Appendix I

Definition of Terms Used in This Manual

Access
Designates the availability or permission to see records, manuscripts, and other archival materials. Access is determined by relevant state and federal laws, as well as Andrews University policies governing the AUARC.

Active Records or Current records
Records needed close at hand on a regular basis to conduct the current business of an office. They must, therefore, be kept and maintained in the office.

Administrative Value
The usefulness of records to the office of origin for carrying out its day-to-day activities.

Appraisal
The evaluation of records to determine their value for the University and their proper disposition.

Archives
An area designated for storage of inactive and non-current records, manuscripts, papers, and memorabilia which are retained permanently for historical, legal, research, or social reasons. The AUARC is the designated office (Archives) on campus responsible for selecting and preserving all University records with long-term value.

Central Files
These are the files of several offices or organizational entities which are physically and/or functionally centralized and supervised in one location.

Closed Records
These are records which are sealed and not open to the public, nor any Andrews University employee, accept to authorized personnel from the AUARC and the entity which generated the records. Closure of records is determined by applicable State and Federal laws, as well as Andrews University policies governing the AUARC.

Current Records or Active Records
Records needed close at hand on a regular basis to conduct the current business of an office. They must, therefore, be kept and maintained in the office.

Custody
The guardianship of the University records which includes both physical possession with protective responsibilities and ownership with legal responsibilities.

Disposal or Disposition
The final state in a record's life cycle, involving, according to its records or retention schedule, either: destruction, transfer to inactive storage with destruction at a specified later date, or transfer to the University Archives for permanent preservation.

Document
Recorded information regardless of form or medium.

Evidential Value
The usefulness of records as the primary or legal evidence of an organization's authority, functions, operations, transactions, basic decisions, and procedures.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Also known as FERPA or the Buckley Amendment. The Act provides students with the right to inspect and review their education records; insures that in most instances the contents of education records may not be disclosed without the student's consent; and permits students to request the modification of inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate education records.

Filing
The process of sorting and arranging, classifying or categorizing, and storing records so that they may be retrieved rapidly when needed.

Filing System
A planned arrangement of records according to a classification scheme designed to satisfy the reference needs of the people who use them. It also structures records so that they are readily accessible and complete.

Fiscal Value
The usefulness of records for information about the financial transactions and obligations of an organization.

Historical Value
The usefulness of records for historical research concerning an organization's functions and development, or for information about persons, places, or events.

Inactive Records or Non-current Records
Records not needed on a regular basis and used in an office less than once a year. They could, therefore, be maintained at a remote location or be sent to the AUARC.

Informational Value
Factual data about the persons, events, problems, and conditions of the record creator which may be useful for historical research or other studies.

Intellectual Control
A series of measures, such as box and folder inventories, card catalog entries, and indexes that enable users of records to find the information they need.

Legal Value
The usefulness of records to contain evidence of legally enforceable rights or obligations of the Local, State and Federal government here or abroad, or any private person, cooperation, or institution.

Life-cycle
The theory that the paperwork of an institution goes through distinct phases: records are created, used for some purpose, stored or filed for future reference, evaluated, and eventually disposed of or transferred to an archives for permanent retention.

Non-current Records or Inactive Records
Records not needed on a regular basis and used in an office less than once a year. They could, therefore, be maintained at a remote location or be sent to the AUARC.

Non-records
Stocks of printed or reproduced documents kept for supply purposes where file copies have been retained for record purposes; books, periodicals, newspapers, or other library materials of Non-University origin preserved solely for reference purposes; preliminary drafts or computations, worksheets, and informal notes which do not represent significant steps in the preparation of a record document; duplicate copies of documents preserved only for convenience; materials not filed as evidence of departmental operations or for their informational value; or personal materials which are the property of the custodian and which have no relation to official duties.

Office of Origin
The office in which a given record or record series was originally created or accumulated.

Official Copy
A record which is not duplicated elsewhere, or the designated record copy of duplicated and dispersed materials.

Public Records
All books, papers, maps, photographs, films, recordings, or other documentary materials or any copy thereof, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any entity of the University.

Record
Any information, regardless of the format, captured in reproducible form that is required for conducting business. Records are the means by which information is transmitted from one person to another. They could be in any format: published or unpublished, paper, audio visual, or electronic.

Records Center
A storage area of the AUARC for the lower-cost maintenance of non-current records until they are scheduled for final disposition.

Record Group
A convenient means of keeping together records from the same organizational unit for administrative purposes.

Record Series or Series
A group of related records or documents, such as minutes, syllabi, etc. that are normally used and filed as a unit because they result from the same activity; and that permit evaluation as a unit for retention scheduling purposes.

Records Inventory
An identification and evaluation of the records possessed by an office for the purpose of creating a retention schedule.

Records Management
The management of any information captured in reproducible form that is required for conducting business.

Research Value
The usefulness of records for research by the government, business, private organizations, individuals, and scholars.

Retention
The process of holding documents for use.

Retention Period
The length of time an office must keep particular records. This is usually expressed in terms of years, months, days and may be contingent upon an event or specification.

Retention Schedule or Records Schedule
A document or timetable which lists records created and maintained in a unit and indicates how long these records are retained in current files, and/or at the AUARC. It also indicates what type of final disposition is made of these records after a retention period has ended. The provisions of such schedules are authorized and, therefore, mandatory according to relevant state and federal laws, as well as Andrews University policies governing the AUARC.

Retrieval
The process of locating and withdrawing documents and delivering them for use.

Scheduling
The process of analyzing and appraising the value of a given set of records, and then preparing a retention schedule showing the disposition of the records.

Transfer
The movement of records from one custodian to another. Usually moving records from active or semi-active office files to off-site storage or to the AUARC.

University Record
Any record created, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by Andrews University faculty and staff in the performance of duties for which they received compensation.