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Admissions Records for Applicants Who Do Enroll

Admissions Records for Applicants Who Do Enroll

Records Series Title	Description	Recommended Retention Period*	Notes
Admissions Documents
Admissions letters†	Notices of admission, denial or waitlist	3 years AG	1,4
Admission letters (Special Program)		3 years AG	4
Correspondence, relevant		3 years AG	1,4
Waivers of rights of access (admissions)	Waiving right of access to admission letters of recommendation	3 years AG	1,2,4
Application Materials
Applications for admission or re-admission	Admission application such as undergraduate, graduate, international, or non-degree/special admittance	1 year AFT	1,4
Credit by examination	Reports/scores on Advanced Placement, CLEP, PEP, etc.	1 year AG	1,4
Entrance examination reports/test scores	Standardized test scores, such as ACT/SAT, LSAT, MCAT, GRE, TOEFL	3 years AG	1,4
Medical records	i.e. immunization records	3 years AG	1,4
Letters of Recommendation (admissions)		UA	1,2,4
Military documents		3 years AG	1,4
Placement test records/scores		3 years AG	1,4
Release from high school or Dual Enrollment forms	No description given	No date given
Residency classification forms		3 years AG	1,4
Test scores (other)		3 years AG	1,4
Transcripts (high school)		3 years AG	1,4
Transcripts (other colleges)		3 years AG	1,4,5
International Student Documents
Alien Registration Receipt Card	Evidence of admissibility as a permanent resident	3 years AG	1,4
DS-2019	Certificate of eligibility for J1 visa status (formerly IAP-66)	3 years AG	1,4
Employment Authorization (work permit), if granted		3 years AG	1,4
I20	Certificate of eligibility for F-1 visa status	3 years AG	1,4
I94 Card (copy)	Document issued to non-immigrants; also known as Arrival Departure Record	3 years AG	1,4
Passport Number		3 years AG	1,4
Statement of Educational Costs	Estimate of total school year costs	3 years AG	1,4
Statement of Financial Responsibility	Evidence of adequate financial resources	3 years AG	1,4
Notes
AAT: After application term; AG: After graduation term or last term of attendance; UA: Until admitted.
†Including those programs with a separate admission process from the general application.
¹The retention periods recommended above are based on the following:
*Uniform retention periods allow for the destruction of the entire application folder which will save time reviewing and sorting documents.
*Essential data will be recorded on academic records retained permanently (see the AACRAO Academic Record and Transcript Guide).
²FERPA states that letters of recommendation not accompanied by waivers and retained beyond their intended use may be viewed by the student. As a consequence, it is recommended that these letters be destroyed after admission of the student. Waivers of rights of access filed with letters of recommendations schould be retained as long as the file is retained. Students who revoke their rights of access filed with letters of recommendations should be retained as long as the file is retained. Students who revoke their waivers of rights of access may not see letters of recommendation submitted during the time the waivers were in force.
³VA regulations state that the following student records must be retained for at leasat three years after termination of enrollment:
*Previous education or training (transcripts from other colleges and source documents for other nontraditional credit).
*Evidence of formal admission. The regulations state that longer retention will not be required unless a written request is received from the General Accounting Office or the VA no later than 30 days prior to the end of the three-year period.
⁴Educational institutions participating in federal, state, and private programs of low interest loans to students must retain student records of admission and placement for three years after graduation or withdrawal. In the event of an open audit, records must be retained until all questions are resolved.
⁵Some documents from institutions in other countries may be originals and therefore difficult or impossible for the applicant to replace. The records custodian may be asked to return these documents to the applicant, as well as retain a copy of them.