Guidance for academic departments and programs

Academic departments and programs create unique records that document teaching and learning. Because these records support both historical research and future decision-making, they often have long-term value for the Institute.

Retention schedules outline how long records must be stored and what happens once retention is met: records are either transferred to the Institute Archives or destroyed. Please note that some departmental records may not be covered by an existing schedule. In these cases, please contact us at rmprogram@mit.edu for guidance.

Departmental records that may be eligible for transfer to the Institute Archives include:

• Accreditation records that document the department’s accreditation, including reports, self-assessments, reviews, and related documentation.
• Administrative records like reports, strategic plans, organizational charts, and policies and procedures related to grading and testing.
• Award records that document recipients of academic awards.
• Budget records that summarize the annual departmental budget.
• Committee records including charges, agendas, minutes, and reports – especially committees involved in the development and evaluation of curriculum or other core departmental functions.
• Curriculum records including course proposals, approvals, and offerings; documentation of ongoing review, modifications, and major changes to curriculum.
• Departmental copies of course materials like syllabi and reading lists.
• Departmental history records that detail important people, events, and changes.
• Program development records that document the establishment and the development of academic programs.
• Single copies of newsletters and publicity materials like posters, flyers, event calendars and programs, magazines, and brochures.
• Select labeled photographs and recordings that document activities and events.
• Teaching records such as brief biographies of faculty and their areas of research and subjects taught.

Departmental records that are not eligible for transfer to the Institute Archives include:

• Course evaluations.
• Faculty promotion and tenure records.
• Faculty search records including applications and evaluations of candidates.
• Financial records with the exception of annual departmental budgets.
• Letters of recommendation.
• “Non-records” like duplicates, drafts, and communications that do not relate to the functional responsibility of the department.
• Staff personnel records.
• Student work like graded papers and problem sets. (Students submit theses directly to MIT Open Scholarship).

It is possible that your department has transferred records to the Institute Archives before. Please search MIT ArchivesSpace to see what has already been transferred by your department. It may be helpful to use the name of your department (as well as former versions of the name) as search terms. Contact us if we can assist with your search.

To initiate a transfer, please see Transfer Records to Archives.