A Retention Schedule is a guideline departments follow for storing all records, both active and inactive. The retention schedule also identifies what happens to the records when they are no longer needed within the department. Gustavus departments must follow the appropriate retention schedule. If records do not fit the retention schedule, please contact either the President's Office or the College Archives for more information.
As found in All-College Policies document, the College's Record Retention and Destruction Policy schedules are listed below.
Low use records may be transferred to the Gustavus Records Center for temporary storage. When records have reached the end of their required retention period, College Archives staff will contact the department about scheduled disposition. This may mean shredding or archiving as appropriate. All shredding will be handled by Minnesota Waste Processing, the Gustavus contracted shredding company.
| Records | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| By-laws and Articles of Incorporation | Permanent |
| Corporate resolutions | Permanent |
| Board and committee meeting agendas and minutes | Permanent |
| All-College Policies | Permanent |
| Conflict-of-interest disclosure forms | 4 years |
| Records | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Financial Statements (audited) | Permanent |
| Auditor management letters | 7 years |
| Payroll records | 7 years |
| Check registers and checks | 7 years |
| Bank deposits and statements | 7 years |
| Chart of accounts | 7 years |
| General ledgers and journals (includes bank reconciliations) | 7 years |
| Investment performance reports | 7 years |
| Equipment files and maintenance records | 7 years after dispostion |
| Contracts and agreements | 7 years after all obligations end |
| Correspondence - general | 3 years |
| Records | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Policies - occurrence type | Permanent |
| Policies - claims-made type | Permanent |
| Accident reports | 7 years |
| Safety (OSHA) reports | 7 years |
| Claims (after settlement) | 7 years |
| Group disability records | 7 years after end of benefits |
| Records | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Deeds | Permanent |
| Leases (expired) | 7 years after all obligations end |
| Mortgages, security agreements | 7 years after all obligations end |
| Records | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| IRS exemption determination and related correspondence | Permanent |
| IRS From 990-s | Permanent |
| Charitable Organizations Registration Statements (filed with Minnesota Attorney General) | Permanent |
| Records | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Employee personnel files | Permanent |
| Retirement plan benefits (plan descriptions, plan documents) | Permanent |
| Employee handbooks and faculty manuals | Permanent |
| Workers compensation claims (after settlement) | 7 years |
| Employee orientation and training materials | 7 years after use ends |
| Employment applications | 3 years |
| IRS Form I-9 (store separate from personnel file) | Greater of 1 year after end of service, or 3 years |
| Withholding tax statements | 7 years |
| Timecards, including electronic time reports | 3 years |
| Records | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Software licenses and support agreements | 7 years after all obligations end |
Electronic documents will be retained as if they were paper documents. Therefore, any electronic files that fall into one of the document types on the above schedule will be maintained for the appropriate amount of time. If a user has sufficient reason to keep an e-mail message, the message should be printed in hard copy and kept in the appropriate file or moved to an “archive” computer file folder. Backup and recovery methods will be tested on a regular basis.
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