The records of the University of St Andrews are recognised as being critical to the efficient and effective operation of the Institution. Records provide evidence of business transactions and activities, and are vital to forming the University’s corporate memory, and in many cases supporting the creation of new knowledge. Records can be created digitally or in a variety of analogue forms. Not all modern records will be preserved for posterity.

Record life cycles

All records created and maintained within the University will fall into the following categories:

• Current records - used regularly and frequently in day-to-day work of the University.
• Semi-current records - not in use as frequently as current records but needed for legal or operational reasons for a defined period.
• All other records - records no longer required for the work of the University which should either be destroyed or identified as having a long term historical, cultural, or educational significance and transferred to Muniments (University Archive).

Retention Periods

The term 'Retention Period' defines the minimum and maximum periods for keeping a record and the term 'Retention Schedule' defines a listing of classes of documents and their Retention Periods.  It may also include the reason for the Retention Period.

Required actions used in a Retention Schedule might be:

• Retain for a specific number of years - often for legal requirements - before destruction.
• Transfer to archive for review or for permanent preservation.

The University Records Retention Schedule should be used to establish which actions should be applied to each record series (e.g., Destroy/Archive).  

Records Centre

The Records Centre, managed by the archive team within Libraries and Museums, supports the effective management of paper records created by the University through their storage, retrieval and ultimately either destruction or long-term preservation.

The Records Centre can be used for the storage of semi-current record series created by the University which have not yet reached the end of their retention period but which require storage prior to destruction.

The archive team will attend to all aspects of the management of the paper records stored in the Records Centre, including

• Providing continuing staff access to records for business needs (either in-person or remotely).
• Managing the destruction of records in compliance with the University Retention Schedule and Destruction Guidelines.
• Working with records creators to identify that portion of the record which is to be preserved permanently and managing its transfer to Muniments.

If you require the services of the Records Centre or have queries regarding university records and archives, please contact recordscentre@st-andrews.ac.uk for further advice.