Act (Sunshine Law, RSMo 610) or other laws, or as a result of litigation.
In addition, electronic messages may constitute University records subject to the University's Business Policy Manual, Records and Records Management, BPM-902 Records Management - General Policy. Historical records of the University are subject to the Policies and Procedures of Campus Archives of the University of Missouri.
The electronic records retention policy set forth herein applies to all employees of the University and applies to all electronic records that are made or received in the transaction of University business.
The term "electronic record" means any record that is created, received maintained or stored on any University computing equipment or storage device. See University BPM-902 for the definition of a University record. Examples include, but are not limited to:
The term "legal custodian" shall mean originator of an electronic message or the creator of an electronic document if that person is a University employee; otherwise it is the University employee to whom the message is addressed or to whom the electronic document is sent. If the record is transferred, by agreement or policy, to another person for archival purposes, then that person becomes the legal custodian.
"Official" record retention and disposition schedules are the general and departmental schedules that have been approved by the University.
University departments are encouraged, when possible and appropriate, to use all available electronic technologies that increase efficiency, reduce expenses or improve the methods to process, handle, retrieve, transmit and retain University records and information.
Maintenance and disposal of electronic records, as determined by their content is the responsibility of the legal custodian and must be in compliance with the University's approved records retention and disposition schedules. Failure to properly maintain electronic records may expose the University and individuals to legal risks.
The department head of an office is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Missouri Freedom of Information Act (Sunshine Law, RSMo 610) and other applicable state and federal laws. When an employee leaves a department or the University, the department head is responsible for designating a new custodian and ensuring that any records in the separating employee's possession are properly transferred to the new custodian. The department head is responsible for contacting their campus Information Technology department to arrange for the transfer of the electronic records to the new custodian before the accounts are scheduled to be deleted.
Work-related e-mail is a record, and must be treated as such. E-mail is meant to encompass all forms of electronic messaging such as instant messaging and all other current and emerging communication technologies. Each e-mail that does not meet the definition of a record, e.g., personal e-mail, or junk e-mail, should be deleted immediately from the system.
The University's e-mail servers are NOT intended for long-term records retention. E-mail messages and any associated attachment(s) can either be retained electronically on retrievable media or printed and filed with their electronic or paper equivalents. The printed copy of the e-mail must contain the following header information:
When e-mail is used as a transport mechanism for other record types, such as word processing documents or spreadsheets, it is possible, based on content, for the retention and disposition periods of the e-mail and the transport record(s) to differ. In this case, the longest retention period shall apply.
Departments must safeguard all electronic records to insure that individuals do not alter, erase or in any way change the content of the record for fraudulent purposes. In addition to safeguarding against deliberate tampering with records, departments must also guard against storage media deterioration and rapid technology changes that can leave electronic records inaccessible over a period of time because of hardware or software obsolescence.
To eliminate the possibility of creating a situation where information can no longer be retrieved, departments must make provision for future accessibility by: migrating all electronic records, including e-mail records, when there are major changes to the next generation of hardware or software; or migrating only current electronic records to new hardware or software, and converting records not migrated to "Human Readable Form."
All University electronic records that are considered vital records (see BPM 907, Vital Records), archival records (example: general correspondence), or any other information requiring retention must be retained in such a manner to insure availability to the University for as long as needed in future years.
Campus Information Technology departments perform backups on a regular schedule of the e-mail and electronic files stored on central servers for disaster recovery. These backups are to be used for system restoration purposes only. The IT system administrators are not the legal custodians of messages or records which may be included in such backups.
To insure the University always has the necessary electronic records available to conduct its academic and administrative business functions, University departments will backup all electronic records and databases not backed up by campus IT departments at appropriate time periods and in an appropriate manner to insure that electronic records and databases are always protected from accidental or deliberate loss.
Different backup media (floppy diskettes, CDs, DVDs, reels, cassettes, optical disks, disk paks) retain information for different periods of time before deterioration of the information may begin. The longer the backup media will be retained without replacement of information, the more stable the backup media needs to be.
When litigation against the University or its employees is filed or threatened, the law imposes a duty upon the University to preserve all documents and records that pertain to the issue. As soon as University Counsel is made aware of pending or threatened litigation, a litigation hold directive will be issued to the legal custodians. The litigation hold directive overrides any records retention schedule that may have otherwise called for the transfer, disposal, or destruction of the relevant documents, until the hold has been lifted by University Counsel. E-mail and computer accounts of separated employees that have been placed on a litigation hold by University Counsel will be maintained by the campus Information Technology department until the hold is released.
No employee who has been notified by University Counsel of a litigation hold may alter or delete an electronic record that falls within the scope of the hold. Violation of the hold may subject the individual to disciplinary actions, up to and including dismissal, as well as personal liability for civil and/or criminal sanctions by the courts or law enforcement agencies.
Note:Electronic messages and their attachments are subject to discovery during litigation, governmental investigations, and audits, or if a FERPA request has been made. During litigation, electronic messages and their attachments are subject to discovery in the same way that paper, film, and other information is subject to discovery or access.
Missouri Statutes, Chapter 109, Section 109.120 specifically permits the use of electronic records for the retention of public records. Section 109.130 specifies, "Such reproductions of the original record shall be deemed to be an original record for all purposes provided that the reproduction is equal in resolution to microfilm produced under those standards set forth in Subsection 4 of Section 109.241 and shall be admissible in evidence in all courts or administrative agencies." Section 109.241 requires that microfilm images must be able to produce an accurate visible image on demand. Therefore, the same requirement applies to any form of electronic record.
Electronic messaging correspondence as a record is defined by Missouri's State and Local Records law, RSMo. 109.200 to 109.310, and public records defined by the Missouri Sunshine Law, RSMo. 610. The Secretary of State's Office has published Guidelines for Managing E-mail Records and make the following statement: "If an e-mail correspondence is determined to be a record, then it must be maintained within a recordkeeping system. Agencies are strongly encouraged to implement an e-mail policy that covers usage, content, public access, privacy, and records retention."
All policies applied generally at the University are expressly applicable to the electronic environment. Relevant institutional policies include, but are not limited to:
Acceptable Use of Information Technology:
Programs, Courses and Student Affairs:
Relevant State of Missouri laws and guidelines include, but are not limited to:
Missouri Revised Statutes:
- Chapter 109, Public and Business Records
- Chapter 610, Governmental Bodies and Records
- Missouri Sunshine Law
Missouri Secretary of State's Office:
Also see pertinent campus policies and procedures including, but not limited to:
Business Policy and Procedure Manual (MU):
- 6:060, Use of University Property & Equipment
Archives of the University of Missouri at Columbia Policies & Procedures
