Records Management
What is a Records Schedule?
Records Schedules, or Records Retention and Disposition Authorities (RRDAs), dictate to offices throughout the state of Wisconsin how long to keep their records (called the retention period) and what to do with those records once that time has passed (called the disposition instructions). As a member of the UW System, our organization produces many records which are scheduled under General Records Schedules, which are RRDAs which cover record types produced by multiple offices. Some units may also be covered by Specific Records Schedules, which dictate retention and disposition of records for that office only. Under Wisconsin state law, records may not be destroyed unless they have been scheduled under an approved RRDA. All records schedules sunset, or expire, after 10 years, at which point their associated records groups must be re-scheduled.
To determine whether your office produces scheduled records, please consult the following pages, in decreasing order of generality:
Wisconsin Department of Administration Records Schedules
These schedules apply to records produced by all state government agencies, including the University of Wisconsin. In many cases the UW System has opted out of these schedules, so consult with the Records Manager before taking disposition actions based on these schedules.
UW System-wide Records Schedules
Schedules applying to entire schools, divisions, or all of UW Colleges and UW-Extension, as well as those schedules applying to records common to all UW System institutions. The UW System-wide schedules are in the process of being updated, so consult with the Records Manager before taking disposition actions based on these schedules.