Records Management

The mission of the Records Management Department is to provide a systematic, cost-effective approach to the management of all records created, received, and maintained by the College and to ensure those records determined to be of enduring value are preserved and made available for use by authorized users.  Most records don’t need to be kept forever and our records management program works with participating departments to ensure that records no longer needed or required to be kept are destroyed according to properly authorized disposition schedules and in a confidential manner.

A retention and disposition schedule is a comprehensive listing of records series (categories) for a department, indicating for each series the length of time it is to be maintained in the office or in the Records Center/Archives, and if and when the series may be destroyed.  We work with departments to develop retention and disposition schedules tailored to their particular needs.

The Records Center, with locations in the Trustco Bank Center and Kuhn Hall, provides cost effective, centralized storage for inactive records kept for legal or administrative reasons, but not referenced enough to warrant storage in expensive office space.  To assure confidentiality, departments may access only their own records. Access to records of another department requires authorization, in advance, from that department.

Why Participate?

• Less expensive than office space
• Safe & Secure
• Offers destruction in the proper manner
• Protects the College from potential litigation

How RM Can Help You

• Provide assistance and advice about records management
• Determine who holds the ‘official copy’ of a College record (usually multiple copies are not needed)
• Determine legal and administrative need
• Determine where records should be physically maintained
• Provide records retrieval service or research for inactive records stored at Record Center locations or in Archives
• Monitor retention and disposition

RM Best Practices 

• Records created in the course of business at Siena College are the property of Siena College.  This includes paper records and electronic records.
• It is your responsibility to create and maintain records to adequately document your department’s efforts.
• Disposition of obsolete records saves time, money, and helps protect the College from litigation.