UW General Records Retention Schedule Advanced Search

A record of disciplinary actions taken regarding either a member of the faculty, including deans, and directors, or a classified or professional staff member. May include letters of reprimand or warning, background material, documentation of termination for cause. 

Official Copy: UWHR Operations -- as part of Personnel Folder
Retention: 50 years after termination of employment
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 3 years after termination of employment with department
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

A record of investigations and disciplinary actions taken pursuant to the Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-120). 

Official Copy: Office of the Vice Provost for Student Life - academic and non-academic cases
Retention: 6 years after disciplinary action has been taken and/or after the administrative purpose has been served
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Official Copy: Dean -- for academic disciplinary actions & non-disciplinary actions
Retention: 6 years after disciplinary action has been taken and/or after the administrative purpose has been served
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Official Copy: Housing and Food Services: Residential Life - residence hall cases
Retention: 6 years after disciplinary action has been taken and/or after the administrative purpose has been served
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: Department
Retention: 6 years after disciplinary action has been taken and/or after the administrative purpose has been served
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Incorrect versions of documents, forms or reports that had to be regenerated in order to correct errors in typing, data entry, spelling, grammar, or format.

Retention: May be disposed of as soon as the reference purpose has been served.  Please shred, recycle or delete as appropriate.

Provides information regarding donor prospects gathered for the purpose of soliciting gifts or funds for the University. Documents the relationship between the college/school/department/office and individual donor, corporate donor, or foundation. May include profiles, donation information, correspondence, annual reports, newspaper clippings, etc.

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: Until Superseded
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Drafts may be disposed of as soon as the document is finalized and are no longer needed for reference purposes. Please shred, recycle or delete as appropriate.

Documents certification by research faculty that their payroll distributions are a reasonable reflection of their actual effort. (Formerly known as Faculty Effort Certification)

Official Copy: Post Award Fiscal Compliance
Retention: 6 years after end of fiscal year (after reporting period end date)
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

Other Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 1 year after end of fiscal year
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

The following electronic records do not have to be saved or printed because they are extracted from a master file or database. Reports printed from a database are considered duplicates and can be destroyed as soon as they have served their reference purpose. They will be visible and accessible for their full retention period in the system of record and can be reprinted as needed. You should never print e-mails - the official copy is the original digital version.

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Financial Records

• Current State (post-July 2023)
   
• Workday reports
• Workday-generated notification emails
• Facilities Services (FS Works)
  • Physical Plant AIM/FME Online Invoices (post 2007)
• Equipment Insurance System (EIS)
  • Invoices (ISDs)
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• Legacy Financial Systems
   
• ARIBA Reports & Email Action Notifications
• FASTRANS Reports
• Creative+Communications Invoices
• Mailing Services Invoices
• MyFinancial.desktop (MyFD) Reports. Examples include:
  • Budget Worksheet
  • Budget Summary
  • Reconciliation Status
  • Transaction Summary
• Procurement Desktop Reports. Examples include:
  • Accounts Payable (AP) Reports
  • Central Travel Account (CTA) Reports
  • Department Dashboard
  • Requisitions Reports
• Budget Reports. Examples include:
  • Expense Distribution Reports for State Budgets
  • Salary Savings Report
• Library Financial Services
  • Library System Generated Cost Transfer Invoices (CTIs)
  • Library System Generated Internal Sales Documents (ISDs)
• Motor Pool
  • Internal Sales Document (ISDs)
  • Maintenance Announcements

Human Resources Records

Current HR systems (post-2018)

• Workday Reports. Examples include:
  • Onboarding Summary
  • Summarized Time Tracking Audit R0521
  • Time Off and Leave Transactions Awaiting Approval R0500
  • FTE/Weekly Scheduled Hours Mismatch R0465
• Workday-generated notification emails
• Temporary Employee Accumulated Hours Notifications
• UWHIRES notification emails

Legacy HR systems

• Employee Self-Service (ESS) notifications & confirmations
• OPUS PERMS
• OWLs system-generated reminders & notifications
• Work Leave Summary Review Notifications

Student Records

• BI-Portal Reports
• Curriculum Database Printouts
• DARS Report (Degree Audit)
• EDW Reports
• Printouts from EARS, MyPlan, or MyGrad
• Registrar On-Demand Reports
• UW Time Schedule

