Introduction to the UBC Retention and Disposition Schedule (RDS)

The UBC RDS is a guide for managing all records throughout the University. It defines retention periods for records and determines final disposition.

The university has legal obligations to retain records for an appointed period of time according to their nature. Records may hold evidential value for financial, administrative, and historic reasons. Records which detail decision-making, culture, origins, and growth of the University serve as sources of institutional memory. The University Archives is the space dedicated to the permanent preservation of historical records of university activities.

UBC employees will also destroy certain types of records as a part of their work life. At UBC the destruction of records is guided by UBC policy GA4, and given more specificity in the UBC RDS. The regular destruction of records provides several benefits including:

  • Reduced risk of privacy and cyber-security breech
  • Reduced risk of inappropriate retention of records containing personal information
  • Improved legal compliance
  • Improved efficiency in the workplace
  • Reduced storage, digital clutter and associated costs

The UBC RDS is organized from general to specific. For example, a top level of Human Resources will lead to sub categories such as Employee Relations or Leave Management, and will further lead to administrative records unique to those entities. In the same way, a top level of Financial Management will lead to sub categories of Accounts Payable or Receivable.

End-users can either navigate classification levels or search by keyword to find relevant records.

For More Information: Contact records.management@ubc.ca for questions about the RDS, records retention and/or transferring records to the archives.