SCHEDULE INFORMATION FAQ

A. A records schedule is a tool for the employees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to use when managing the records of the university. It lists records found in an office and gives an assessment of their value by indicating when (and if) those records should be destroyed. The schedule is also an agreement between the office, the University Archives and Records Service (UARS) and the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources (DCR).

This schedule serves as the inventory and schedule that the Department of Cultural Resources is directed by North Carolina General Statutes 121-5 (c) and 132-8 to provide. It supersedes all previous editions, including all amendments.

A. According to G.S. 132-5 and G.S. 132-3, you may destroy public records only with the consent of DCR. DCR has an agreement with UARS to provide records management services to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This schedule is the primary way DCR gives consent through UARS for the destruction of university records. Without an approved schedule, your office cannot destroy any record, no matter how insignificant.

A. Nearly every university office generates, receives, or uses records. Computer files of any kind, including drafts and email, are public records. Even if your records are not the official or final versions, your records are public records. Not all records have great historical, legal, or fiscal value, but they all must be managed according to a records retention and disposition schedule.

A. Records that are subject to a legal hold or litigation hold must not be destroyed until officially released from the hold. A hold is placed when either an official discovery order is served on the university requesting the production of certain records (for a litigation, regulatory investigation, audit, open records request, etc.), or when litigation is pending and the university is on notice to preserve all potentially relevant records. You must ensure that for a claim or litigation that is reasonably foreseeable but has not yet been initiated, any relevant records (in paper or electronic formats) are preserved and not destroyed until released by the University Counsel. The records in question must not be destroyed until the completion of the action and the resolution of all issues that arise from it regardless of the retention period set forth in the schedule. If you have any questions contact the University Counsel.

A. A reference copy is usually a record that your office has for its own use and is not the original or official copy for the entire university. As an example, many academic departments maintain copies of student records (transcripts, applications, etc.); however, the official record keeper for these records is the University Registrar. Since the academic department needs these records for their own use - or reference use - they are listed in the schedule as "REFERENCE." Reference copies have different retention periods based upon their designation as a reference copy.

A. It is possible for an office to have official or record copies and reference copies of the same records series. A records series is a group of related records (in any format) held by an organization. An example would be Committee and Council Records. The official records of a committee are maintained by the chair of the committee. If your office has someone who is the chair of a committee, their records are the official/record copy and would follow that series in your schedule. However, if that person is a member of a committee (not the chair) those records would be reference copies and should follow the reference series in your schedule.

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