Kevin Thorie, academic archivist, says you don't need to be paranoid. No one is monitoring your e-mail. The guidelines suggest that you delete personal messages immediately after reading them. This means some messages must be stored for an appropriate time span, so they can be provided to those who have the right to request to inspect them.
Life cycles vary for different types of records.
For example, he said the university keeps an individual's personnel files eight years after they retire. According to Thorie, grade rosters, Curriculum and Instruction Committee records, and records with historical significance are vital and should be preserved to last forever. If you have questions about how long to keep certain documents, contact Thorie. Frequently, individuals who wish to use Stout's historical records get in touch with him. Recently, a George Washington University employee who was researching the history of psychology requested information.