| Correspondence |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
| letters and e-mail |
File letters and responses together. Print out significant e-mail, together with your reply. the e-mail kept in GroupWise will be deleted every 41 days. |
Send to the Archives after 3 years. |
| Minutes of boards, advisory, and steering committees |
|
Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
Protocol minutes include:
- exhibits,
- executive committee
- conference call
- executive session minutes.
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Send one copy of protocol minutes--including exhibits, executive committee, conference call, and executive session minutes--to the Office of the Secretary, ELCA Constitution [13.41.02.a]; retain one copy in the unit. |
Upon publication, send 1 copy to the Archives. |
| Unit financial records |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- financial reports
- journal vouchers
- expense reports
- invoices
- check requests
- budget development files
|
After the year-end reports are reconciled, the primary value for these records is the development of the next year's budget. |
Destroy unit records after 2 years. |
| Unit personnel records for churchwide office staff |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- applications
- resumes
- personnel action forms
- time sheets
- performance appraisals
|
No records over 1 year old should be retained in the unit. |
Send all personnel records to the Human Resources Office. |
| Personnel records for persons related to the unit |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- Persons employed by the unit
|
If the persons are employed or endorsed by the unit, these records are governed by policy set for each unit depending on the contents of the file. |
Send to the Archives at the termination of the relationship. |
- Persons employed by other organizations
|
If the persons are not employed by the unit, no personnel records should be maintained. |
Ever changing mailing lists are not captured.
|
| Records supporting the development of official statements and documents |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- original mandate
- grant application
- minutes of committee, team or task force
- drafts
- reports of focus groups and hearings
- correspondence and responses, including e-mail and Listserv
- articles relating to the study
- final document
|
Send copies of the final version (in electronic and hard copy) to the Library for cataloging. The electronic version will be linked to the bibliographic record in the library catalog.
Unless essential to the development of the document, resource material from outside sources should be destroyed.
|
Send the entire project to the Archives within one year of adoption. |
| Events, conferences, training programs, and assemblies |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- mandate for the event
- planning material
- correspondence, including e-mail
- minutes (if applicable)
- grant application
- promotional and programmatic material
- videos and photographs
- sermons and speeches
- Web site presentation
|
 These records are useful for planning subsequent events and have significant historical value. |
Send to the Archives within one year following the event. |
- contracts
- insurance policies
|
Retain in the unit for 10 years after expiration
Retain in the unit for 10 years; consult with Legal Office regarding disposition. |
Destroy after 10 years |
- meeting history (from the convention center)
- hotel room pick-up report (from the hotels)
|
May be retained for planning of the next similar event. |
Destroy after 3 years. |
- evaluation questionnaires
- registrations
- ballots
- invoices
|
Evaluation reports are part of the archival file; the questionnaires may be destroyed. |
Destroy within one year following the event.
|
| Relationships with organizations, including but not limited to synods, congregations, agencies, associations, schools, camps, and global partners |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- correspondence, including e-mail with responses
- governing documents
- minutes of governing boards or councils
- consultations
- statistical reports and trend analysis
- property related documents
- insurance policies
- training materials
- organization program and promotional material
- newsletters and news articles
- documents for special events
- budgets, annual financial statements, and audit reports
|
Do not include personnel records in these organizational files.
Program area directors must help maintain the central file, and they should destroy the duplicates in their possession when they are no longer of current use. |
Send the central file to the Archives at 4-year intervals.
|
| Relationship with ecumenical partners and organizations |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- governing documents
- correspondence, including e-mail
- travel itinerary and briefings
- dialogues and consultations
|
Applies to all units involved in ecumenical conversations. |
Send to the Archives at 4-year intervals. |
- interpretive material
- histories
- worship materials
- sermons and speeches
- videotapes and photographs
|
|
Send copies of the programmatic material to the Archives as produced. |
|
|
|
Destroy after 2 years. |
| Grants given to individuals, agencies, or organizations or received by the unit |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- policy documents
- applications accepted and denied
- reports and evaluations
- correspondence, including e-mail, with responses
- contracts
- interpretive material
- committee minutes
- final financial accounting
|
(See personnel guidelines regarding student records for scholarship recipients.) |
Send to the Archives at 4-year intervals. |
- monthly financial reports
|
|
Destroy after 2 years |
| Program, interpretation, and training resources |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- project proposal
- program planning material, including minutes
- grant application
- contracts
- copyright
- field rest reports
- correspondence, including e-mail
- reviews and evaluations
- resource produced (print, video, audio, electronic)
|
Videotape and audiotape products should be accompanied by extensive written transcripts and project development material. |
Send to the Archives within 1 year of the conclusion of the project. |
|
|
|
Destroy after 1 year. |
| Policy and procedure documents |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- Paper copy and Web editions
|
Retain until superseded. |
Send to the Archives as issued. |
| Dynamic Databases |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- surveys
- statistical
- financial
- personnel
|
Consult with the Research and Evaluation to determine the long term value of the data and appropriate format for retention. Work with the Information Technology to document the structure of the database. Be prepared to migrate the data, retained in ASCII format on CD-ROM, to newer generations of software and hardware. (See the Records Management Manual for further instructions.) |
After consultation with the Archives, print out annual reports from appropriate databases. |
- registrations
- mailing lists
|
|
There is no need to preserve these constantly changing records. |
| Documents of a legally sensitive nature relating to persons or institutions |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- personnel records
- institutional records
|
Always maintain these in a separate, restricted file, and destroy copies after the matter is concluded. |
If action is taken on the matter, the copy of record resides with the General Counsel for time deemed appropriate. |
| Journals and newsletters prepared by the program area |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- print journals
- electronic journals
|
May be retained in the unit until it has ceased publication or been superseded. |
Send to the Archives as issued. Print out copies of electronic journals for the Archives.
|
| Topical resource material, reports, and professional journals from outside sources |
| Contents |
Instructions |
Final Disposition |
- newsletters
- journals
- reports
- conference publications
- pamphlets
- training materials
|
Dated material of temporary value.
Articles from professional journals may be retrieved electronically via OCLC FirstSearch. Check with the librarian. |
Once each year, clean these files and dispose of material that is over 4 years old.
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