In honor of RIM Month, we welcome guest blogger Dusty Norwood, Director, Records Management Compliance, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), to discuss how UTMB promotes its records and information management program.  Thank you for contributing, Dusty!

The University of Texas Medical Branch’s Records Management Compliance program provides professional assistance to all university departments to manage the official records and information created in the course of business. Our society generates and processes information on an unprecedented scale. Managing this information in an effective and cost-efficient manner can be an overwhelming task.

As records and information managers, we must make every effort to keep ourselves educated and informed to remain compliant with state laws and best practices. There are many benefits to having an effective records and information management program. The benefits include compliance with legal retention requirements, faster retrieval of information, space savings, fewer lost or misfiled records, reduction of expenditures for records filing equipment, preservation of historical records, and protection of vital records.

Proper Records Management insures that information is stored in an organized and efficient manner, in an appropriate environment and is available when and where it is needed. While the importance of records management might not be obvious to every employee at the university, its impact on the university’s functions is indisputable. Records management is more than retention, storage and disposition of records. It includes all recordkeeping requirements and policies that establish and maintain control over information flow and administrative operations.

Below is a list of some of the techniques we use to promote consistent records management as a part of normal business practices at our university. All records management promotion materials may be found on UTMB Records Management Compliance web site. Click the “Education & Training” link,  to access these materials.

1.     Formal training classes include:

• Definitions, Laws and Responsibilities, 20 minutes
• The Records life-cycle, 20 minutes
• An overview of the retention schedule and disposition log, 20 minutes
• E-Mail management, 20 minutes
• The Basics, 2 hours
• Managing University Records, 40 minute on-line course

2.     Informal office visits

• one-on-one meetings with each department

3.     Department Records Retention Manual

• each department maintains their retention schedule and various records management transaction forms; including printed copies of all brochures and informational flyers

4.     Business Events, both active participation and/or hosting:

• Records And Information Management Month, campus article and posters
• Earth Day
• Open house with door prizes, shuttle service and refreshments

5.     How To Videos

• How To Store Records At The Records Center
• Using the Records Retention Schedule

6.     Brochures

• Records Center Services
• Department Records Coordinator Guide

7.     Informational Flyers

• Clean-Out Day
• Disposition Dates
• Earth Day 2011
• Earth Day 2012
• Email Management
• Move Tips
• New Employee Orientation
• Qs & As
• Records & Information Management (RIM) Month
• Records Center Open House
• Records Life Cycle
• Records Storage Steps
• Records Checklist
• Records Retention Manual
• Top Ten Reasons
• Transitory Records
• Vital Tips

8.     Miscellaneous publications

• Records Misconceptions

9.     Annual report

• Presented to the Office of Institutional Compliance and the Executive Institutional Compliance Committee

10.   Gap analysis survey

• Completed at the end of each three year retention certification cycle

11.   Annual Disposition Activity reporting

• Completed at the end of each Fiscal year and presented to each university department and the Office of Institutional Compliance

12.   New Leadership Training Classes

13.   Clean-Out Day

• Scheduled for the end of each fiscal and calendar year end

14.   Records Management Compliance Manual

• Informational document covering all aspects of managing records plus “how to” instructions

15.   A member of the Institutional Disaster Preparedness Team

16.   Work closely with Information Services and the University Archivist

17.   Robust web presence

• All records management promotion materials may be found on UTMB Records Management Compliance web site.