Harvard’s Records Schedules

Developed by the Harvard University Archives and Records Management Services, Harvard’s records schedules are one of the foundations of the comprehensive records management program authorized by the Corporation in its Vote of March 13, 1995. Records management programs promote efficiency, protect the University from risk and legal exposure, provide access to required information, and support the integrity of actions and decisions. 

Records schedules provide guidance for all Harvard administrators, faculty, and staff on how long to keep different types of records and on whether to send records to an archive or destroy records when they are no longer needed.

Following Harvard’s records schedules help to ensure that:

• records are kept long enough to meet compliance requirements, including Federal and state laws and regulations, where applicable
• records are not kept longer than necessary, which exposes the University to unnecessary costs and risks
• records of enduring administrative and historical value are transferred to an appropriate archive for business continuity purposes and to ensure Harvard’s institutional legacy
• Harvard employees can make informed decisions about keeping and disposing of records

Harvard has two types of schedules. 

The General Records Schedule (GRS) covers records commonly found in offices across the University. The GRS applies to all faculties and academic centers, departments, affiliates and allied institutions, projects, and initiatives of the University, and to records in all formats and media. It is organized into sections that reflect common functions at the University, such as finance, human resources, and student activities and services. 

Records unique to certain offices or functions may be governed by office-specific schedules. Most offices do not need office-specific records schedules. However, if you do not find an entry in the GRS to describe your records, please contact your local records management program.

Each records schedule entry contains a description of the records and examples of the types of documents you might find in those files. The entries also contain retention plans that provide specific guidance on how long to keep records of the type in question and whether they will ultimately be eligible for secure destruction or transfer to an archive. Each retention period begins with a prompt - an event, action, or cut-off point that indicates when to start calculating the retention.

Records that have significant historical and/or administrative value may be eligible for transfer to an archive for long term preservation: this is indicated in the retention plan by the phrases "contact archives," transfer to archives," and "retain permanently."