Managing the Records of Higher Education: The State of Records Management in American Colleges and Universities

Abstract

A half century after the beginnings of records management and institutional archives in American colleges and universities, the authors undertook a broadly based national survey to analyze the state of records management in academe and to identify program characteristics. Campus-wide programs were identified at approximately one-third of the 449 responding colleges and universities, particularly at public institutions subject to state legal requirements for public accountability. The survey also identified widespread implementation of decentralized, office-centered records management programs by registrars and other campus officials. Archivists accounted for most of the survey respondents reporting no campus-wide programs. College and university archivists have long been tireless supporters of academic records management, believing that records management responsibility provides a legally mandated means to identify and accession records of enduring value. But archivists should modify their traditional approach to records management in order to implement and maintain viable programs.