Records Retention – Guidance for Extension Employees
Purpose
This article is meant to introduce you to your responsibilities and directs you to the Office of Records Management at UW-Madison for training and help on managing your records. This article provides more specific information on records specific to Extension and shares tip-sheets on specific types of records.
Scope
This guidance impacts all University employees.
Definitions
(A glossary of all records related terms is located on the Records Management website.)
Records: The general definition of a record is established under Wis. Stat. 16.61(2)(b). Public Records are defined as “all books, papers, maps, photographs, films, recordings, optical disks, electronically formatted documents or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made, or received by any state agency or its officers or employees in connection with the transaction of public business.”
Record Schedule: The timetable and description of a records series’ life cycle, including instructions for disposition.
Retention schedule: (also known as Records Disposition Authorizations or RDAs) is a policy document that defines an organization’s legal and compliance record keeping requirements and helps manage the records that the University creates throughout their life cycle. Under Wisconsin law, university records cannot be disposed of without a valid record schedule.
Details
Training/Resources
Division of Extension staff are required to understand what records they create and the retention schedule for them. To learn more about these responsibilities, review the training provided by UW-Madison Records Management Program:
All UW Record Schedules
Staff create records that can fall into a variety of schedules, the complete list is located here:
Extension-Specific Record Schedules
Records schedules specific to Extension business are located here:
University of Wisconsin-Extension Records Schedules
- Division of Extension Adult Program Participant Records
- Division of Extension Participant Data Sets
- Grant Documentation, Federal, Broadband
- Wisconsin 4-H Charters
- Wisconsin 4-H Membership Lists
- Wisconsin 4-H Adult Volunteer Records
Youth Activity Record Schedules
There are record schedules for Youth Activities:
Universities of Wisconsin Youth Activities and Protection Records Schedules
Program Tip Sheets
Related UW Madison Policies and Resources
- Records Management for University Employees, Information Brief developed by UW Archives & Records Management
- UW-Madison Records Retention Schedules and Disposition – Website to search for Retention Schedules
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- Extension specific schedules found under UDDS/Department Specific Records> 47-UW-Extension
- Youth Activities & Protection schedule