New Yrk Institute f Technlgy Faculty and Staff Email Retentin Plicy Nvember 2013 I. PURPOSE As electrnic mail (email) has becme the primary frm f cmmunicatin at NYIT and thrughut the wrld, the vlume f messages cntinues t rise expnentially. This creates a severe burden n NYIT s email servers and netwrks and has ther cllateral effects including expsing a grwing vlume f infrmatin t ptential security breaches and large curt litigatin csts resulting frm the requirement that litigants search and review electrnic data as part f the discvery prcess. Email remains an imprtant cmmunicatin tl, but it shuld nt serve as a filing r recrd retentin management system. This NYIT Faculty and Staff Email Retentin Plicy brings the institutin int cmpliance with legal and regulatry requirements, while imprving NYIT s peratinal efficiency and effectiveness. II. SCOPE This plicy applies t all email accunts n NYIT email servers, including NYIT faculty and staff at all NYIT campuses wrldwide. Any faculty r staff member fund t have vilated this plicy may be subject t disciplinary actin, up t and including terminatin. III. POLICY This NYIT Faculty and Staff Email Retentin Plicy establishes a maximum ne-year retentin perid fr email stred n NYIT email servers. The nly exceptin is fr email accunts which are subject t litigatin hld ntices issued by the Office f the General Cunsel. Messages and/r attachments that need t be preserved, either pursuant t NYIT s Recrd Retentin Page 1 f 5
Plicy [https://my.nyit.edu/grup/plicies-and-prcedures/internal-audit-and-prcess-reengineering ] r fr ther reasns, must be retained utside the email system. IV. PROCEDURE A. Autmated Deletin f Emails Cmmencing n Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2014, NYIT email systems will autmatically and permanently delete messages lder than ne year n active email servers. The deletin will be dne daily n a rlling basis. This means that n Jan.17, 2014, all emails dated n r prir t Jan. 17, 2013 will be deleted, n Jan.18, 2014, emails dated Jan. 18, 2013 will be deleted, and s n. This autmatic deletin plicy applies t messages within all flders (inbx, sent, drafts, lcated in all Outlk flders, etc.) n NYIT faculty and staff email servers. B. Email Retentin Emails and/r attachments that need t be retained fr lnger than ne year shuld be archived t file flders n an NYIT central file server (X: r Z: drives). They may als be printed and retained in paper frm, but this is nt encuraged. Electrnic strage n netwrk drives has the added advantage f imprving access t institutinal recrds and allwing fr enhanced indexing and search functins. The value f an email message is determined by its infrmatinal cntent. The length f time fr which it is retained is based n its value t NYIT in cnducting its business activities, cmplying with its legal rights and bligatins, fulfilling fiscal requirements, and in sme cases dcumenting the histry f the institutin. Users shuld refer t the current NYIT Recrds Retentin Plicy [https://my.nyit.edu/grup/plicies-andprcedures/internal-audit-and-prcess-reengineering] fr guidance n the required retentin perids fr particular categries f dcuments (including emails and email attachments). Page 2 f 5
Users are encuraged t delete messages that d nt need t be preserved as quickly as pssible. Under n circumstances shuld users save emails t lcal hard drives, hme cmputers r prtable media such as CDs, DVDs, r USB Drives. Frwarding emails t persnal email accunts is als nt acceptable. T assist in the management and enfrcement f this plicy, all users are expected t exclusively use their NYIT issued email address in cnnectin with NYIT business, including academic matters. Offline tape (backup) cpies f NYIT faculty and staff email system files are kept fr six mnths. These backups are fr system restratin and disaster recvery purpses, and are nt designed r intended t facilitate retrieval f deleted messages. C. Litigatin Hlds When litigatin against NYIT r its faculty and staff is pending r reasnably expected, NYIT persnnel may receive a litigatin hld ntice frm the Office f the General Cunsel instructing the addressees t preserve all dcuments and recrds relevant t the matter being litigated. A litigatin hld directive verrides this email retentin plicy, as well as any recrd retentin schedules that may have therwise called fr the transfer, dispsal r destructin f relevant dcuments, until the hld has been cleared. N faculty r staff member wh has received a litigatin hld ntice may alter r delete an electrnic recrd that falls within the scpe f that ntice. A litigatin hld may als cver ther electrnic recrds that the user has dwnladed, saved, r mved t ther flders r devices. Page 3 f 5
D. Rles and Respnsibilities The Office f Infrmatin Technlgy and Infrastructure will: Prvide facilities and instructins fr mving messages that users determine shuld be preserved t strage nz: drive file systems Prvide facilities and instructins fr mving email messages that users have identified as being related t departmental matters nt X: drive file systems Manage technical implementatins f litigatin hlds that are issued by the Office f the General Cunsel Suspend autmatic deletin prcesses as necessary t preserve specific electrnic messages, recrds and infrmatin that fall within the scpe f the litigatin hld, and that reside n active servers. Department heads and managers are respnsible fr reviewing recrds retentin plicies and prviding guidance t staff and faculty within their respective units. The guidance prvided must be in accrdance with this plicy. All staff and faculty are respnsible fr: Apprpriately identifying and retaining recrds t be preserved in accrdance with this plicy Seeking assistance frm management when unsure abut hw t categrize specific messages. Keeping email messages fr their entire retentin perid in accrdance with the NYIT Recrds Retentin Plicy and deleting them thereafter. Deleting messages that d nt need t be preserved. NYIT faculty and staff wh have been ntified by the Office f the General Cunsel f a litigatin hld are respnsible fr preserving all messages, recrds, and infrmatin falling within the scpe f the hld. The President is slely respnsible fr authrizing any waivers t this plicy. Page 4 f 5
V. INQUIRIES Direct inquiries regarding this plicy, including implementatin f email retentin and destructin, t: New Yrk Institute f Technlgy Infrmatin Technlgy and Infrastructure Green Ldge, Suite #204 PO Bx 8000 Old Westbury, NY 11568-8000 Phne: 516-686-1400 Direct inquiries regarding the cntent f emails t be preserved, pursuant t the NYIT Dcument Retentin Plicy r a litigatin hld ntice, t: New Yrk Institute f Technlgy Office f the General Cunsel Twer Huse, B14 PO Bx 8000 Old Westbury, NY 11568 Phne: 516-686-7792 Page 5 f 5