Grant/Contract Records

Current State (post-July 2023)

• SAGE (as Workday integration)
  • Notice of Award (NoA) Request
  • eGC1 (now requires IRB application)
  • Final Sponsor Documents required for eGC1
• Workday Finance
  • Workday-generated notification emails

Legacy Financial systems

• SAGE (as legacy system)
  • Advance Budget Requests
  • Extension/Renewal of Advance Budget Request
  • Funding Action Processed
  • Post-Award Change Processed
  • Signed Documents Ready for Retrieval
• Grant Tracker
  • TRANSPASU

 

Library Records

• Hold List
• List of Resource Requests

Donation Records

• Reports from the alumni/donor database (Tandem, formerly Advance), including canned and self-serve reports like those from Michelangelo and Export+
• Cvent reports
• Reports from any fundraising platform (ScaleFunder)

UW-IT

• EDW Reports
• ASTRA Access Management Emails
• Long Distance Bill (post 2007)
• Technical Services Equipment Invoice

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As with any other kind of record, the retention period for these types of electronic messages is based on the content of each individual message.

The vast majority of messages sent and received have a very transitory value. They may request or provide information but don’t serve any legal or financial purpose for the University. You may delete transitory messages as soon as a reply is given/received or as soon as you no longer need it for reference.

• Routine replies/requests for information
• Messages sent as reference or for informational distribution
• Messages used to set-up or accept meetings
• Voice mailbox email notifications with voicemail .wav attachment
• Announcements/Acknowledgements
• Automated notifications (i.e. Workday)
• Preliminary drafts

Messages that inform decision-making or could potentially be relied upon legally or financially are substantive and must be retained as per the General Records Retention Schedule. Examples of substantive records include, but are not limited to:

• Policy and procedure directives
• Legal or audit issues
• Approvals for purchases, HR decisions, or other actions to be taken
• Final reports or recommendations
• Grievances, disciplinary actions, and petitions/waivers
• Documentation of departmental/office actions, decisions, operations and responsibilities

Applications for research using stem cells that were denied by the ESCRO Committee and/or the ESCRO Chair. May include, but not limited to, the following: application, sample consent forms, ESCRO's disposition documentation, the investigator's responses to the Committee, sponsor protocols, copy of EH&S's approval, correspondence and supporting documentation, modifications to applications, application annual reviews, non-compliance documentation, records requests.

Official Copy: Office of Research: Administration
Retention: 1 year after end of academic year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: Principal Investigator
Retention: 1 year after end of academic year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Correspondence and summary reports related to trust agreements, establishment of endowment funds, use of funds, etc.

Official Copy: Treasurer's Office
Retention: 6 years after endowment liquidated
Disposition Method: Transfer to University Archives for review

Other Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 1 year after funds dispersed
Disposition Method: Transfer to University Archives for review

A record of equipment maintenance and repair. May include work performed by other UW units, work performed by outside companies under a service agreement with a UW department or work performed by outside companies not under a service agreement. Does not include medical equipment. 

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: 3 years after service date
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

A record of student responses to placement exams administered by college/school or department to determine level of subject proficiency, or to authorize students for possible exemption from taking a course.

Official Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 1 year after end of academic year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Note: A sample of each exam and its answer sheet should be retained with Course History Files.

A record certifying changes from the normal number of hours worked by each permanent employee paid on a particular budget for a particular pay period. Includes leave without pay, overtime, shift differentials, etc.

Note: These records are now generated through Workday and do not have to be saved or printed. Records created before July 2017 should be maintained for the following retention periods:

Official Copy: Payroll
Retention: 6 years after end of month
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 3 years after submission of a financial status report
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Records related to expert witness testimony or opinion provided by a UW employee.

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: 6 years after testimony/opinion provided
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Documents derived from a master file or database in the form of statistics, reports, hardcopy printouts, mailing lists,  auto-generated notifications and reminders, etc. Includes emails.  These records will be visible and accessible for their full retention period in the system of record and can be reprinted as needed. Refer to list of electronic records that do not need to be printed or saved.

Retention: May be disposed of as soon as the reference purpose has been served.  Please shred, recycle or delete as appropriate.

Requests to the Dean, Vice President or Provost from academic personnel to perform consulting work and other professional and public activities outside the UW for compensation. Formerly known as the Request for Approval of Outside Professional Work for Compensation.

