Virtual Meeting Engagement Tools Data Management Plan for Artifacts and Documents

This plan provides a set of retention recommendations for the general digital objects created during the normal course of business.

Background

Records and Information Management Services (RIMS), in coordination with other stakeholder units, support the establishment and implementation of appropriate policies and procedures needed to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information managed by the University’s information systems.  

This Virtual Meeting – Engagement Tools Plan provides a set of retention recommendations for the general digital objects created during the normal course of business. Recommendations are consistent with guidelines provided by cyber security professionals industrywide and in accordance with the University of Illinois System Information Security Standards, the State of Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology - Enterprise Information Security Policy, and the practices of higher education peer institutions, and in consideration of federal, state and university compliance requirements. 

If the retention recommendations in this document do not align with standard operations of any information system, a variance from the recommendations is allowable. In either case, please contact Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) office at RIMSgroup@uillinois.edu prior to initiating a deletion or disposal of the listed data elements. 

Because the types of digital services and objects listed in this Data Management Plan support activities that are constantly changing, the recommendations for their retention may sometimes require revision. Consequently, this Data Management Plan will be reviewed periodically and updated as needed.

Primary Audience 

  • This Guide will specifically help staff who represent the following areas: All offices across the University of Illinois System.  
  • Meeting artifacts are format Irrelevant, therefore, retention guidelines to paper, digital, audio, video, transcripts, etc. 
  • Meeting artifacts—transcripts, recordings, closed captioning are considered records if they document official business and hold administrative, legal, evidential, or historical value. 
  • Electronic records = records: under Illinois law an electronic record (audio, video, transcript, caption file) has the same legal effect as a paper record and must be managed under records-management rules. That means media-neutral scheduling and retention. 

Guide

A table explaining the recommended retention/disposal of meeting recordings, transcripts, minutes, and other materials.  The first column lists meeting categories, and the subsequent columns list definitions, examples, and retentions of those categories.
Meeting Category Definition Examples Retention/Disposition
General / Informational Meetings for information-sharing only; no official business conducted. Audio/video recordings, chat logs, caption files, transcription notes. Transient records. Transient records are non-records and do not require State approval for disposal. Retain until minutes or notes are prepared, approved, or no longer needed for reference or follow-up, then destroy Official minutes (if prepared) are retained under the approved schedule.
Operational / Unit-Level Meetings addressing departmental or project-specific tasks, affecting internal operations but not university-wide governance. Audio/video recordings, chat logs, caption files, transcription notes. Working aids. May be used to draft or verify meeting minutes but are not considered permanent records. Retain up to 120 days or until incorporated into approved minutes, whichever is longer, then destroy. Official minutes are retained per the university’s approved retention schedule. *Recordings are typically not retained – the meeting minutes serve as the official record.
Strategic / Governing Bodies Meetings of policy-making, executive, or governing boards recognized by University Statutes or General Rules. Audio/video recordings, chat logs, caption files, transcription notes. Records of enduring value. Draft minutes must be approved and retained as the official record. Non-approved drafts are non-records. Official minutes must be preserved per the State Records Act and transferred to the University Archives after 5 years for historical preservation.
  • In general, recordings are not permanent but may be retained temporarily to support minutes.
  • Governing body is responsible for forwarding “official” version to Archives.
  • Closed sessions must follow OMA §2.06(c)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)  This category includes information, tools, and technologies related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), with emphasis on Generative AI and Conversational AI. Covered systems include, but are not limited to, ChatGPT, Bard, Copilot, and comparable large language models (LLMs). Transient. Retained only until no longer needed for business purposes or for re-use or follow-up, then destroy.
  • Prompts given to AI assistants to inform creation of outputs, will generally not be required to be retained, unless your unit has specific business requirements to do so – such as to provide supporting evidence that contribute to particularly high-value records.
Course Session Recordings Recordings of class lectures and discussions created during a specific session for internal, instructional purposes only, and not intended for institutional actions such as grading, policy decisions, or public distribution. Audio/video recordings, chat logs, caption files, and transcription notes. May be stored in various systems, including but not limited to: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Kaltura, Google Meet, CANVAS Studio, Compass, and Blackboard Learn Retain: Store 180 days or at the end of the term, to reduce liability and protect student privacy.
  • Governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Course Recordings Recordings intended for reuse is a polished, de-identified video created to be used for multiple future instructional opportunities. Systems include but not limited to: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Kaltura, Google Meet, CANVAS Studio, Compass, Blackboard Learn. Retain: 3 years from end of the academic term and access only to actual enrollees, then destroy. If recordings have the potential to be recordings of enduring value, request transfer to the Archives.
  • If needed longer, transfer and store long-term in approved LMS system.
  • UIC Learning Technology Solutions (LTS) department has a standard 3-year process for all course materials.

Key Notes

  • Minutes vs. recordings: The official record of meetings is the approved minutes, not the recording. Recordings are working aids unless specifically designated otherwise. 
  • Disposition authority: Destruction of records outside the OMA closed-session exception must follow the State Records Act (i.e., under an approved retention schedule and, if applicable, with a State Records Disposal Certificate). Contact RIMS to request State Permission to dispose. 
  • Archival transfer: Governing boards should forward official minutes (and other designated permanent records) to the appropriate University Archives to document institutional history. Contact RIMS to request Transfer to the Archives. 

