• Section 1 - Introduction
• Section 2 - Compliance
• Section 3 - Intent
• Section 4 - Relevant Definitions
• Section 5 - Procedures
• Identifying a University Record
• Approved Systems for the Capture of University Records
• Methods of Capturing University Records
• Storage of Hard-Copy Records
• Storage of Electronic Records
• Data
• Data Entry Rules
• Records and Archives

Section 1 - Introduction

(1) Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government legislation requires that all members of the University community are responsible for proper records management and must contribute to the ‘corporate memory’ through compliance with University records management policies, procedures and guidelines.

(2) The capture of University records refers to the practice of capturing (keeping/storing) a record into an approved University system. This could include the entire record or information about the record (metadata) to ensure that these records can be managed appropriately, located and retrieved as needed.

Section 2 - Compliance

(3) This is a compliance requirement under the Information Act 2002.

Section 3 - Intent

(4) This document applies to all members of the University community. It is intended to identify how records must be captured at the University and to assist in the development of internal work processes to ensure records are captured, retained and disposed of appropriately and legally. This document will assist in the understanding of:

1. what constitutes a University record;
2. the requirements for approved systems within the University used to store records;
3. methods around capturing a record; and
4. other matters to be considered in best practice record keeping such as:
   1. security;
   2. discoverability;
   3. quality;
   4. retention; and
   5. development of internal work processes.

Section 4 - Relevant Definitions

(5) In the context of this document:

1. Corporate Memory means the accumulated body of data, information, and knowledge created throughout the existence of the University;
2. Metadata means key information identified about a record and used to discover and identify records;
3. Normal Administrative Practice means the disposal of short-term records without the requirement for a disposal schedule;
4. Record means:
   1. Recorded information in any form (including data in a computer system) that is required to be kept by a public sector organisation as evidence of the activities or operations of the organisation, and includes part of a record and a copy of a record; and/or
   2. Information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business;
5. Register means Register of Systems Approved for the Management of University Records;
6. Short-Term Record means records that are only relevant for short-term use and do not have any bearing on long-term matters. This may include office messages, meeting requests, draft documents with no significant impact upon the final version and personal notes;
7. The Cloud means storage capacity outside the control of the University accessed via the internet; and
8. University Community means officials and individuals carrying out University business. This includes, but is not limited to, all staff members, researchers, peer reviewers, students, volunteers, consultants, agents and contractors.

Section 5 - Procedures

(6) All members of the University community must ensure that University records are captured appropriately. University records are generated through business processes. In order to capture a specific type of record it must first be identified as part of the regular work process.

(7) When creating a work process that involves records capture the following must be identified and included:

1. The records to be captured (type, number, format etc.);
2. the system each of the records must be captured within:
   1. Examples:
      1. Data about a student may be captured as a record in Callista;
      2. Data about a staff member may be captured as a record in Alesco;
      3. Data from an invoice may be captured in Oracle Financials; and
      4. Corporate documents and emails may be captured in TRIM
3. The most appropriate method of capturing the record;
   1. Examples:
      1. Scanning;
      2. Direct digital capture;
      3. Data entry; or
      4. Hard-copy storage.
4. Rules around data entry.

Identifying a University Record

(8) University records are identified because of their content, not their format. A University record is evidence of an action or activity undertaken by a member of the University community about or on behalf of, the University. A University record is not necessarily a physical document but may also be in the form of hand-written notes, emails, videos, DVDs etc. and may be in any electronic format (e.g. Word, Excel, pdf. etc.). University records may also be in the form of data entered into a database or information displayed on a web page.

(9) When determining what constitutes a University record, the following questions must be considered:

1. Is the record:
   1. covered by a current University disposal schedule?
   2. needed to clarify, support, or give context to, an existing record?
   3. needed to show how the University’s business was carried out?
   4. needed to show how a decision was made?
   5. needed as evidence of a student’s competence or grading for an award?
   6. needed as evidence of a staff member’s employment history, professional development, conduct or performance management?
   7. needed as evidence of a transaction involving finances?
   8. needed to show when or where an event happened?
   9. needed because it indicates who made the decision or gave the advice?
   10. needed because it contains information on the rights or obligations of government or private individuals?
   11. an original copy of an agreement, legal document or document containing original signatories?
   12. likely to form part of a record that will be needed to support legal proceedings?

(10) If the answer to all these questions is no, then the record can be considered a short-term record.

(11) If the answer to any question above is yes, the record must be captured in a system approved for the capture of records at the University as listed in the Register of Systems Approved for the Management of University Records.

