2007-004
Exchange Student Case Files
SFU International
| Records | Active retention (in office) | Semi-active (records centre) | Total retention | Final disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Student Applications | CY exchange completed + 1 year | 5 years | CY exchange completed + 6 years | Destruction |
CY = Current calendar year; CFY = Current fiscal year; CS = Current semester; S/O = Superseded or obsolete; OPR = Office of Primary Responsibility; Non-OPR = All other departments.
Records documenting SFU International's co-ordination and administration of student exchanges between Simon Fraser University and partner universities in other countries.
Includes records relating to the application process, arrangements, issues arising during the exchange, and programs or services that visiting students to SFU might participate in or receive from SFU International.
Paper records are maintained as case files for each student. Some records, such as email relating to applications or exchanges, are retained in electronic format only.
Records include application forms, statements of interest, transcripts, resumes, references, receipts, student exchange contracts, correspondence, letters of approval and admission, passport and visa documentation, permission to release information forms, language proficiency reports, housing applications, program proposals, course timetables, photographs and annual lists of exchange students.
Records are arranged first according to academic year and then according to whether the student is incoming or outgoing. Outgoing student files are arranged alphabetically by student's last name. Incoming student files are arranged alphabetically according to the name of the originating country and then alphabetically by student's last name.
This series is a Personal Information Bank; click here for PIB description.
These records are created, used, retained and managed in accordance with the following authorities:
The case files contain exchange participation fee receipts, original financial documentation not filed in Financial Services or any other accounting department. A total retention period of "CY student exchange completed + 6 years" accommodates financial audit requirements.
WITHDRAWN AND UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS
Applications which are unsuccessful or withdrawn are scheduled under RRSDA 1999-007 and have a different retention period (CY application denied / withdrawn + 1 year) than successful applications. In order to facilitate their timely disposition, withdrawn and unsuccessful applications should be filed separately from those which are successful.
ELECTRONIC RECORDS
Records created in electronic form should be printed to paper and placed on file to ensure all relevant documentation (e.g. substantive email exchanges between parties) relating to a single case can be easily located and disposed of. Once printed to paper, electronic versions of the records become transitory and can be deleted immediately. Failure to do so means that records maintained in electronic form in email applications, on desktops, in shared directories, or on removable storage devices could continue to exist long after the total recommended retention periods outlined in this schedule.
In-house databases used to track exchange students should be treated as an electronic equivalent to paper case files and the same retention periods applied to the stored data. If the data has value for the generation of longitudinal statistics, and it is to be retained longer than the retention periods outlined in this schedule, the data should be anonymized. Maintaining electronic copies of records with personal information after the recommended retention period places an undue burden on the University to continue to guard against the unauthorized use or disclosure of student personal information in accordance with the FOIPOP Act and the records series' status as a PIB.
TRANSFERRING RECORDS TO THE URC
At the end of the active retention period (CY student exchanged completed + 1 year), box the files and transfer to the University Records Centre (URC). Prepare and retain a file list of records transferred. For each box prepare a box contents listing, itemizing all files. Always include ONE copy of the file list inside the box sent to the URC taped to the underside of the lid; keep ONE copy for your own records; and send ONE copy (paper or electronic) to the Archives (see Procedures for Transferring Records to the University Records Centre).
RRSDA is in force.
Approved by the University Archivist: 20 Aug 2007
Last revised: 5 May 2008