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A retention schedule lists types of records created or received during business activities, and the length of time they should be retained following business needs, legislation and regulatory requirements. At the end of the retention period, records should be destroyed, unless the retention period requires them to be reviewed for permanent preservation.
The OU Retention Schedule is now complete, and may be used by University units to develop their own record management procedures. The University Secretary endorses and encourages the use of the retention schedule and Information Management guidelines, as valuable tools to aid effective working and external compliance.
The schedule is based on the JISC study Lifecycle of a Record, which includes a generic retention schedule for Higher Education institution.
Comments are welcome, please send any information to the Records Manager (email library-record-management@open.ac.uk)
OU Retention Schedule (668KB - 226 pages)
See also the guidelines for implementing a retention schedule
Retention Schedule Abbreviations
Records which may be routinely destroyed (JISC)
JISC Generic HE retention schedule (3rd iteration, redeveloped January 2007)
The following external link is from Kings College London, and gives useful advice about the retention of research documentation.
Managing academic research records
JISC guidance on managing records of academic research
Research Information Network's stewardship of digital research data: principles and guidelines
