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Murray Edwards College
University of Cambridge

Records Management

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Records Management Policy

Adopted: April 2020
Review Date: Lent Term 2023

 

Statement of policy

Murray Edwards College will efficiently manage its records to support its core functions, to comply with its legal and regulatory obligations, to contribute to the effective overall management of the College and to permit an appropriate Archive to be created. This document provides further details on the scope of the policy and responsibilities under the policy.

Scope of the policy and definitions

This policy applies to all records where they are owned by the College and created, received or maintained by Fellows, staff, students and external third parties in the course of carrying out their duties on behalf of the College or its associated societies. It does not apply to Fellows’ University or Departmental education or research records or to students’ personal learning, education or research records.

‘Records’ are defined as ‘any documents or data which form recorded evidence of a business activity’ and include hard copy documents, emails and other electronic documents that facilitate the business of the College. They are kept as evidence of our transactions and activities.

‘Records management’ is defined as ‘the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control for the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records’. A small percentage of the College’s records will be selected for permanent preservation as a part of the College Archive, for historical research and as an enduring record of the College’s activities.

Responsibilities

The College acting through the Council has corporate responsibility to maintain records and record-keeping systems of the College in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements. The Information and Communications Strategy Committee will have responsibility for the review and implementation of the policy, delegating day to day responsibility to the Bursar.

The Archivist and Records Manager is responsible for drawing up guidance for good records management practice, promoting compliance with this policy and overall supervision of the Semi-Current Records Store (SCRS) where records no longer needed on a day-to-day basis are stored. Movement of records from the SCRS to the Archive also falls under the responsibility of the Archivist and Records Manager.

Individual employees are responsible for ensuring their records are an accurate and complete record of their activities. They must also ensure their records are created, managed and disposed of in accordance with the College’s records management guidelines.

Committee secretaries are responsible for ensuring that a full record of a committee’s business (including agenda, papers (tabled before or at the meeting), minutes and committee correspondence) is preserved for eventual incorporation into the College Archive.

Relationship with other policies

This policy has been developed within the context of the following College statements of policy:

Guidance and procedures

Records management guidelines and guidance on using the SCRS will be created by the Archivist and Records Manager and disseminated to all those affected by this policy. In the interim period contact the Archivist and Records Manager directly or visit http://bcs.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/he/ for advice on retention periods for records created in the higher education sector.

Line managers are required to implement procedures in accordance with the guidelines to ensure compliance with this policy.

Contacts

The Archivist and Records Manager is always happy to give advice on any aspect of records management within the College. For matters relating to Data Protection and Freedom of Information contact the Bursar.

Lisa Hutchins
Archivist and Records Manager
01223 762297

Rob Hopwood
Bursar
01223 762247