Official Copy: Office of Research
Retention: 6 years after end of fiscal year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: Dean or Department Chair
Retention: 6 years after the end of fiscal year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: UWT: Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Retention: 6 years after end of fiscal year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: UWB: Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Retention: 6 years after end of fiscal year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Materials regarding applicants for academic positions including faculty, Chair, Dean, Director, and temporary positions (visiting scholars or scientists, clinical faculty, post-doctoral scholars, etc.). May include, but not limited to: advertisement and recruitment notices, correspondence with applicants, resumes, curricula vita, letters of reference, research proposals, evaluations of candidates, notes on employment selection, etc.

Official Copy: UWHR selected records for hired applicant which become the basis for the personnel record
Retention: 50 years after termination of employment
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Official Copy: UWHR not hired
Retention: 3 years after completion of hiring process (see Note below)
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Official Copy: Hiring Department
Retention: 3 years after completion of hiring process
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Note: Visa and Permanent Residence records are maintained separately.  Refer to Faculty/Academic Employment--International Scholars and Faculty/Academic Employment-- Permanent Resident Status.

Documents procedures necessary for international academic personnel or staff seeking nonimmigrant status as TN NAFTA workers. May include: USCIS forms I-129, I-907, I-539, I-824, and I-797; CBP form I-94; UW H Visa Request Form; prospective employment letter; credentials evaluations (if applicable).

Official Copy: International Scholars Operations or Hiring Department
Retention: 6 years after termination of employment/application expired or withdrawn
Disposition: Shred or Delete

Provides a record of field advances, which provide a temporary source of funds that cannot be paid for using traditional methods (i.e. purchase orders, check requests, UW Travel/Procurement credit cards).  Issued to individuals conducting official UW business in remote areas where checks and credit cards are not accepted, or issued as foreign per diem advances for individuals not on UW payroll, or may also be used as research subject and incentive payments when a revolving fund account is not applicable.  May include field advance banking information, receipts, and reconciliation.

Note: These records are now generated through Workday and do not have to be saved or printed. Records created before July 2023 should be maintained for the following retention period

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: 6 years after submission of a financial status report
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Records of financial transactions on grants and contracts including non-FEC (Faculty Effort Certification) cost share documentation.  Includes the following financial records:

• Cash Transmittals (CTs)
• Cost Transfer Invoices (CTIs)
• Memo to Request an Advance Notice
• Credit Card Receipts
• ProCard transaction approval and reconciliation including reviewed and signed Transaction Detail Report, invoices, and receipts
• Central Travel Account (CTA) approvals and reconciliations including reviewed and signed UW Transaction Detail with Notes & Account Codes Report, invoices and receipts
• Packing Slips
• Petty Cash (Revolving Fund) Records including Application for Revolving Fund
• Petty Cash Vouchers with supporting documents such as sales slips, cash register receipts, paid invoices
• Receipt for Petty Cash Advance and study subject compensation records
• Internal Purchase Approvals
• Banking Records including deposit slips, canceled checks, reconciliations and monthly statements
• Delegations of Authority
• Food and Beverages for Meeting, Training Sessions and Recognition Awards Ceremonies forms

Note: These records are now generated through Workday and do not have to be saved or printed. Records created before July 2023 should be maintained for the following retention periods

Official Copy: Procurement Services 
Retention: Variable, depending upon departmental retention schedule
Disposition Method: Recycle or Shred or Delete

Official Copy: Grant and Contract Accounting 
Retention: 6 years after submission of a financial status report
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

Other Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 6 years after submission of a financial status report
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

This series provides a record that a fire drill was performed within a building.

Official Copy: Environmental Health and Safety: Occupational Safety & Health
Retention: 6 years after date of drill or exercise
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

Other Copy: Any Office
Retention: 1 year after end of calendar year
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

Record of investigation of fires and incidents in UW buildings.  Includes photos, inspectors reports, interviews, details regarding alarm systems, etc.

Official Copy: Environmental Health and Safety: Occupational Safety and Health
Retention: 6 years after completion of investigation
Disposition Method: Shred or delete

Other Copy: Any Office
Retention: until completion of investigation
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Documents Occupational Safety and Health sampling and evaluation for the presence of chemical, biological, or physical agents to ensure employee exposure to substance are within regulatory limits.

