My name is Nemo Xu and I’m a first-year student in the dual master’s program at the iSchool. In September 2024, I started my position as the UBC Okanagan Academic Operations & Services: Student Digital Records Manager, remotely from UBC Vancouver. Back then, I had just moved to Vancouver to start my program. While I was very excited to take on my first records management project, I was mildly terrified because—what is a record?!
My work entailed implementing the Digital Readiness Project for the Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) unit at UBC Okanagan. CPE is a rather new unit that partners with UBC Okanagan faculties and schools to offer non-credit courses and programs. Because CPE is still in a “start-up” phase, we took a forward-looking approach to build a sound records management foundation. CPE performs a combination of functions similar to faculty and enrollment services; its operation is often collaborative, working with various faculty/school partners to develop and deliver courses. The complexity of the project unfolds in three areas: CPE’s dynamic relationships with partnering units, the challenge in gauging recordkeeping and workflow problems, and the involvement of different online systems and tools.
Since CPE isn’t currently concerned with an overwhelming shared drive, the assessment of recordkeeping practices took place in the unit’s MS Teams files. I conducted analysis on the inventory by classifying the records based on the university retention schedules. Moreover, I held weekly meetings and workshops with CPE to gain more insight into the processes and activities that support the unit’s functions. As a result, we identified two sites that map to different stages of records: one being the active, collaborative workspace (Teams, SharePoint) for records creation, and the other being semi-active storage space (shared drive) for recordkeeping. Mirroring the records lifecycle, a sequential relationship exists between the two spaces: records move from collaborative space to storage space as they transition from an active to a semi-active stage.
From this analysis I developed a tailored file plan that blends function and provenance with an internal block that captures the unit’s administrative functions and a collaborating block that accommodates its unique operational functions. The collaborating block is a modular design with flexibility for expansion as the unit grows its partners and course and credential inventory over time. The file plan further guides the development of a security matrix, naming conventions, and governance policy. The project received positive feedback from CPE and the team is excited to implement these governance documents and tools.
This project has been a learning journey for me. Working across two campuses, I learned records management in practice and developed an understanding of the university’s administrative context. Navigating different systems within the institution could be confusing at times, but my supervisors, Paige Hohmann and Barbara Towell, provided great support and mentorship throughout the process. I’m constantly inspired by their expertise, knowledge, and patience. The journey of designing records management solutions involved a lot of active listening and collaboration; the lovely team from CPE made this a rewarding and empowering experience. Thanks to everyone for their support!