Destruction of College Records

Before destroying any College record, make sure the records are eligible for destruction. This process is described in detail in the College Administrative Procedures, Disposition of College Records. The destruction of any record identified on the College Records Retention Schedule must be authorized and documented by Records Management Services. This includes college records in digital format--all hard drives, shared drives, images, email, etc.

Records That Have Met Retention Date

1. Records listed on the College Retention Schedule that have met their retention requirements need documentation and approval before shredding. This can be done by filling out an Authorization to Destroy Records form. The form requires a record series number, description, start and end date and the approvals of the Records Custodian and Records Manager. (For inactive records storage, see Inactive Records on Retention Schedule above.)

2. Records not on College Retention Schedule must be evaluated by Records Management Services and then destroyed and documented according to ACC procedures.

Boxing Your Records

• Use any box that is no larger than the standard "regulation box" (12"W x 10"H x 15"L). The boxes that paper comes in work well.
• Call Records Management to verify what has been sent in the past. (If the series has previously been destroyed or we are storing it in inactive storage already, different procedures apply.)
• Group your records by date (Fiscal Year: September - August; Calendar Year: January - December; Program Year: June - July or Semester).Fill out the Authorization to Destroy Records form.
• Complete a shipping label for each box. Attach the label to the center of the front of the box.
• Place the signed Authorization to Destroy Records form in the first box of each series.
• Call 223-1170 with the total number of boxes and we will order a pick-up.

Destruction of Non-Retention Schedule (non-record) Materials

Non-record materials fall into two categories: Confidential Information and General Information.

• Confidential/Sensitive Information - All non-record material that contains confidential information (refer to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA and Texas Public Information Act for details on privacy information) such as Social Security numbers, home addresses, telephone numbers, grades, and other personal privacy information must be rendered unrecognizable.

  Material that includes sensitive or confidential information must be placed in one of our confidential records bins or sent to us for shredding. The process for sending confidential materials to the Records Center for destruction is outlined in the procedures below.

• General Information - Non-record material that does not include confidential information may be recycled. Find out more about the College’s Recycling Program by visiting the Facilities and Operations website.

Before completing the Non-Records Material Transfer form, make sure the records you are attempting to destroy are not on the College Retention Schedule.  The following resources are available to assist you:

• College Retention Schedule 

• Records vs Non-Record Material (interactive quiz)

• Records Management Staff

Procedures
Note:	Purge your files (paper and digital) systematically and consistently. semester (January - May; June - August; August - December) semiannual (January - June or July - December) calendar year [January - December] fiscal year [September - August]
1.	Determine if documents are "non-record" material.
2.	Pack different record types separately.
3.	Complete Non-Record Material Transfer form.
4.	When you click on the Submit Request button at the bottom of the form, a confirmation page will be displayed.  Print the confirmation page and include it in the first box of records.
5.	Print shipping labels. [The Shipping Label is designed to print on the ACC generic labels. (Available through General Stores.) You may also print on plain paper and tape to the box.]
6.	Complete the label information and adhere a label to each box.
7.	Your request is automatically emailed to the Records Management Records Center for processing. You will be notified by email with authorization and instructions regarding the transfer of your records.