Records Management
What is a record?
A record is a document, regardless of format or medium (it could be paper or electronic), created or received, and maintained by the organisation, for the transaction of a business process, or kept as evidence of a business activity, as a historical record, or for legal or statutory compliance.
Records held by us could relate to any of our functions as a university, whether administrative or academic.
What is records management?
Records management directs and controls the creation, version, distribution, filing, retention, storage and disposal of records. Records management systems will ensure compliance with relevant legislation, they will ensure the operational needs of the university, and they will ensure that a historical record of the university's functions is preserved.
What do we want to know about our records?
We want to know what function of the university they support, what format they are in, where they are kept (paper and electronically), who keeps them, how long they are kept for, and what happens to them at the end of their life-cycle.
This information is contained in the Records Retention Schedule produced by each School or Office of the university.
Who is responsible for records?
All staff within the university are responsible for their own particular records, and for records which come into the scope of their job.
Deans of Schools and Directors of Offices have overall responsibility for the records within their particular areas, with specific responsibility falling to the Records Co-ordinator(s) in their departments.
The Secretary & Registrar has corporate responsibility for the compliance of the university with records management and associated legislation, along with the Administrative Secretary and University Records Manager.
What are the benefits of records management?
There are many benefits of good records management, some of them being:
- Space saving
- Cost saving
- Duplication elimination
- Better working practices
- Greater efficiency
- Easily and speedily retrieved records
- Ideas sharing
- Legal compliance and accountability
If you are a member of staff, and would like any further information, please contact Lucy Fincham, University Records Manager, e-mail: l.k.fincham@gre.ac.uk
If you are a student, and have an enquiry about your records, or if you left the university within the last ten years, please contact the Student Records team. This includes requests for duplicate transcripts. If you are a past student beyond ten years ago, please direct enquiries in the first instance to the Conferments Office.
If you want to find out about courses at the university, are thinking of applying, or have a question about your application, please contact the Student Enquiries unit.
These pages were last updated on 20/07/11