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Equipment Management Policy

Section I

Purpose

To maintain a current and accurate inventory of all movable university equipment with an acquisition cost of greater than $2,500, including any freight and installation costs.

Section II

Procedure

General

In order to maintain a record of all movable equipment, each item is tagged and coded. Control of inventory is administered through the Business Office.

The budget manager is responsible for all equipment purchased for or assigned to the department and shall promptly report any acquisition, transfer, or loss of equipment to the Business Office.

The University will maintain inventory records of:

  1. Any item that has an acquisition cost of over $2,500 and is a complete and independent item which does not lose its identity or become a component part of another item.
  2. Vehicles, computers, and video projectors, regardless of acquisition value.
  3. Equipment donated to the University for its use and benefit. The acquisition value for gifts shall be established by the head(s) of the receiving department(s), subject to review by the Director of Business Services.

Acquisition

  1. Purchase of inventory items is the most common method of acquisition. When a piece of equipment is received, the department is responsible for requesting tags, to be placed on the equipment item to establish identity and tracking, from the Inventory Clerk.
  2. Accompanying the tag is a form to be filed by the budget manager verifying the physical location of the equipment and the fact that the tag has been mounted on the item.

Inventory Change

Items may be transferred to other departments by use of the Transfer of Equipment Form. Both budget managers must sign the form, one for relinquishment of responsibility and the other for assumption of responsibility of the item.

The budget manager has the authority to temporarily move equipment within management units without making an inventory change when both the equipment and the units are his/her responsibility. However, the budget manager has the responsibility of maintaining the internal records necessary for control of inventory. System reconciliation of inventory records regarding location changes will be done during the annual physical inventory. Changes should be referenced on the inventory report. Internal records for these temporary moves must be updated in a timely manner to insure that items can be located at any time.

Removal From Campus

University-owned equipment, as well as any other property for which the University is responsible, may not be removed from the campus except when it is necessary to carry out an instructional or University-sponsored activity scheduled off-campus as a planned event of the University. The removal must be authorized by the budget manager.

Removal From Inventory

Selling, trading, or deleting from inventory any item of University-owned equipment is not within a budget manager's authority. This responsibility and authority has been assigned specifically to the Business Office. This policy also applies to the disposal of scrap, salvage, broken, obsolete, and surplus items. If an item is to be removed from a department's inventory, the Deletion of Equipment Form should be completed, requesting deletion of the item from inventory. The form must be sent to the Business Office that will make arrangements for the removal of the item and for removal of the item's tag number. Deleted items will be moved to the Warehouse and a determination made of their residual value (See Surplus Property below).

Theft or disappearance of property should be reported immediately upon discovery of loss. The Southwestern Oklahoma State University Public Safety Office must be contacted and an Incident Report must be completed. A written explanation of the circumstances regarding the loss and a Deletion of Equipment Form referencing the loss must be sent to the Business Office.

Physical Inventory

A physical inventory is conducted each year. All University departments are required to participate.

  1. A complete listing of inventory items will be sent to each department.
  2. All reconciliation's to the inventory list should be itemized on the appropriate form (Transfer, Deletion, or a correction memo), be signed by the budget manager, and returned to the Business Office.
  3. The inventory database will be updated and reconciled, based on the information provided by each department and any additional feedback.
  4. All listings, along with any changes, must be returned to the Business Office by the due date so that the inventory may be reconciled by June 30 of each year.

Inventory information is available on line for your convenience.

Surplus Property

Items that have been sent to the Warehouse as surplus are available to other departments of the University. All departments shall be notified of the items and given preference for acquisition (except for instances where legal standards require otherwise). Departments can request any available equipment by completing and signing a Transfer of Equipment Form and making arrangements with the Business Office.

Items available after department requests have been completed will be sold at public auction.

Methods For Transfer of Surplus Property

The methods for transfer of surplus property are:

  1. Transfer to another agency with or without charge as agreed by both parties.
  2. Request for sealed bids and sold through the Office of Business Services.
  3. Public Auction.
  4. Trade-in on "like" or similar products, when approved in advance, in writing, by the Office of Business Services.

Revised 6/2004