Information Disposition Schedule (IDS)

Developed under Policy 23 — Information Management and Procedure 20-4 — Information Disposition, it ensures that information is retained for the appropriate length of time, meeting legal, regulatory and business requirements, while facilitating its timely and secure disposal once no longer needed.

This schedule applies to all information assets, regardless of medium or format, that are in the custody and control of the University, including physical and electronic information.

This schedule is organized by function and supporting activities. Each function is then divided into more specific activities where information is created and collected.  The nine functions are: 

Note: This schedule is not a reflection of the organizational structure of the University. Therefore, units will likely find themselves consulting more than one function within the schedule for their activities. Example: A faculty undergraduate services office may need to look under 1000-Academic Affairs, 9000-Student Affairs and 3000-Administration for the types of information that it created and collects. 

Class code:

A numerical code assigned to each function and activity to identify the information class. The first digit represents one of the nine main functions. The second digit, and the third and fourth, represent more specific types of activities. 

Example: 4210  
4 = Function (eg: Facilities and Property Management)   
2 = Activity (eg: Facilities Operations) 
10 = Sub-Activity (eg: Maintenance and Repair)

Activity: 

The title given to the specific activity. It’s an alternate identifier to the class code.

Description:

A detailed description of the specific activity and a list of examples of the types of information that may be created or collected in support of that activity.

Responsible unit(s): 

The unit, or units, responsible for managing the most complete version of the information created and collected in support of the activity. This unit is responsible for maintaining the information according to the duration outlined in this schedule.

Retention trigger: 

Describes when to start the retention period. Can be calendar or event based.

Retention period: 

The length of time that the information must be kept by the Responsible unit(s). Retention periods are indicated in years, unless otherwise stated.

Legal hold: 

If there is active litigation or an information request, all relevant records must be preserved and maintained without any alteration, destruction or concealment until the matter is fully resolved, even once they have reached the end of their regular retention period.

Disposition action: 

The action taken on the information by the responsible unit(s) when the retention period is reached. There are two possible disposition actions: “Destroy” and “Send to archives.” If the disposition action is “Destroy,” all information in the class code must be destroyed or erased in an irreversible manner that ensures that it cannot be recovered or reconstructed. If the disposition is “Send to archives,” the information in the class code has enduring archival, historical or legal value, and custody must be transferred to the University Archives, where it will be managed in accordance with Procedure 20-11.

Cross-reference: 

Cross-references to similar or related activities or classes and to the classification of information explicitly excluded from this information class.