Student Record Management – Best Practices for Storage and Disposal

As the summer draws to an end and the new academic year begins, organisations such as schools, examining boards, and student loan companies will receive an influx of new paperwork while also looking to dispose of any unnecessary documents.

Therefore, having a secure and effective student record management policy will help with the organisation of student files that you are handling and creating so they can be stored and disposed of in a secure manner.

Retention of Student Records and GDPR

One of the benefits of setting up a student record management policy is that it will help you follow retention periods and GDPR associated with student files. We all know that GDPR is important to assist with the security of our data. From dealing with personal information such as name, age and address to financial details and even medical records; sensitive data is being handled on a daily basis.

Therefore, implementing a student record management policy will help to prevent catastrophic data breaches and maintain the integrity of your organisation and your students’ confidential information.

Student Record Management

Whether you are maintaining paper or digital student files, an effective and secure student record management policy will help to maintain the integrity of your students’ data.

It can sometimes be a long process filing the last academic year’s student files, but by implementing the student record management steps below, you will be aiding in the security and integrity of your students’ confidential information, building brand trust, and help you to comply with GDPR regulations and those all-important retention periods.

Organise

Organisation is a key step in student record management, there are so many different types of documents that contain a variety of information, is it can seem a bit daunting to organise these types of documents. Therefore, create categories for different types of documents so they can easily be found and accessed in the future.

Security

Whether you store your student files traditionally on paper or digitally on a hard drive or USB, security is important. Student files contain highly sensitive information, so investing in high-quality security, such as a safe, lockable filing cabinet, or secure network or cloud service, will be worthwhile.

Following these key procedures will help to declutter your workspace and assist with GDPR compliance. However, there is another important step to utilising an effective student record management policy, and that’s securely disposing of these highly sensitive documents.

A data breach could happen either internally through employee error, or externally through a lack of security at the recycling stage of the disposal process. Therefore, partnering with an industry-leading information security company such as Shred-it can help with the security of your student files from start to finish.

Secure Record Destruction with Shred-it

Your student record management policy will help with the organisation and security of your confidential documents while they are stored within the office. But your student record management policy does not ensure the integrity of these documents indefinitely. And that’s where we can help.

We designed Shred-it's data management shredding process to help confidential information stay safe.

Learn more about our secure disposal process, whether that’s for our Paper Destruction or Hard Drive and Media Destruction Services, we have options to meet your needs. Get in touch today to see how our services can protect your business, employees, and customers.