What is a record?

Any written or digital document, form, email, note, or other item that refers to or pertains to university business. According to the Florida Supreme Court, a public record “is any material prepared in connection with official agency business which is intended to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge of some type.”

Any record you create as a public employee is a public record, and we are each responsible for managing, maintaining, and disposing of these records as required by law. There may be exceptions but most records are considered public – and even those that may not be public records are still required to be retained for the specified time period.

For example, a social security number is not a public record, but a document on which a social security number appears on may be a public record. Therefore, the SSN could be redacted if there document were to be requested. There may also be security-protected documents that are not available for public records requests but still must be maintained for the retention period. A sticky note that is used for a personal note may not be a public record – until it is shown to someone else; at that time, it does become a public record.