The following defines the process and timeline for retention of digital content at the University of North Dakota. This includes course and organization data stored on the UND Blackboard learning management system as well as digital files (recordings, uploaded files, videos, etc.) stored on UND contracted media servers. The guidelines are designed to provide faculty, staff, and students with the necessary access to the files with consideration of system space requirements and general campus data retention policies.
Related UND Policies
The following policies are outlined in the UND Retention Schedule on the Office of Records Management website.
Exams / Homework / Papers / Projects - Record Control Number 020403
This record series contains records of the course work done by any students. This includes independent study grades, internship grades, term papers, homework, quizzes, tests, and minor projects. * Student's work may be kept and moved to record series CUR10-50 for teacher's use but must not contain grades given. The office of record is the instructor and or department.
Retention timeline - Current Year + 1 year
Course Lecture Notes/Handouts/Master Copy of Exams - Record Control Number 020205
This record series contains faculty lecture notes, handouts, master copy of exams, and miscellaneous instructional materials. The office of record is the course instructor.
Retention timeline – Updated or Obsolete
Grade Book (Class Record) – Record Control Number 020602
This record series contains a record of grades, kept by the professor, received by each student in an academic course. This includes both electronic and paper varieties. The office of record is the course’s instructor.
Retention timeline – Current Year + 5 years
Digital File Retention Timeline
UND’s digital file retention timeline adheres to the guidelines outlined in the UND Records Retention Schedule. Although the instructor is considered the record holder, TTaDA will keep digital files available for use on the server until the archival date listed. After the archival date, TTaDA staff will store the related content for the defined time for each application. Email notifications will be sent to the record holders of the content prior to archival and removal of the content, with the option to retain the content on the server if it is still in use. Content can also be restored as requested, however TTaDA cannot guarantee that the content will function as before due to product upgrades and versions.
Blackboard (Bb) Learning Management System
Description: Blackboard is a Learning Management System (LMS) which is used by UND students, faculty, and staff for academic and research purposes.
Content Type: Course sites and associated content, student interactions (Blogs/Wikis, etc.), grades, etc.
Archival Timeline: 1 year, plus 1 term for course sites. Note: Blackboard organization sites are not archived and will remain on the system until the date specified by the organization leader.
After an archived course reaches the current year plus five years’ timeline (Grade Book (Class Record) – Record Control Number 020602), the Blackboard course will be completely deleted and can no longer be recovered.
Process/Procedures: UND removes courses from the Blackboard system one year and one semester after the course was taught.
Communication: E-mail notices are sent to instructors advising of the date for course removal, including the option for the instructor to retain the course for a longer period. An example of the process is courses taught during Fall 2020 will be removed during Spring 2022. If instructors choose to keep their course(s) on the Bb system longer, they can e-mail blackboard@UND.edu with their request.
Below is a sample message:
As part of the ongoing Blackboard maintenance process, NDUS will be cleaning up our current Blackboard system by removing older courses and courses that are not used. During this cleanup NDUS will remove all semester-based courses that were created for fall 2020 (2110) and older (this does not include any organization or development sites).
If you are still using a course slated for removal, please contact blackboard@und.edu by Friday, September 30th at 8:00 AM with the name and ID of the course so we can make arrangements to meet your request.
The course clean-up process includes creating an archive backup of each course before removal. The backup will be stored at NDUS and can be accessed upon request, following records retention policies.
If you have any questions, please contact Diane Lundeen (777-4929) or Chad Bushy (777-2728). Thank you for your help.
Teaching Transformation and Development Academy
701-777-2129
http://und.edu.academics/ttada
University of North Dakota
Content Type: Organization, Development and Non-Term Based sites
Archival Timeline: As needed for inactive sites
Process/Procedures: Twice yearly (approximately February and September) all Blackboard sites that have had no activity by the instructor/leader will be sent an email to determine if the site is no longer needed. If it is no longer needed, it will be archived and removed from Blackboard.
