SFU Records Retention Schedule and Disposal Authority (RRSDA)
Research Ethics Education Records

Description | PIB | Authorities | Retentional rational | Rentention and filing guidelines | Status

RRSDA number

2003-007

Record series

Research Ethics Education Records

Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR)

Research Ethics, Office of

Retention periods

Records Active retention (in office) Semi-active (records centre) Total retention Final disposition
Research Ethics Education Records (Paper) CY + 2 years 5 years CY + 7 years Selective Retention by Archives
Research Ethics Education Records (Electronic) S/O Nil S/O Destruction

CY = Current calendar year; CFY = Current fiscal year; CS = Current semester; S/O = Superseded or obsolete; OPR = Office of Primary Responsibility; Non-OPR = All other departments.

Description, purpose and use of records

The Director of the Office of Research Ethics (DORE) is responsible for designing and implementing educational programs to help members of the University community better understand federal, provincial and university policies and principles concerning ethics in human research. In particular, the educational efforts of the DORE and the Office of Research Ethics (ORE) aid students, faculty and staff in understanding the principles set forth in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans and SFU Policy R20.01, Ethics Review of Research Involving Human Subjects. Educational programming also aids students, faculty and staff in understanding how to prepare ethics applications that conform with SFU policy.

Records include on-line tutorials, PowerPoint presentations, informational handouts, speaking notes, participant feedback forms, and other records relating to the design, implementation and evaluation of ethics presentations, orientations and workshops.

See also RRSDA 2003-006, Research Ethics Advice.

Authorities

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

Retention rationale

The records are created, maintained and used to support the educational programming activities of the DORE and the ORE. Once a presentation, orientation or workshop has been designed it can be continually held or given with little to no revision, depending on the intended audience. However, over time, as SFU's ethics oversight infrastructure evolves, educational programming will have to be revised to remain relevant. Past presentations, orientations and workshops may act as templates upon which to design and build future educational programming tools. The total recommended retention period (CY + 7 years) is sufficient to meet the ORE's administrative need for these records.

Retention and filing guidelines

Research Ethics Education Records are created, maintained and used as part of the record-keeping system of the Office of Research Ethics which acts as secretariat to the Research Ethics Board. Education records should be coded according to the ORE's file classification plan (see EE, Ethics Education).

Many of the records covered by this RRSDA are created and saved electronically. However, ORE staff should print and file these records (e.g. on-line tutorials, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) to ensure a lasting account of ORE's education activities are preserved in support of its corporate memory. See the ORE file classification plan's scope notes for details. ORE staff should also create a folder directory structure on their desktop computers that mimics the secondaries relating to ethics education in the file plan. Store electronic versions in the applicable categories. Electronic versions may have value as templates upon which to tailor or build future educational aids. Treat the electronic versions as working documents and delete/destroy them when the records are S/O. See RRSDA 1999-061, Transitory Records. Note that Research Ethics Education Records should not be confused with the more routine records created in support of the administrative activities of "liaison and cooperation" and "communications" (see ORE file classification plan for more detail). These administrative records are generated by activities aimed at raising and maintaining the ORE's public profile, including publicizing the Office's mandate and liaising with professional bodies, funding agencies, governments and other universities. These records are covered by RRSDA 1999-005, General Administrative, Program and Subject Files. In contrast, records covered by this RRSDA support the core function of educating the university community about the details of an ethics oversight program.

At the end of the active retention period (CY + 2 years), box and transfer the paper files to the University Records Centre (URC). For each box prepare a box contents listing, itemizing all files contained in the box. Always include ONE copy of the file list inside the box sent to the URC taped to the underside of the lid; keep ONE copy for your own records; and send ONE copy (paper or electronic) to the Archives (see Procedures for Transferring Records to the University Records Centre).

Status

RRSDA is in force.

Approved by the University Archivist: 29 May 2003

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