References

  • Formal meeting records (such as official minutes) are strongly recommended, and in many cases required, for governing/executive/policy-setting bodies. Additional legal rules apply to meetings of the Board of Trustees (and related committees acting on their behalf) and AS Board of Directors (and related committees acting on their behalf) under the terms of Illinois State’s Open Public Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120). Other bodies have internal rules regarding the conduct of meetings and the creation of meeting records. 
  • Generative AI platforms are not recordkeeping repositories. These generative AI platforms are not designed for efficient and effective records keeping. Therefore, users should not rely on the generative AI platform to fulfill retention requirements. If data needs to be retained, the employee must save the data outside the platform to manage it appropriately. Moreover, histories of the inputs created, and outputs received using these generative AI platforms can be considered transitory in nature, meaning they only need to be retained until the reference purpose has been served. The prompt entered and resulting output are considered drafts and part of the brainstorming process. This records management policy aligns with the recommended use of these products where the content received should be scrupulously reviewed by humans and not relied on for accuracy. The output from the generative AI can be viewed as a draft that requires review and refining before being finalized. 

Glossary

  • Administrative Unit: the department, office, college, division, etc., acting as an entity within the institution with a chair or official-in-charge and possibly having other administrative units reporting to said unit. This term is sometimes used synonymously with the generic term “department.”
  • Archival Review: Record series that have selective content that may be of value to the University Archives in documenting university or regional history and should be submitted to the University Archives for review prior to destruction.
  • Artificial intelligence (AI): is a set of technologies that enable computers to perform a variety of advanced functions, including the ability to see, understand and translate spoken and written language, analyze data, make recommendations, and more. 
  • Business Record: an operational record that is currently being used, or will be used, by the administrative unit that received or generated the record. Records may remain active for varying numbers of years, depending on the purposes for which they were created. The unit has the responsibility of determining the access required and the security needed for the records. 
  • Chat: Refers to a synchronous communication tool that allows users to exchange real-time messages and receive instant responses.  The instant messaging component, which is a standard feature of most online collaboration platforms.  It is commonly incorporated into groupware products and is often associated with teenagers using the internet.
  • Chatbot:  Computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the internet.
  • ChatGPT: An artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that uses natural language processing to create humanlike conversational dialogue. The language model can respond to questions and compose various written content, including articles, social media posts, essays, code and emails.  ChatGPT is a form of generative AI a tool that lets users enter prompts to receive humanlike images, text or videos that are created by AI.
  • Closed captioning/Live captions: The real-time subtitles displayed during a meeting.
  • Collaboration tools: A broad term for software and platforms that facilitate communication and teamwork, regardless of location. This is the most widely understood term for the suite of features you described.
  • Destroy – Secured: If the record series contains restricted information, as defined in the Record Retention Policy, the records must be destroyed in a secure manner such as incineration, maceration, shredding, pulping, or secure electronic destruction—the most common method being that of shredding.
  • Destroy: If the record series does not contain restricted information, the records may be destroyed by placing in trash or recycling, or via electronic destruction, as well as in the manner described for secured destruction.
  • Electronic Record Management System (Also known as Record-keeping Systems): any electronic system that manages the storage, location, and retrieval of records, either paper or electronic.
  • Electronic Records: records created or stored by electronic means, including, but not limited to, digital files, images, objects, files on tape, disks, or internal memory
  • Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT):  chatbot is a conversational agent that uses a GPT model to interact with users.
  • Hybrid meeting software: This term is used to describe a tool that connects participants in a physical meeting room with remote attendees, which often utilizes the tools you described. 
  • Litigation: A communication issued as the result of current or anticipated lawsuit, audit, government investigation or other similar matter that suspends the normal process regarding the retention and disposition of University records.
  • Meeting recordings: The saved audio/visual record of the meeting.
  • Metadata: structured data about data. It is information about a record and which describes a record. It is descriptive information about an object or resource whether it is physical or electronic. For example, in an e-mail, the “to:”, “from:”, “date:”, “subject:”, etc., would be the metadata. In a word processing document, the summary portion of properties would be the metadata. When electronic records are collected or transferred to other media, the appropriate metadata needs to follow the electronic records. Metadata can be manually created or derived automatically using software.
  • Permanent within Department or Unit: Records series that have a demonstrated legal or administrative need for a particular unit on campus to be maintained permanently.
  • Record: Any information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received in connection with the transaction of University business in accordance with law or regulation. A record may include a document, correspondence, recordings, reports, studies, data maps, drawings, logs, feeder files, source data, photographs, or e-mail, whether in paper, electronic or other forms. 
  • Responsible Department: the department or other administrative unit designated as having the responsibility for retention and timely destruction of the particular types of Institution records in their control.
  • Transcription: The feature that creates a real-time or post-meeting written record of what was said.
  • Video conferencing software/services: A more general term that covers the core functionality but doesn't necessarily imply the full suite of collaboration features you mentioned, such as transcription and chat.
  • Virtual meeting engagement tools: This phrase emphasizes the interactive features that increase participant involvement.

Research

Contact Records and Information Management Services (RIMS)

Questions? Please get in touch!  Use either the our Contact Form or email address.

Using either contact option will generate a support ticket, and someone from our team will get in touch within two business days. 

We can then answer any questions you have or arrange a meeting (either virtual or in-person) to learn more about your situation and determine how we can assist.

Please visit the RIMS website to learn more about records and information management at the University of Illinois.


Keywords:
Data, data management, information management, records management, records and information management, meeting recordings, meeting records. 
Doc ID:
158445
Owned by:
Spenser B. in University of Illinois System
Created:
2026-02-10
Updated:
2026-02-10
Sites:
University of Illinois System