Archival Resources: Records Management

Many of the records created by the various departments fall under the retention and disposal guidelines established by the Alabama State Records Commission. The Alabama State Records Commission has created the Records Disposition Authority (RDA) to understand which records should be retained and which records can be disposed. 

The RDA guidelines apply to University records in all formats, including electronic documents, microfilm, or digitized images of paper-based material.  Each Alabama State University department should refer to the RDA to determine which of its records are categorized as permanent and need to retained versus those that are categorized as temporary.  The RDA provides a timeline for temporary records as to when they can be safely destroyed.

Records Destruction

Non-permanent (or temporary) records should be regularly discarded or destroyed. The process for records destruction on Alabama State University's campus is as follows:

1. Consult the Records Disposition Authority (RDA) to ensure the record is temporary/non-permanent
2. Fill out the State Government Records Destruction Notice and describe the records to be disposed
3. Submit this form to the designated authorizing official on ASU's campus.  This person must sign the Destruction Notice before the department proceeds in destroying/discarding the records.