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UTAS BCS/Thesaurus

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Information, Classification & Retention Project (ICARP)

The objectives of the project are to:

  1. review the University’s Business Classification Scheme (BCS)/Thesaurus; and 
  2. develop a functional Retention and Disposal Schedule (RDS).

Stage One: Review of the UTAS Business Classification Scheme/Thesaurus

The purpose of a Business Classification Scheme (BCS) or Thesaurus is to provide common terminology and assist in consistent classification of records and information across the University. This tool can be utilised by business areas to set up folder structures, both physical and electronic (share drives, wikis, shared email folders etc.). Stage 1 of the project involved widespread consultation with representatives from business areas across the entire University to create an inventory of the records created by each business area and the preferred terminology for those records, followed by the publication of a draft BCS to provide an opportunity for all areas of the University to view the BCS/Thesaurus in full and review the terms to ensure they meet the business requirements of each business area. Stage 1 commenced in December of 2009 and was completed in March 2011.

The UTAS Business Classification Scheme is currently only available in PDF format. We plan to release a more easily navigable online version in 2013, to allow staff to navigate and jump to related terms via hyperlinks. We are also working on integrating the BCS into TRIM to allow users to browse via classification in much the same way as one navigates folder structures in Microsoft Windows.

Stage Two: Development of a functional Retention and Disposal Schedule

A Retention and Disposal Schedule (RDS), often shortened to Disposal Schedule, is a detailed inventory of records created and stored by the University identifying how long records need to be retained and when they can be destroyed or transferred to the Archives Office for permanent retention. Disposal schedules must be approved by the State Archivist and provide the necessary authorisation to dispose of the listed records required under the Archives Act 1983.

The functional disposal schedule (as opposed to a generic disposal schedule such as DA 2157) details those records specific to the University and was derived from the business functions and activities of the University identified in stage one. The new functional disposal schedule for the University was approved by the State Archivist in May 2012 and published as DA 2398. It replaces the old functional disposal schedule DS 32, which has been rescinded and may no longer be used.

See also:

Current status

With the publication of the new functional disposal schedule, the ICARP project is nearly complete. Remaining tasks include:

  • incorporating the functional disposal schedule into TRIM;
  • incorporating the business classification scheme into TRIM;
  • compiling HTML versions of the disposal schedules to make them easier to use; and
  • creating an HTML version of the Business Classification System/Thesaurus.

Progress updates will be announced on the Records Management Unit website and via the News@utas bulletin.