Communication: E-mail notices are sent to instructors/leaders advising of the date for Blackboard site removal, including the option to retain the site for a longer period. This notice will include any Organization, Development and Non-Term Based site that has not been accessed by the instructor/leader in the past year.
Below is a sample message:
Hi,
We are doing some clean-up of inactive Blackboard sites and I came across one called (name of Blackboard course/organization). According to our records, this site has not been accessed since May 2021.
Due to inactivity, we will be archiving and removing this site if you do not notify us by October 29, 2022 that you would like it to remain active. If you would like to keep the site active, we ask that you review the users in the site and submit a request to remove those that no longer need to be enrolled.
Thanks, in advance, for any information you can provide.
Teaching Transformation and Development Academy
701-777-2129
http://und.edu.academics/ttada
University of North Dakota
Content Type: Users
Process/Procedures: Twice yearly (approximately February and September) all Blackboard user accounts that are no longer enrolled in any course or organization sites will be removed. This process is done by NDUS.
Zoom
Description: Zoom is a cloud-based video communications app that allows you to set up virtual video and audio conferencing, webinars, live chats, screen-sharing, and other collaborative capabilities
Content Type: Cloud Recording of Lecture Capture including Audio, Visual, & Caption Files
Archival Timeline: Cloud recordings from previous year and prior (1 year + 1 semester) clean up. Target: March and October annually
Process/Procedures: Twice yearly (approximately March and October) all Zoom recordings that have been on the system for 1 year + 1 semester will be sent an email to inform that the recording will be removed off the system, and to download and store locally or in another system like YuJa or One Drive if it needs to be retained longer.
Communication: One month prior to deleting recordings an email communication will be sent out to users affected by this clean-up. Follow-up messages will be sent weekly before deletion.
Below is a sample message:
Hello Zoom users,
To clean up some of our older Zoom Cloud Recordings, we ask that you take a moment to go into your Zoom account and download and then delete Cloud recordings from May 16, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021. We will be deleting these recordings on Thursday December 1st, 2022. If you would like to retain your cloud recordings, you will need to download them to your local machine. View this video tutorial demonstrating the steps to download your recordings, chats and transcripts. If you are planning to use existing cloud recordings for future semesters, please download them and then upload them into YuJa or OneDrive.
If you have questions, please let us know.
Thank you,
Teaching Transformation & Development Academy
University of North Dakota
701-777-2129
UND.academic.technologies@UND.edu
Content Type: Inactive Users
Archival Timeline: Users who have not logged in within the past two years will be disabled. Users who have been disabled for a year will be deleted.
Process/Procedures: Once yearly, (approximately March) User accounts who have not logged in for two years will be deactivated for one full academic year, and if the user does not contact support during that time to enable their account it will be removed after one year of being deactivated.
YuJa
Description: YuJa allows users to create audio/video content on their computer and upload it to the YuJa online storage and streaming environment. In addition, the software automatically captions any/all content created.
Content Type: Instructor recordings of lecture captures, videos, audio, and caption files.
Archival Timeline: Instructor recordings that have had no views for two years will be moved to archive storage. Moving recordings to archive storage will break the links, however instructors can restore the content to YuJa active content as needed.
Content Type: Student Recordings
Archival Timeline: Student recordings will be kept active for one full semester after the end of the semester it was recorded in. The content will then be moved to archive storage. Moving recordings to archive storage will break the links, however students can restore the content to YuJa active content as needed.
Content Type: Proctor Recordings
Archival Timeline: After the end of every semester all YuJa proctoring recordings for the semester will be moved to archive storage. Moving recordings to archive storage will break the links, however instructors can restore the content to YuJa active content as needed.
Content Type: Archive Storage
Archival Timeline: All student and instructor recordings that have been moved to archive storage and have not been restored to active content will be permanently deleted after one year of being in archive storage. All YuJa proctor recordings that have not been restored to active content will be permanently deleted after three months of being in archive storage. After that time, those recordings will no longer be able to be restored.