Official Copy: Environmental Health and Safety: Occupational Safety & Health
Retention: 30 years after end of calendar year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: Any Office/Lab
Retention: 6 years after corrective action taken or 6 years after end of calendar year if no corrective action taken
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Provides record of gold inventory and amount of gold used in dental procedures. May include Gold Log, which includes student name, patient name, date and amount of gold used in procedure.

Official Copy: Any Clinic
Retention: 6 years after end of fiscal year
Disposition Method: Shred

Listing of student grades for exams, papers, projects, class participation for a particular course. Provides the basis upon which the final grade is assigned.

Official Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 5 years after end of academic year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Note: Records in the Canvas LMS will be deleted 5 years after the end of the academic year; instructors will receive notification in advance of deletion. Copies of materials uploaded or created in Canvas do not need to be retained outside of Canvas.

Provides complete documentation of examination, diagnosis and treatment for each patient receiving dental care including: periodontal, orthodontal, oral surgery, endodontic treatment, or procedures such as dental implants which require long term tracking. Charts may include: Chart Routing Record, X-Rays logs, Admitting Record, Dental Insurance Questionnaire, Problem and Treatment Lists and Plans, Progress Notes/Treatment Record (UW-D-3), Health History Questionnaire, Fees Statement, Request for Radiographic Examination, etc. NOTE: As part of the teaching curriculumn, graduate students are required to perform recall visits on previous patients throughout the patient's life. Frequently, this means that a patient who received treatment in Graduate Periodontics or Graduate Prosthodontics might be called back many years, even decades after their initial treatment. Once the patient is deceased, the chart will be considered closed.

Official Copy: Clinical Services: Patient Records
Retention: Patient deceased
Disposition Method: Shred

Other Copy: Any Dental Clinic sending patient charts to Clinical Services: Patient Records
Retention: Send to Clinical Services: Patient Records

A record of labor-related complaints and grievances in which the complaint/grievance was upheld

Official Copy: UWHR Labor Relations Office
Retention: 6 years after resolution of case
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 3 years after resolution of case
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

This series includes facility signed manifests, land disposal restrictions, and certificates of disposal for hazardous waste.

Official Copy: Environmental Health and Safety: Environmental Programs Office
Retention: 30 years after the end of the calendar year
Disposition Method: Transfer to University Archives

Other Copy: Any Off-campus Facility
Retention: 5 years after site no longer generates hazardous or dangerous waste
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Documentation of the history and development of an office, program, event, or course. May include photographs, videotapes, Zoom or other conferencing platform recordings, newsletters, course descriptions, syllabi, bibliographies, sample examinations, etc.

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: 6 years after end of academic year
Disposition Method: Transfer to University Archives

Applications for research using Human Subjects that were determined to be exempt from the regulations. May include, but is not limited to: application, sample consent form(s), reviewer disposition documentation, and correspondence between HSD and the researcher.

Official Copy: Human Subjects Division
Retention: 6 years after termination of study
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: Principal Investigator
Retention: 5 years after termination of study
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Records relating to the permission granted for access to or use of protected health information.

Official Copy: Principal Investigator
Retention: 6 years after close of study or the date the authorization was last in effect, whichever is longer.
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Applications for research using human subjects that were withdrawn from consideration. Includes application, sample consent forms, investigator's response to the Committee, sample sponsor protocols, copy of Radiation Safety Committee review, and documentation of withdrawal.

Official Copy: Human Subjects Division
Retention: 1 year after application withdrawn
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: Principal Investigator
Retention: 1 year after application withdrawn
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Internal departmental reports of facility damage, theft of UW property, etc., when no claim has been filed.

NOTE: This is not the official UW Police "Incident Report" or "Accident/Incident Report" (injuries).

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: 1 year after end of calendar year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Data gathered from departments about the allocation of staff time for various activities -- research, instruction, administration, etc. Used to develop the UW's annual indirect cost study.

Official Copy: Management Accounting and Analysis
Retention: 10 years after last year of current rate
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

Other Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: 3 years after end of quarter
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

Communications and postings that do not relate to the functional responsibility of the department (i.e., announcements of meetings, reservations, confirmations, itineraries, acknowledgements, form-letter thank you notes, etc.). Includes unsolicited materials.

