JISC

Higher Education Institutions: Function Activity Model (FAM) & Record Retention Schedule (RRS)

What is a Business Function & Activity Model?

A Business Function & Activity Model defines an organisation’s business functions and business activities.

Business functions are what an organisation is responsible and accountable for doing, in the broadest sense, to fulfil its established role and its responsibilities to its stakeholders.

Business activities are what an organisation does to carry out its business functions.

Why develop a Business Function & Activity Model?

A functional approach to records management represents current best practice.  It is recommended by the International Standard on Records Management and by the Model Action Plan developed to support higher education institutions (HEIs) in preparing for the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

For HEIs, as for all other organisations, there are three compelling reasons for taking a functional approach to managing records:

1.  Business functions and activities remain broadly constant over time, whereas organisational structures and business processes tend to change frequently. Records management systems which are based on business functions and activities will be unaffected by changes in organisational structures and business processes.

2.  Preserving the audit trails of decisions and actions is essential to support corporate accountability, compliance and the increasing need for openness. Organising and managing records in relation to the business functions and activities which generate them preserves these audit trails.

3.  Ensuring consistent retention and disposal of records is also essential to support corporate accountability, compliance and openness.  Records retention requirements are primarily determined by the operational needs of business functions and activities, and by legislative provisions which apply to those functions and activities.

A Business Function & Activity Model is the essential basis for a functional approach to managing records, including the development of corporate file plans, records retention policies, vital records plans and the selection of records for permanent preservation as institutional archives.

What does the HEI Business Function & Activity Model cover?

The HEI Business Function & Activity Model defines 36 common business functions of HEIs and key business activities required to carry out each of these business functions.  Where business activities are usually carried out in a particular sequence, they are arranged in this sequence within the Model.

The Model is based on extensive research and consultation with a wide range of institutions and it covers the business functions and business activities which were found to be common to most, if not all, HEIs.  However, it is not intended to be either prescriptive or exhaustive.

How should it be used?

Institutions should use the Model as a starting point for developing their own Business Function & Activity Models.  In doing so, the emphasis should be on adapting this generic Model to fit the individual institution, not the other way around.

Adapting the Model will involve:

*  adding business functions and business activities which are unique to the institution, or which have not been included in the Model.

*  removing business functions and business activities which are not relevant to the institution.

*  combining or splitting business functions or business activities, or rearranging them to reflect the institution’s own views on the relationships between business functions and business activities.

*  adding further levels of detail to provide more granularity to meet specific needs.

*  renaming business functions or business activities, or adjusting the definitions, to reflect the institution’s preferred terminology

Institutions should obtain professional advice on developing their Business Function & Activity Models.  If an institution does not employ a professional records manager, it may be able to obtain advice from records managers in other HEIs.  If not, it should consult an independent records management professional.

HEI Records Retention Schedule

The HEI Business Function & Activity Model has been used as the basis for developing the HEI Records Retention Schedule.

The Schedule provides generic guidance on retention of records which higher education institutions commonly generate in the course of:

• their core academic work
• developing their relationships with their stakeholders
• managing the institutions themselves as corporate bodies

It covers key groups of records generated by the business functions and business activities which are defined in the Model.

Important disclaimer

The contents of this document is not intended to constitute, and receipt of it does not constitute, a contract for legal advice or establishment of a solicitor-client relationship.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information in this communication is accurate, JISC does not accept responsibility for any action or inaction, legal or otherwise, based on the information contained in this document.

JISC recommends that enquirers should seek the professional legal advice of competent counsel in the enquirer's home jurisdiction.

Copyright    © Copyright, 2003. HEFCE

The copyright for the content of this work is held by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) on behalf of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). It is made available solely for adaptation and implementation for teaching, research and administration on a not for profit basis within Further and Higher Education institutions. No further reuse of this material or manipulation of its content for commercial gain is permitted without the express written permission of the HEFCE.