Advising Files

Function

Human Resources

PIB

PIB-156

RRSDA Number

2026-001

Department

Faculty Relations

Description, purpose and use of records

The series consists of records documenting advice given by the Faculty Relations Department to members of the university community on faculty matters that are considered general in nature.

Records include correspondence, notes from meetings, emails, guidelines, formal advice, etc.

Note: This schedule does not apply to advice which becomes part of a formal discipline, grievance, or arbitration file. Records related to such matters should follow the appropriate RRSDA (see the related RRSDA section for more detail). Similarly, this schedule does not apply to advice records which become part of a faculty member's personnel file.

Retention periods

Records	Active Retention	Semi-Active Retention	Total retention	Final disposition
General Advice	CY + 1 year	NIL	CY + 1 year	Destruction
Collective Agreement Advice	CY + 20 years	NIL	CY + 20 years	Full Retention by Archives
Process and Procedural Advice	CY + 10 years	NIL	CY + 10 years	Destruction
Career Progression Advice	CY + 20 years	NIL	CY + 20 years	Destruction

Active = Active Retention Period, Keep in Office; Semi-Active = Semi-Active Retention period, transfer to University Records Centre; CY = Current calendar year; CFY = Current fiscal year; CS = Current semester; S/O = Superseded or obsolete; OPR = Office of Primary Responsibility; Non-OPR = All other departments

Authorities

These records are created, used, retained and managed in accordance with the following authorities:

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RSBC 1996, c. 165)

Retention rationale

Advising files can be divided into the following categories; general advice, collective agreement advice, process and procedural advice, and career progression advice. Each category of advice has different retention periods as described below.

General Advice

Advice which connects members of the university communirty with a resource or publicly available information. General Advice interactions are brief and require no or minimal follow-up. Therefore, upon expiry of the total retention period (CY + 1), these records cease to have administrative value and should be destroyed.

Collective Agreement Advice

Advice which provides specific interpretation of the collective agreement, primarily to Labour Relations and other university administrators. This category of advice has long-term administrative and historic value for the university and is frequently consulted. As such, upon expiry of the total retention period (CY + 20) these records should be transferred to the University Archives for permanent retention. Note: This advice category is separate from Bargaining Unit Negotiations and Collective Agreement records which are scheduled separately under RRSDA 2010-005.

Process and Procedural Advice

Advice which provides interpretations to Faculty Relations processes and procedures (e.g., hiring search committee compositions, conflict of interest policy, etc.) as well as Academic Policies (e.g., A 10.01 Academic Appointments, etc.). This category of advice is referenced frequently by the department; however, since policies and procedures change overtime, upon expiry of the total retention period (CY +10), these records cease to have administrative value and should be destroyed.

Career Progression Advice

Advice provided to memebrs of the university community related to career progression (i.e., progress through the ranks, leaves, etc.). As the timeline for career progress varies for each faculty member, retaining career progress advice for CY + 20 ensures that Faculty Relations advisors have sufficient information to provide advice on matters related to a faculty member's unique career progress. As many records related to career progress are transferred and retained in the faculty member's personnel file for longer retention (e.g., appoinment letters, leave approvals, promotion letters, etc.), upon expiry of the total retention period (CY + 20), these records cease to have administrative value and should be destroyed.

Related RRSDAs

Status

RRSDA is in force

Approval Date

09 Apr 2026

Last Revised Date