University Archives holds historic records from all divisions of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. These unique primary source materials document the history of North Carolina’s coastal public university since its founding as Wilmington College. People looking for pertinent information on higher education, Southern U.S. history, student life, athletics, civil rights, the arts, and other areas will find answers in University Archives. Find more information on coming to visit the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History at UNCW Library, or check out our online resources in UNCW Digital Collections.
At University Archives, we collect official university records with historic and long-term value and provide public access to this information. To build the collection, we rely on the Records Retention and Disposition Schedule for Institutions of the University of North Carolina System. The Records Schedule helps us in University Archives, but it is a tool for everyone. Here are a few records management principles to make 2026 a great year.
Offices with custody of certain records are responsible for managing them.
According to UNCW’s Public Records Policy, custodians of public records must make records available as soon as possible after receiving a public records request.
Have you heard that you cannot destroy anything created by UNCW? While that’s true if your office is handling a public records request or is engaged in a litigation hold, it is not the case most of the time. In fact, permanent retention is a rare requirement. (If you are handling a public records request or litigation hold, contact the Office of General Counsel for assistance.)
For everyday management of the information in your office--especially non-current information that your office no longer uses--see the Records Retention and Disposition Schedule linked above.
The Records Retention and Disposition Schedule for Institutions of the University of North Carolina System (also known as the Records Schedule or the General Schedule) is your go-to resource.
The General Schedule designates the types of records to retain permanently and the types of information to retain for shorter periods of time and then dispose. By NC general statute, this is the document to use to inform records management at UNCW and throughout the UNC system.
For help interpreting and using the Records Schedule, see the UNCW Records Management Guide.
If it’s been a while since you’ve had records management training and you know you have files in your office that you no longer need, the Center's UNCW Records Management Guide is a good place to start.
The UNCW Records Management Guide, maintained by the University Archivist, is an overview to the General Schedule. It includes more details on getting started with records management; reviewing strategies for records management and disposal; and information on managing digital records, records containing sensitive information, and permanent, archival records.
Contact the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History for help with the records schedule.
Are you not sure if your information should be retained, destroyed, or archived? Have you found some old media that is perplexing? Contact us! University Archives will help you plan a review strategy and will collect records that should be transferred to the archives.