Process/Procedures: If you have affected recordings, an email notification will be sent listing all the content being to be moved to archive storage. This message is sent at the time of content archival. This message will come from noreply@YuJa.com. Below is a sample message:
Hi John,
The below files have been moved to archive storage by the TTaDA team. Your content is still available to restore to your My
Media. Archive files can be located under My Archive in your YuJa account. Proctored recordings will stay in archive storage for two months. All other recordings will be left in archive storage for one year before being permanently deleted. For more information and instructions on restoring recordings from archive storage, please see the Content Retention Schedule webpage.
Archived Content
%LISTOFFILESARCHIVED%
Yours Collaboratively,
TTaDA
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Academic Technologies within the Teaching Transformation and Development Academy at 701-777-2129 or UND.academic.technologies@UND.edu
*This is a system-generated message.
How to Restore a Recording from Archive Storage
If a recording has been moved from active storage to archive storage and you need to have it restored before it has been permanently deleted, you can restore it. To do this, log into your YuJa account. On the left side menu, there should be an Archive section with a My Archive folder. Select the My Archive folder and you will then see all the recordings that have been moved to archive storage. If you hover the video you would like restored there will be a Restore option. When you click the option, the recordings will be restored to your My Media content. Please note that the restore process may take two to four days.
Class Collaborate Ultra
Description: Class Collaborate Ultra includes two-way audio, multi-point video, interactive whiteboard, application and desktop sharing, breakout rooms, and session recording.
Content Type: Cloud Recording of Lecture Capture including Audio, Visual, & Caption Files
Archival Timeline: UND will follow the NDUS CTS ACFY+1 guideline with an annual purge of all recordings older than ACFY+1. Recordings will be slated for deletion each year in mid-May. This date also coordinates with preparation for yearly Blackboard contract negotiations to help ensure the lowest cost possible. As an action item, institutions should work with faculty to identify recordings that require a longer retention period. This may include graded records which require a retention rate of ACFY+5, or recordings that are still actively viewed.
Process/Procedures: Annually, during the first week of April, NDUS will provide UND with an Excel spreadsheet with the recording data that does not meet the ACFY+1 retention. UND will send emails to instructors with a list of the affected recordings. Instructors will have approximately six weeks to respond with any recordings that must be retained. UND will respond to NDUS by the end of the second week of May with the updated list of recordings to be deleted.
Communication: One month prior to deleting recordings an email communication will be sent out to users affected by this clean-up. Follow-up messages will be sent weekly before deletion. Below is a sample message:
Hello,
The North Dakota University System (NDUS), in coordination with its campuses, developed a plan for the deletion of old Class Collaborate recordings. Class Collaborate recordings that are slated for removal are from 2021 and older. If you have any of these recordings that you want to save, please download them prior to their removal on Feb. 17, 2023. Please let us know as soon as possible if you need help identifying these recordings as we can provide you with a list of the courses and the recordings.
If you have questions, please let us know.
Thank you,
Teaching Transformation and Development Academy
University of North Dakota
701-777-2129
UND.academic.technologies@UND.edu
VoiceThread
Description: VoiceThread is an interactive tool that allows students and faculty to share a wide variety of media (images, PDFs, slides, video, and more) and to share text, audio, and video comments on that media quickly and easily.
Content Type: Cloud Recording of Audio and Visual files
Process/Procedures:
Starting July 1, 2022, VoiceThread implemented data clean-up policies. The following policies will apply to users under the UND license:
Account has never been accessed: Will be deleted 1 year after it was created.
Account has been accessed but no content has been created: Will be deleted after 1 year of inactivity. Creating content, viewing content, and commenting are considered activity.
Account owner has created content: Will be deleted after 2 years of inactivity. The owner of the account will be notified by email 30 days in advance so they can take action if they would like. If someone wants to ensure their account is not deleted automatically, all they need to do is sign in at least once per year.
Communication: All communication is sent by VoiceThread.
For additional information, please view the VoiceThread Data Retention Policy webpage.