Approved Systems for the Capture of University Records

(12) All records (that are not considered short-term records) must be captured in a system that is listed on the Register of Systems Approved for the Management of University Records (the Register).

(13) Systems appropriate for the management of records are identified in the Register maintained by the Records and Archives. The Register specifies categories of records that are captured in each system. If a system is not identified on the Register it must meet the minimum requirements before it can be added to the Register.

(14) University records should not be retained on shared drives, personal drives, removable drives, portable drives and email systems. Data in these repositories is unstructured and is not easily discoverable.

(15) In order for a system to be approved and added to the Register, it must meet the following minimum requirements:

1. Consideration must be given to the storage location of University Records. Records held within systems that are hosted external to the University are at higher risk than records held within the University domain. If records are held external to the University domain, a risk assessment must take place;
2. the records must be able to be found and read until they are destroyed or transferred to permanent archive;
3. must manage the accessibility of records in line with the Records Management - Security Procedure;
4. must allow for the management of retention and disposal in line with the Records Management - Retention and Disposal Procedure;
5. must maintain the integrity of the records including audit trails for amendments to the records;
6. must record key information about the record (metadata) so that it may be easily discoverable in the future; and
7. must have rules around data entry and metadata to ensure that a record is discoverable, taking into account the requirements listed in the Register.

(16) No other systems are to be used to capture University records. The Register is maintained by the Manager Records and Archives.

Methods of Capturing University Records

Scanning

(17) Hard-copy records must be digitised (scanned to make an electronic version) and captured in an approved system identified on the Register. If the record is unable to be digitised, the record must still be captured in a system identified on the Register in the form of metadata.

(18) Records to be digitised must be scanned with these minimum requirements:

1. 200DPI; and
2. black and white.

(19) Higher quality must only be used if using the above requirements results in the quality of the record being:

1. unreadable (whole or part of the record); and/or
2. context of the record is lost or compromised.

(20) If colour, grey scale or higher DPI is deemed necessary it should be applied only to the specific pages where it is required.

(21) The required format of scanned records is Portable Document Format (PDF).

(22) Quality checks must be undertaken when scanning to ensure records are suitable for all reasonable business uses, including legal action. The quality check must include:

1. checking each page to ensure it is readable and the context is clear;
2. all pages are present and accounted for;
3. all pages are in the correct sequence.

(23) Incoming hard-copy records must be captured when they are received (before they are used) to minimise the risk of losing the records and to ensure the integrity of the records are maintained.

Storage of Hard-Copy Records

(24) Original hard-copies of University records must be able to be discovered until they are legally able to be destroyed or retained permanently, and must be:

1. stored in an approved archiving box if a temporary record; or
2. retained by the Records and Archives for permanent records and legal documents such as contracts and agreements with original signatures.

(25) Advice must be sought from the Records and Archives (Records@cdu.edu.au) for this step in the procedure.

Storage of Electronic Records

(26) University records that are created or received digitally must be captured in a system approved for the capture of records at the University.

Data

(27) Data recorded in a database is often considered a record. Data that is a University record must be captured in a system approved for the capture of University records, and follow the rules and work processes in place for that system.

Data Entry Rules

(28) Every system on the Register is required to have workflow processes around data entry or metadata. These workflow processes must ensure that the record is discoverable. At a minimum, the metadata must be able to identify:

1. keywords and/or relevant parties;
2. significant dates (when a document was signed, created or captured etc.); and
3. the person that captured the record.

(29) Records captured must meet the data entry rules of the system being used, which will dictate some or all of the data entry required.

(30) Records of a similar nature must be recorded in a consistent way:

1. consistent titling; and
2. consistent use of additional metadata (e.g. all student files should list student number; all research grant documents should record the grant identifier etc.).

(31) The record must also be captured in a way that allows for the record to be easily identified and destroyed (disposal) once it has been kept for the mandatory retention period (for further information refer to Records Management - Retention and Disposal Procedure).

Records and Archives

(32) The Records and Archives is not responsible for capturing all University records, but to ascertain that the processes and tools in place are appropriate and suitable to ensure that records can be captured appropriately by all members of the University community.

(33) The Records and Archives is able to provide advice on development of work processes for the appropriate capture of University records.

(34) The Records and Archives of the University is responsible for:

1. managing the University’s Electronic Document and Records Management System and the administration of that system;
2. assessing systems and work processes for managing University records;
3. maintenance of the Register of Systems Approved for the Management of University Records;
4. conducting regular auditing on records management processes across the University;
5. managing the storage of archived hard-copy University records;
6. developing and reviewing University Records Disposal Schedules;
7. managing the application of retention and disposal of University records; and
8. providing advice on how to implement new processes that involve the management of University records.