Is an Email a Valuable Record or Not?
Retain email messages with lasting value that are:
- Critical to the university’s mission
- Show major decisions affecting your department
- Required for legal, fiscal, tax, or auditing purposes
Use the following steps to determine if an email should be kept or not.
Step 1. Official BYU-Idaho Business Communication
Is the message official BYU-Idaho business or does it doucment a business process?
Yes
Go to Step 2.
No
Delete the email.
Step 2: Is the Email of Lasting Value?
Does BYU-Idaho need a record of the email as an official copy because it has lasting value for the university or department?
Yes
Go to Step 3.
No
Go to Step 5.
Step 3: Should You Keep the Email?
Consider if the email should still be kept. Consider if you are the sender or creator of the email, the only main recipient, or the primary custodian of the information.
Yes
Go to Step 4.
No
Go to Step 5.
Step 4: File According to Retention Procedures
If you need to keep the email, file it according to the retention period in the CRS.
Step 1. Determine Retention Period
Has the record met its retention period?
Step 2. Send to Permanent Holdings
If the email is still in its retention period, follow procedures in the CRS to send the email to Permanent Holdings in in office or in Special Collections.
Process 3. Dispose of the Email
If the email has met its retention period and needs to be disposed of, follow disposal procedures in the CRS.
Step 5: Is the Message Still Useful?
Determine if the email's contents are still useful to the university or your department.
Yes
Review the email to determine how best to manage and file it for future use.
No
If the email's contents are no longer useful to your organization but need to be kept for future reference, follow CRS procedures to send the email to Permanent Holdings in office or Special Collections.
No
If the email is not longer useful to your organization and does not need to be kept for future reference, delete it.