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Scanning

Can our office scan and destroy our paper records?

An office or department is always welcome to scan records so long as they keep the original paper documents. If you want to scan and destroy the original paper, your office must have a written Scanning Policy on file with our office. To check if you already have a scanning policy, talk to the Records Coordinator in your office or try our Departmental Search webpage – it tells you if you have a departmental retention schedule and/or a scanning policy. If you are still unsure, please contact us at urc@uw.edu or 543-0573.

If your office is scanning records into ARIBA, please see the University ARIBA Scanning Policy.

Why do we need a Scanning Policy before we can destroy the paper we scanned?

The UW Scanning Requirements which necessitate a Scanning Policy are based on Imaging Systems, Standards for Accuracy and Durability – Chapter 434‐663 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). These requirements must be met to justify the use of scanned images as replacements for the original paper records.

What sort of information is included in a Scanning Policy?

Scanning policies must include specific information on the following five topics:

  • Records Retention Requirements
  • Technical Scanning Requirements
  • Storage Location and Access
  • Filing and Organization
  • Preservation and Disposition

We encourage you to use our Scanning Policy Builder to aid in drafting a departmental scanning policy that meets all University and State requirements.

What do we do with the original paper copies once we’ve scanned them?
  • If you are scanning records into ARIBA, you should be following the University-wide ARIBA scanning policy which allows you to dispose of any original paper source documents as soon as they have been uploaded.
  • If you already have a scanning policy on file with our office, the original paper copies are considered duplicates and can be destroyed.
  • If you do not have a scanning policy on file with our office, the original paper copies remain the legal copy of record and must be stored and maintained for their full retention period.

As of March of 2017, UW Records Management Services is no longer accepting paper copies of scanned records for storage. While you are welcome to retain the paper records within your office, we encourage you to use our Scanning Policy Builder to aid in drafting a departmental scanning policy that meets all University and State requirements.

Do we need a scanning policy to attach our receipts and documentation to ARIBA?

Our office has written a University-wide ARIBA scanning policy for your use. Every office is expected to follow this policy which allows you to dispose of any original paper source documents (as well as any departmental copies of the PDFs) as soon as they have been uploaded to ARIBA. If your office already has a completed ARIBA scanning policy on file with our office, you may continue to use your existing policy or you can opt to sunset it in favor of the University ARIBA scanning policy.

For those of you with SNAP grants, use of this policy eliminates the need to keep your own copies of SNAP grant related financial records in your office.

Our office is currently using eSignatures. Is it ok if we scan all of the documents that were signed in ink before we started using DocuSign?

An office or department is always welcome to scan records so long as they keep the original paper documents. If you want to scan and destroy the original paper, your office must have a written Scanning Policy on file with UW Records Management Services. We encourage you to use our Scanning Policy Builder to aid in drafting a departmental scanning policy that meets all University and State requirements.