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RESEARCH GUIDES

Records Management

Guide to records management practices and requirements at the University of Maryland, College Park

Ask an Archivist!

Contact Special Collections and University Archives with questions about records management, electronic records, web archiving, digital preservation, and searching and using archival records.

About records retention schedules

A retention schedule is a government document that “lists every type of record that the agency generates and gives the agency authority to transfer permanent records and destroy non-permanent records at specified times.” (Source: Maryland State Archives, Records Officer Guidance)

Following Code of Maryland, State Government Article, §10–609, the Records Management Division of the Department of General Services reviews retention schedules and amendments for all state agencies (including UMD) and the State Archivist signs off to make them official.

The University of Maryland Records Schedule and the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety Records Schedule apply to the College Park campus.

  • The first university-wide records schedule was created in 2006 and revised in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2013 (current version, 2374A9).
  • More than 140 individual unit schedules and revisions were created between 1956 and 2010.
  • The first University of Maryland Police records schedule was created in 1956 and revised in 1996, 2005, and 2010 (current version, 2546).
  • The current Department of Public Safety schedule reflects a unit name change.

Visit the Maryland State Archives website for a list of all state agency records schedules past and present.

University of Maryland Records Schedule

The current records schedule is available on the Procurement and Business Services website. It provides the following information:

  • Item Number: Identifier assigned to the Record Series
  • Records Series: Title and description of the group of records associated with the Item Number
  • Retention: Retention period and/or conditions and requirements for disposition

University of Maryland Department of Public Safety Records Schedule

Records retention and disposition for the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety are scheduled separately from other campus units. The University of Maryland Department of Public Safety Records Schedule specifies record types, conditions of retention, and disposition of police records. This table provides the following information:

  • Item Number: Identifier assigned to the Record Series
  • Description: Title and description of the group of records associated with the Item Number
  • Retention: Retention period and/or conditions and requirements for disposition.