Dear Faculty,
With the 2024-25 academic year underway, we would like to encourage all faculty to consider the safe, secure destruction of inactive, confidential university administrative records while adhering to the UCSC Records Management Program and policies. University records include, but are not limited to, any email in your UCSC account(s), files in your UCSC Google Drive, and any physical records associated with your university activities.
The Faculty FAQ for Public Records Requests provides a description of what counts as a disclosable record for faculty. In brief, the CA Public Records Act (CPRA) broadly defines a “public record” to include any “writing” that “relates to the conduct of the public’s business” and which is “prepared, owned, used, or retained” by a state agency, including the University of California. “Writing” means any communication in any format: email, voicemail, notes, etc. These faculty records/communications are required to be collected and disclosed in response to a public records request. There are very few exemptions to such a disclosure request (see the Faculty FAQ for Public Records Requests for some examples). DO NOT destroy records that are subject to an open public records request, subject to a litigation hold or preservation notice for pending or foreseeable litigation, part of an investigation activity, or under audit.
Only keep what you are obligated to keep, as detailed in the UC Records Retention Schedule (https://recordsretention.
We have seen an increased level of activity in public records requests, and we expect that to continue. It is helpful to be prepared with regular records maintenance before a public records request is received.
Please contact Diane Lallemand at diane@ucsc.edu for more information regarding the lifecycle of institutional information and responsible email management. If you have questions related to a public records request or a litigation hold or preservation notice that you received, please contact the Office of Campus Counsel at campuscounsel@ucsc.edu.
With the 2024-25 academic year underway, we would like to encourage all faculty to consider the safe, secure destruction of inactive, confidential university administrative records while adhering to the UCSC Records Management Program and policies. University records include, but are not limited to, any email in your UCSC account(s), files in your UCSC Google Drive, and any physical records associated with your university activities.
The Faculty FAQ for Public Records Requests provides a description of what counts as a disclosable record for faculty. In brief, the CA Public Records Act (CPRA) broadly defines a “public record” to include any “writing” that “relates to the conduct of the public’s business” and which is “prepared, owned, used, or retained” by a state agency, including the University of California. “Writing” means any communication in any format: email, voicemail, notes, etc. These faculty records/communications are required to be collected and disclosed in response to a public records request. There are very few exemptions to such a disclosure request (see the Faculty FAQ for Public Records Requests for some examples). DO NOT destroy records that are subject to an open public records request, subject to a litigation hold or preservation notice for pending or foreseeable litigation, part of an investigation activity, or under audit.
Only keep what you are obligated to keep, as detailed in the UC Records Retention Schedule (https://recordsretention.
We have seen an increased level of activity in public records requests, and we expect that to continue. It is helpful to be prepared with regular records maintenance before a public records request is received.
Please contact Diane Lallemand at diane@ucsc.edu for more information regarding the lifecycle of institutional information and responsible email management. If you have questions related to a public records request or a litigation hold or preservation notice that you received, please contact the Office of Campus Counsel at campuscounsel@ucsc.edu.
Sincerely,
Lori and Diane
Lori Kletzer
Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Diane Lallemand
Campus Records Manager
