Records and Information Governance Course (Self-Paced)
IDCYSE8012SP

Module 1

• Foundations of Federal Records and Information Governance (45 min)
• What a record is under the Federal Records Act versus convenience copies, drafts and personal materials
• Why recordkeeping matters legally, historically and operationally
• The federal records management structure from Records Officer and Senior Agency Official through NARA's oversight role
• Every employee's baseline responsibilities. Includes a record versus non-record sorting activity.

Module 2

• The Records Lifecycle and Recordkeeping Requirements (60 min)
• Creation and receipt, maintenance and use, and disposition
• Keeping records accessible, organized and protected
• Common pitfalls including records scattered across personal drives and inboxes, inconsistent filing, and failure to capture records from mobile devices or personal accounts used for work
• Litigation holds and preservation duties. Includes a lifecycle sequencing activity.

Module 3

• Retention and Disposition Schedules (80 min)
• What a records schedule is and why every record needs an approved disposition authority
• How General Records Schedules provide government-wide authorities and when an agency-specific schedule applies instead
• Temporary versus permanent records and what happens at the end of a retention period
• Event-driven versus time-driven disposition triggers
• Unauthorized or accidental destruction and the duty to report
• How a hold or pending FOIA request suspends disposition. Includes a record-type to disposition matching activity.

Module 4

• Electronic Records and Email Management (80 min)
• The government-wide move to electronic recordkeeping
• Email as a federal record and how retention applies to it like anything else
• Records created on chat, messaging and collaboration platforms
• The role of metadata in keeping electronic records usable, retrievable and trustworthy
• What electronic recordkeeping systems do generically
• Practical habits including filing and tagging, avoiding personal email and unauthorized apps for official business, and keeping records accessible through role changes and departures. Includes scenario-based decision prompts.

Module 5

• How Records Governance Connects to Privacy, FOIA, and CUI (30 min)
• Why one record can carry several obligations at once
• How good records practice is what makes a FOIA response possible
• How many federal records are also CUI. Deliberately brief, and deliberately does not re-teach privacy, FOIA or CUI. Includes a which-course-covers-this activity.

Module 6

• Governance in Practice: Roles, Compliance, and Continuous Improvement (65 min)
• Individual, supervisory and organizational responsibilities
• Recurring compliance activities including annual training and periodic self-assessment
• Vital records and continuity considerations
• Building good habits and knowing who to ask. Ends with an integrated capstone scenario following a single workday from drafting a memo, through discussing it in chat and emailing a final version, to reaching the end of a retention period.