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Cornell Electronic Records Report available



Colleagues,

The Cornell University Archives received a grant from the NHPRC for an 18-month project to investigate the requirements for electronic administrative records. During the summer of 2000, the project was restructured to focus on electronic student records. A consultant with substantial electronic records experience, Nancy McGovern, visited Cornell for an extended period, interviewing relevant staff in the Cornell University Archives, the Registrar?s Office, and Cornell Information Technologies. She compiled a report which:

· Provides a starting point for universities to consider their electronic student records systems · Proposes approaches and considerations for preserving electronic student records · Presents the technical and organizational context for electronic student records systems · Provides relevant sources and research citations for further research and applied projects

The report includes generalizable recommendations, addresses records management and archival considerations, details pros and cons for preservation options, and identifies potential research issues for student records. By presenting the findings of the Cornell project, the report is intended to serve as a base and provide a context for universities to consider their electronic student records systems and to establish an appropriate preservation strategy. It is structured to deal with four types of issues:

1. Universal systems issues that are relevant for preservation, regardless of the type of system that is being considered, including general recordkeeping requirements and long-term access issues.

2. Generic concerns that pertain to electronic student records systems, but are not institution- or system-specific, including retention guidelines and records management concerns, the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) metadata definition for academic records and transcripts, and archival concerns.

3. System specific implementation issues including concerns that are defined by the system implementation and that may be specific to the organizational environment in which the system is implemented.

4. Preservation approaches and strategies which must be suited to the resources and requirements of the organization and the requirements of the records.

While the report makes recommendations specific to Cornell, we hope it will be helpful to all university archivists. It suggests specific strategies, but also recommends further individual and collaborative research projects. The report is available online through our Web site at http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/online/studentRecords/ or in paper form at a cost of $10.00. Please direct requests to Peter Martinez, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, 2B Kroch Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (pm66@cornell.edu)


Elaine Engst
Director & University Archivist
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
2B Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

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