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Records Management - Training

Below are training resources for the NDSU community.

Annual training for Unit Records Coordinators 

Annual training is required of all Unit Records Coordinators (URCs). This training may also be used by NDSU staff who are not URCs, to learn more about records management.

Completion of this training will certify URCs for the current fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).
The content of the most recent training session is available at URC RM training 2023 03-23


To complete the online training:

  1. Log into Blackboard Learn original: https://blackboard.ndus.edu using your NDUS username and password.
  2. Select the Courses link on the left.
  3. Locate and select the Course Catalogue link in the upper right.
  4. In the search box type "NDSU records" without the quotation marks and select Go.
  5. Drag the scroll bar on the right far enough down to see the name of the course (NDSU1-TRAIN-RECORDS-MGMT) under Course ID.
  6. Hover your mouse over the course name to reveal a drop-down list. Select Enroll.
Course instructions:
  1. Course Content
  2. Download the RM Training 2022 03-22 final.pdf file to read and review the slides. This is the current version of the training curriculum.
  3. Click on the Mark Reviewed button to confirm you've read the material
  4. Click on the Verification link and select Begin to complete the training
  5. Select Yes to indicate that you understand the material presented
  6. Click Save and Submit
  7. Click OK to view results
  8. Click OK on the bottom right-hand corner to move on to viewing your Achievement Certificate
  9. On the left side menu, click on Achievements to view and print your NDSU Records Management Training Certificate

Electronic Records Management 

Sponsored by the Council of State Archivists, Electronic Records Day is an opportunity to raise community awareness of our digital records and to enlist help in managing and preserving them. This day is designed to raise awareness among state government agencies, the general public, related professional organizations, and other stakeholders about the crucial role electronic records play in our world. The volume and complexity of government electronic records and information continue to increase. We must work together in order for electronic records to remain accessible and continue to provide value in our business processes.
Additional information on electronic records is available at https://www.nd.gov/itd/services/records-management-program/electronic-records-management and
https://www.history.nd.gov/archives/electronicrecords.html
Guidance and recommendations on management and disposal of e-mail records is provided at E-Records Management 2016 09-07. Questions may be directed to NDSU.RecordsManagement@ndsu.edu

Following is information and guidance on working with institutional records as a remotely working employee, kindly provided by Enrique Garcia, NDSU Chief Information Security Officer, on Aug. 28, 2020. 

Records are constantly being created by employees while using a computing device. Employees have a duty to protect those records from threats. Some examples are: 

  • Disclosure. Access to an institutional record by an individual who is not authorized to see that record
  • Cryptolocking. Data on a computer are encrypted by malware. and ransom is demanded in order to decrypt the information. Legal counsel’s current opinion is that NDSU cannot pay ransom.
  • Exfiltration. Data on a computer is sent to a repository on the internet. Ransom is demanded in order to not make the information public.
  • Alteration and destruction. Data is modified or deleted knowingly or unknowingly by an unauthorized individual.

Recommendations: 

  • NDSU owned devices such as computers, cellphones and tablets
    • Limit browsing to sites needed for work related activities. Using a work device for everyday browsing exposes the device to sites that can contain malware and infect the computer.
    • Only the employee should use the device. Other individuals could access records that are protected by privacy laws such as FERPA. Additionally, institutional records could be altered or deleted. Finally, non-employees are more likely to browse to sites not related to work and therefore exposing the device to malware.
  • Personally-owned devices 
    • Security of the device is not managed by NDSU IT so the level of security varies widely
    • Personally -owned devices can be used by many individuals which cannot ensure the confidentiality of institutional records
    • Browsing on personally owned devices is not limited to safe sites which exposes the computer to a higher probability of malware infection
    • Not all personally owned computers have disk encryption approved by NDSU IT. If the device is lost, there is a potential for disclosure of institutional records
    • The use of personally owned computers is discouraged for the following reasons:

Use of NDSU email accounts

Following is information and guidance on use of our NDSU email accounts, kindly provided by Enrique Garcia, NDSU Chief Information Security Officer, on March 9, 2022. 

·         NDSU Policy 158.1, “E-Mail as an Official Communication Method for Employees,” section 6.4, “Business Use of E-mail,” states that:

“Individuals’ NDSU official e-mail addresses are to be used in accordance with the business of the University and for purposes directly related to their position and/or job functions. Official e-mail addresses may not be used for conducting personal business. Incidental personal use is allowed and is to be determined by the respective dean, provost, vice president, president, director, department chairperson, or department head. Personal use must follow all applicable NDSU policies and laws. Use of email to store or transmit social security numbers, dates of birth, credit card numbers, or any sensitive data is explicitly disallowed for both business and incidental personal use.”

In simple (and frightening) terms, this means that if we don’t want our employer to know our personal business, we should not use NDSU email for our personal matters, and here is why: when sensitive data is sent, O365 sends an alert, and NDSU’s IT Security has to review the data. The result is that information we emailed from our NDSU account about things like personal purchases, tax returns, house refinancing, debts, loans, and the like, is no longer private.

 ·         To read the full NDSU Policy 158.1, please visit https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/158_1.pdf .




Keywordsrecords, management, retention, records retention, training, train   Doc ID99127
OwnerCeCe R.GroupIT Knowledge Base
Created2020-03-19 14:44:30Updated2024-01-10 12:04:11
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