University Archival Records Policy
Purpose
To describe the nature of and responsibility for University archives.
Scope
Administrative officers of the University.
Policy History
I. Effective Date: January 19, 1977
II. Approval: June 19, 2025
III. History:
- Approved in its original form: January 19, 1977
- Approved as amended: October 10, 2012
- Approved as amended: March 18, 2014
- Approved as amended: June 19, 2025
IV. Maintenance of Policy: Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Office of the Provost; and University Archivist, University Libraries
Policy
The University Archives and Special Collections acquires, preserves, and promotes the use of official records of the University that document its educational mission and Catholic and Marianist identity.
All administrative officers of the University, including officers of instruction whose regular or occasional performance of administrative duties puts them in possession of physical and digital files and records pertaining to their official duties, must observe the following regulations:
1. The physical and digital archives of the official activities of University officers and offices are the property of the University.
2. Such property is not to be destroyed or deleted without the approval of the senior office administrator and the university archivist.
3. The officer in charge of each office determines when records in that office are no longer active.
4. All physical and digital archival records, when no longer considered active in the office in which they are created, are to be transferred to the University Archives for long-term retention.
Archival records are defined as materials with enduring historical, administrative, legal, and fiscal value that document the history, functions, and mission of the University. They are created by offices, departments, committees, and individuals in the University community and may consist of the following formats: paper documents, publications, photographs, negatives, slides, audio and video recordings, scrapbooks, electronic files and media (including email), and three-dimensional objects.
The University Libraries and University Archives will retain physical and digital records according to the University’s Record Retention Policy. Management of records beyond the scope of this policy will be according to best archival practices and at the discretion of the University Archivist and Dean of the University Libraries.