Official Records Retention Schedules

Please Note: The UI Official Records Retention schedules are currently under revision. Updates will be posted periodically.

These retention schedules are designed to assist University departments in preserving Official Records appropriately while providing economy and efficiency in the creation, organization, maintenance, use, and disposition of records.

Search Criteria

Administrative Unit: represents either the administrative unit responsible for establishing the Official Record retention criteria OR the Administrative Unit responsible for maintaining the Official Records identified.

Confidential: indicates Official Records that contain information of various sorts that the University receives and holds confidential unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records or by another person duly authorized to release such information. Examples include: student records, medical records, personnel records, etc.

Vital: indicates Official Records that contain information considered essential for the operations of a department (and/or the University) and includes information that may prevent a department from incurring serious liability or risk, or that would be extremely costly to replace. In the event of a disaster, this information, if destroyed, would make it difficult for a department to conduct normal business activities.

Export the full list of Official Record Retention Schedules available to date – or use the search criteria below for a more targeted search.

Hazardous Waste Facility Audits

Category: Environmental Health & Safety

Description:

Records of audits performed at the EMF

Official Files Maintained by:

UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent

Confidential: No
Vital: Yes

HazCom Program

Category: Environmental Health & Safety

Description:

Hazardous Communication program (inventory lists or Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for Occ Safety) for Non-laboratory UI departments with OSHA Haz Com requirements.

Official Files Maintained by:
Local Department responsible for creating or overseeing the record

UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent

Confidential: No
Vital: No

Household Move Records

Category: Contracts, Real Estate and Leasing

Description:

Incoming Faculty & Staff Relocation. Including, but not limited to: invoices from the moving company, the department authorization and e-mails, the moving company estimates, any significant emails (for audit purposes) about agreements to pay for special items (art work, automobile moving, wine collections etc.).

Official Files Maintained by:
UI Purchasing, Accounts Payable and Travel

UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Human and Non-Human Use Applications - Iowa Department of Public Health

Category: Environmental Health & Safety

Description:

Applications for the use of radioactive materials in human, non-human and laboratory subjects and research.

Official Files Maintained by:

UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

I-9's

Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment

Description:

I-9 Immigration Forms. Employers must retain an employee's completed form I-9 for as long as the individual works for the employer.

Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Payroll

UI Retention Guidelines: Exception (see description)

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

IACUC Documents

Category: Office of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Description:

Animal welfare concerns, letters to regulatory agencies, annual agency reports, post-approval monitoring reports

Official Files Maintained by:
Office of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

UI Retention Guidelines: 3 years, per USDA/NIH regulations

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

IACUC Minutes, Semi-Annual Reports

Category: Office of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Description:

IACUC meeting minutes, semi-annual reports, and recommendations

Official Files Maintained by:
Office of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

UI Retention Guidelines: 3 years, per USDA/NIH regulations

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

IL-50I: Form IL-492-0053

Category: Tax Records

Description:

Illinois Employer Withholding Tax Payment filed monthly with Illinois Dept. of Revenue & Finance by UI Payroll.

Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Payroll

UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

ILL-94I: Form IL-492-0018

Category: Tax Records

Description:

Illinois Employer's Quarterly Withholding Tax Return filed quarterly with Illinois Dept. of Revenue & Finance by UI Payroll.

Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Payroll

UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Ill-W-3: Form IL-492-0019

Category: Tax Records

Description:

Annual Illinois Withholding Return filed annually with Illinois Department of Revenue & Finance by UI Payroll.

Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Payroll

UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Immigration Approval Notice or Green Card

Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment

Description:

H1B, TN, O1, E3, H1B1-Chile/Singapore, etc. approval notices, lawful permanent resident (Green Cards) documentation.

Official Files Maintained by:
Local Department responsible for creating or overseeing the record

UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years following termination of employee

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Immigration Filings Documentation

Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment

Description:

H1B, TN, O1, E3, H1B1-Chile/Singapore, etc. filings, lawful permanent resident (Green Card) filings and supporting documentation.

Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Faculty & Staff Immigration Services

UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years following termination of employee

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Incident Files

Category: Risk Management, Insurance and Loss Prevention

Description:

Records of incidents involving personal injury and property damage to third parties both on and off University property.

Official Files Maintained by:
UI Risk Management

UI Retention Guidelines: 10 Years

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Incident Files- injury to minors

Category: Risk Management, Insurance and Loss Prevention

Description:

Records of incidents involving personal injury to minors both on and off University property.

Official Files Maintained by:
UI Risk Management

UI Retention Guidelines: Age to maturity plus 2 Years (20 yrs.)

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Incident Investigation Reports

Category: Environmental Health & Safety

Description:

Reports from incident investigations, including those involving biological, chemicals, or radioactive materials, and other types of incidents, such as injury investigation follow-up, etc.

Official Files Maintained by:

UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years

Confidential: No
Vital: No

Informal Resolutions of Complaints Brought to Academic or Administrative Officers

Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment

Description:

All records of informal resolutions of complaints brought to academic or administrative officers (AAOs) alleging violations of UI Community Policies, including witness statements and any associated findings.

Official Files Maintained by:
Local Department responsible for creating or overseeing the record

UI Retention Guidelines: Retained by the AAO or their successor for a period of no less than 7 years from the date of the filing of the complaint or the final university action taken in response to the report/complaint, which

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Institutional Biosafety Committee Meeting Minutes

Category: Environmental Health & Safety

Description:

Minutes of the UI Institutional Biosafety Committee Meetings as required by the National Institutes of Health.

Official Files Maintained by:

UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent

Confidential: No
Vital: Yes

Instrument Calibration Reports

Category: Environmental Health & Safety

Description:

Records of instruments calibrated for Principal Investigators

Official Files Maintained by:

UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years

Confidential: No
Vital: Yes

Inventor Sharing Agreements

Category: Inventions, Patents and Research Agreements

Description:

These are agreements signed by the inventors laying out unique distributions of personal income generated by the licensing of their disclosure. UI Policy outlines an equal sharing of a specified percentage of licensing income captured by UIRF.

Official Files Maintained by:
UI Research Foundation

UI Retention Guidelines: Patent Term + 5 Years

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

Investment Statements

Category: Banking & Investments

Description:

Activity and investment performance reports, compliance documents

Official Files Maintained by:
Treasury Operations

UI Retention Guidelines: 10 years

Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes

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