What do you keep?
Always ask yourself whether if a document needs to be stored, it needs to be in multiple places. Why keep a copy if the original is already stored in, say, Brightspace, at the exam committee or secretariat? Saving once is enough.
Retention periods
When archiving documents, keep in mind the legal retention periods. In Brightspace, Ans and Osiris, the retention period is applied automatically. In other systems, you need to monitor this yourself. The Archiving of education-related document page provides an overview of documents to be archived and the legal retention period applicable to them. This helps you clean up your data digitally. A digital clean-up also reduces the chances of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands.
Clearing in Brightspace
When preparing a course in Brightspace, it can be easy to copy a course from a previous year. Did you know that you then also copied all the files from that old course? Even the files you may no longer need. This is because Brightspace stores all files in the file manager, even if they are not used in the content of your course. If you copy a course year after year, this can cause unnecessary files to accumulate in your course. From time to time, it is a good idea to check what files are in your course. To do this, in your course, go to Administration > Course Builder and click Manage Files. You can start cleaning up!
Even better: when copying a course, choose the Select Components option. That way, in the next screen with Select individual items to copy, you can select exactly which components you do and do not need for your new course.