Retention: May be disposed of as soon as the reference purpose has been served.  Please shred, recycle or delete as appropriate.

A record of insurance policies for property such as scientific instruments, equipment or fine art.  May include correspondence, photographs, policies and claims. Includes documentation and policies pertaining to special insurance needs.

Official Copy: Compliance and Risk Services
Retention: 6 years after termination policy
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Other Copy: Any Office
Retention: 3 years after termination or renewal of policy
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Documents interactions with or information/notes about individual students.  May contain aggregate information identifying individual students.

Official Copy: Any Advisory Office
Retention:  1 year after student/cohort inactive or graduated
Disposition Method:  Delete

Requests for authorization from a Dean and from the Provost to pay travel expenses for an individual traveling to the UW for a position interview.

Official Copy: Procurement Services
Retention: 6 years after end of fiscal year file closed
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Note: These records are now generated through Workday and do not have to be saved or printed. Records created before July 2023 should be shredded.

A billing record in lieu of a vendor invoice for goods or services purchased by UW offices. Details items, amount and purpose of purchase.

Official Copy: Procurement Services
Retention: 6 years after end of fiscal year
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

Note: These records are now generated through Workday and do not have to be saved or printed. Records created before July 2023 should be shredded.

Documented method for identifying and evaluating hazards associated with tasks (steps) with a specific job or activity and eliminating or mitigating them prior to conducting work. This document may be included as part of the Departmental Health and Safety Manual.

Official Copy: Any Office/Lab
Retention: 6 years after superseded
Disposition Method: Transfer to University Archives for review

Records documenting the authorization of access for employees, students, contractors, and volunteers to university buildings and offices through the use of electronic systems. Includes: badges, key cards (such as Husky Cards) or access codes.

For physical keys, see Key Records

Official Copy: Any office
Retention: 6 years after termination of access
Disposition Method: Recycle or Delete

Records relating to the monitoring/tracking of proposed legislation, regulations and rules with possible impact on the University under consideration by the Legislature, other state agencies, federal, or local governments. Includes, but is not limited to bill drafts, amendments, fiscal notes, memos, committee reports, monitoring reports and related records.

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: 2 Years after end of calendar year 
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Lists/logs containing information tracked by a department from which elements are superseded as new data/information is received, where not covered by a more specific records series. Includes membership lists and contact information.

Retention: May be disposed of as soon as the reference purpose has been served.  Please shred, recycle or delete as appropriate.

A record of applicant's petition for major standing within an academic program. 

Official Copy: College/School or Department
Retention: If approved - as part of student folder; If not approved - 1 year after quarter of denial
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Individual attendees’ meeting materials from UW governing/executive/policy-setting bodies, routine staff and internal committee meetings, or informal staff meetings provided the primary meeting record(s) are centrally retained by the meeting host/delegate.

Includes, but is not limited to: 

• Agendas, meeting/agenda packets
• Meeting minutes, transcripts of proceedings (including AI-generated transcripts and notes)
• Recordings of meetings on conferencing platforms, etc.; 
• Working notes/drafts

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: Administrative purpose served
Disposition Method: Shred/delete

If you are the primary copy holder, follow retention requirements for the following series:
Meeting Records of Governing/Executive/Policy-Setting Bodies
Meetings, Routine Staff and Internal Committees
Meetings, Informal Staff

Records documenting staff meetings in which information of short-term relevance was communicated. This includes organizing basic logistics and status of work in process.  Includes notes, agendas, conferencing platform recordings.

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: Administrative purpose served
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

An agreement between an individual and the University of Washington granting the University rights to photographs, video, or to produce recordings of an individual.

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: 6 years after publication or video no longer in use
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete

Provides a record of non-cash gifts, including both non-appraised and appraised items, received by the UW Libraries. May include gift transmittal, gift report form, correspondence, etc. which document the donation to the UW Libraries

Official Copy: UW Libraries: Gifts Program
Retention: 10 years after last gift from donor
Disposition Method: Transfer to University Archives for review 

Other Copy: Any Library
Retention: Forwarded to Gifts Program
 

Provides record of Custodial Services notification to Building Coordinators of buildings having department(s) which have violated hazardous waste disposal regulations. 

Official Copy: Any Office
Retention: 2 years after end of calendar year
Disposition Method: Shred or Delete