I. General Policy

THE PERMANENT RECORD

The Permanent Record of each student taking one or more courses at Rice University shall consist of the following: personal information sufficient to identify the student as unique (name, birth date, student identification number, Social Security number, address at time of most recent registration); all courses in which the student has duly enrolled, whether for credit or not, with the letter grade assigned upon completion of the course; any degrees earned by the student at Rice University; the grade-point average of the student. The Permanent Record will also indicate any expulsion, suspension, or unauthorized withdrawal and may be expunged only by the procedures set out in the University's Code of Student Conduct.

The policy of Rice University is to ensure for all time the safety, accessibility, confidentiality, and good condition of the Permanent Record of every Rice student, past and present.

PERMANENT RECORD CREATION AND STORAGE

For each and every student who enrolled at Rice University at any time prior to fall semester, 1983, the Office of the Registrar will establish and maintain a microfilm copy of good, readable, and reproducible quality of the student's Permanent Record, whether that student was a matriculating or a visiting student, whether enrolled for credit or not for credit. A permanent copy of the microfilm record will be maintained in good condition in the climate-controlled security archive in the Fondren Library on the Rice campus.

For each and every student enrolling at Rice University as a new or continuing student beginning in fall semester, 1983, the Registrar's Office of Rice University will establish and maintain within an electronic data file in the Student Information System of the University a complete Permanent Record, whether the student is a matriculant or visiting student, whether enrolled for credit or not. This file will contain all data as identified as part of the Permanent Record in accordance with this policy. The Registrar's Office staff will, under the direction of the Registrar, add to the record such new information as pertains to the student's demographic and academic record as it becomes available, semester-by-semester, and as the student progresses in their career at Rice.

On a daily basis, the Computer Operations Department of Rice University will perform a back up of any and all databases that have been altered during the course of that day. Every Saturday except the first Saturday in January, the Computer Operations Department of Rice University will perform a complete backup of all records within the student data file. The Computer Operations staff will store the daily and weekly backups in the climate-controlled, fire-proof, limited-access security facility in the Computer Operations center in Mudd Hall on the Rice campus. Upon successful completion of the weekly backup, the Computer Operations staff will under security guard transfer the disk from the preceding week's backup to the climate-controlled, fire-proof, limited-access security vault in the Office of the Registrar in Allen Center on the Rice campus. The backup disk or tape thus replaced in the Office of the Registrar will be returned under security guard to the Computer Operations Department in Mudd Hall, where it will be retained in the security facility for two months, whereupon the staff of the Operations Department will erase the data.

On the first Saturday of every month except January, the staff of the Computer Operations Department will perform an additional back-up on the student record data file. In January, the backup is performed on the second Saturday. The Computer Operations staff will under security guard from the Rice Police Department transfer the disk from the preceding month's back-up to climate-controlled, fire-proof, limited-access security vault at a site away from the Rice campus. The backup disk or tape thus replaced will be returned under security guard to the Computer Operations Department in Mudd Hall, where the staff will erase the data. Annual back up of the entire student data base will be performed on the first Saturday of January. The annual January backup will be retained in permanent storage in a climate-controlled, fire-proof, limited-access security vault at a site away from the Rice campus.

OTHER STUDENT RECORDS

In addition to the Permanent Record contained in the electronic transcript, the Office of the Registrar will retain the paper record file as a repository of admission, academic, enrollment, and grade roster information for each undergraduate student until graduation, whereupon it will be removed to the permanent, secure storage space in Section D on the basement level of Lovett Hall on the Rice campus. For any undergraduate student who neither graduates nor formally withdraws nor transfers from the university, the paper record file will be retained in the Office of the Registrar for one year following the normal date of graduation, whereupon it will be removed to the permanent, secure storage space in Section D on the basement level of Lovett Hall on the Rice campus.

For every matriculating graduate student, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies will retain the paper record file in a secure place as the official repository of admissions, academic, and enrollment information until the student graduates, withdraws, or transfers. This paper record file will be retained in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies for one full year after the student graduates or otherwise withdraws, whereupon it will be removed to the permanent, secure storage place in Section D on the basement level of Lovett Hall. For any graduate student who neither graduates nor formally withdraws nor transfers from the university, the paper file record will be retained by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies for one full year after the last date of enrollment, whereupon it will be removed to the permanent, secure storage place in Section D on the basement level of Lovett Hall.

II. Responsible Official and Key Offices to Contact Regarding the Policy and its Implementation

Responsible Official: Executive Vice President for Operations, Finance, & Support

Policy History

Clerical Change

March 4, 2024

August 15, 2023

February 1, 2023

January 18, 2023

February 8, 2018

Issued

April 23, 1997