T he highest priority is balancing departmental needs with established records management principles. This is accomplished by consulting with office staff to establish guidelines that work for them. Disposing of, recycling, or removing inactive records to the University Archives according to established schedules allows more effective use of active records and contributes to office efficiency. T he University Archives manages inactive records efficiently, and inactive records are readily available to the office that created them. Types of vital records include governing board minutes and student transcripts.
Vital records are usually irreplaceable.
Important records are irreplaceable or replaceable only at great cost to the organization. These may include historical materials recording significant decisions or events in the organization's history. Useful records contribute to daily office efficiency. These records may include correspondence and records of financial transactions. They can generally be destroyed after their period of usefulness to the creating office is over.