Subject Area: Miscellaneous
Responsible Office: Financial Services
Approval: Associate Vice President for Finance
Originally Issued: January 1995
Revised: February 2010
Refer Questions To: James Ribikawskis, 773-702-3690

PURPOSE:   To guide Financial Services personnel in managing official Financial Services records stored at its off-site facility. An official record is defined as the original, paper copy of an invoice, receipt, contract, form, statement, or report. The definition includes a microfilm, microfiche or other archival image media made of an original, paper copy. The Financial Services area that processes the official record is referred to as the Responsible Department in this policy. This policy only applies to documents maintained by Financial Services . Contact the office of your Dean, Director, or Vice-President for document retention policies specific to your unit.

POLICY

A. Preparing records for storage at the off-site facility:

1. The Responsible Department must complete the following tasks before sending official records to the off-site facility:

A. Secure the official records(s) in a storage container (e.g., box, file cabinet) designed for easy content retrieval and capable of surviving the storage period.

B. Clearly label the storage container with the following information:

•   Container Number
•   Storage location
•   Description of the Contents
•   Responsible Department
•   Disposal Year

C. Submit an Off-Site Storage Form for each storage container to the Record Retention Coordinator.

2. The original, paper copy of an official record should be destroyed whenever a microfilm, microfiche or other archival image media is made of it. The image should be sent to the off-site facility if it is on the Record Retention Schedule attached to this policy.

1. Official records must be retained in accordance with the Record Retention Schedule attached to this policy.
2. The Responsible Department must maintain its official records at the facility.

1. Official records may not be destroyed if they support a current audit or litigation. The Responsible Department must verify an official record's status prior to disposal.
2. Official records must be destroyed as indicated in the Record Retention Schedule attached to this policy.
3. The Responsible Department is responsible for destroying the official records upon their expiration date.