Records Management

How you destroy Records depends on the information in the Record. There are four levels of data as per Policy 856, Data Security and Handling, the authority on record destruction.

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Level I:  Records fully available to the public. Examples: brochures, yearbooks, recruiting materials, annual reports, etc.

Level II:  Internal Records with no personal identifying information (PII). Examples: procedures, operations manuals, internal reports and memos, etc.

Both Level I and Level II Records are destroyed in the same way:

• Electronic Records: delete the file from the device and empty the recycle bin
• Physical Records: recycle
  

Then document your destruction.

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Level III:  Confidential Records containing PII and is not otherwise covered in levels I, II, or IV. Examples: student records, grades and tests, grants, contracts, HR documentation, etc. These are destroyed as follows:

• Electronic Records: contact your department’s IT person to coordinate destruction of these electronic records
• Physical Records: shred yourself or put in a locked secure Cintas shredding bin
  

Then document your destruction.

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Level IV:  Extremely sensitive Records including health and financial information containing HIPAA, HITECH, PCI DSS, etc.  These are destroyed as follows:

• Electronic Records: contact your department’s IT person to coordinate destruction of these electronic records
• Physical Records: shredded yourself with a cross-cut shredder or put in a locked secure Cintas shredding bin

Then document your destruction.

Anytime you destroy records, you must document it by filling out this simple form: https://fs26.formsite.com/xDqYjm/rmdcod/index.html.

• Agency: Tennessee Tech University
• Division:  Department owning the Records that were destroyed
• Address/Location:  Box number of Department
• Allotment Code:  33260
• Record Series Title:  This is a broad description of each Record type you destroy. Examples: “Timecards” or “Promotional Publications”
• RDA Number:  Enter only one RDA number and not multiples. Pick the RDA that relates to that Record type’s destruction. Find the RDA in Policy 113.  
• Date range of records disposed:  The month and year the records began and ended.
• Volume & Volume Type:  DO NOT use "Other" and do not count individual emails. You must enter how much space the Records took up prior to destruction. This is measured in cubic feet for physical items; one cu ft is approximately the size of one regular paper box. Electronic items are measured in GB, which can be viewed in the file details before deleting; approximately 7,000 emails = 1 GB; 1 GB = 1000 MB.
• There is another line for Record series through Volume so you can enter two Record types per form; this line is not required if you only have one Record type.
• Destruction means:  select the method you used; you will never choose 'other'
• Date of Records Destruction:  the date Records were destroyed
• Notes: not necessary, and most people do not add notes
• Contact Name, Title, Email, and Signature:  This is you, the person destroying the Records
• Agency Records Officer:  Jennifer Dewar
• Agency:  Tennessee Tech University

Once you submit the form, you will receive a copy via email, Jennifer Dewar will receive a copy, and the State of Tennessee’s Division of Records Management receives a copy.

Destroying extra copies is the only type of destruction that does not need to be documented because it is only destroying duplicates and not the official Record. This applies to extra copies of any format (physical or digital).

Example 1:  You have 10 copies of a marketing brochure for your department. You can destroy 9 of those copies without documenting it because those are extra copies.

Example 2:  You have student worker agreements on paper and would like to digitize them. Once they are digitized, you can destroy the paper copies because those are just extra copies now and the digital files are the official Records.