
The protection of essential records is one of the most important components of a systematic records management program.
All organizations have certain business operations that they must perform. Such business operations are characterized as mission-critical operations. Essential records are those that contain information that is vital to an organization's mission. If essential records are lost, damaged, destroyed, or otherwise rendered unavailable or unusable, mission critical operations will be curtailed or discontinued, resulting in potentially damaging financial and public relations consequences.
Regardless of their format, i.e., paper or electronic, examples of essential records in higher education include: