Budget concerns campus wide and additional concerns for personal and proprietary information have brought about updates to the university’s policy and procedures for managing its equipment. Employees and office and area administrators are responsible for the custody and care of the equipment used on campus every day.

 

Oversight of the university’s equipment is provided by the office of Equipment Management, a division of the Controllers office. The Equipment Management office manages the property control system for the care, custody, control and financial reporting of equipment owned or controlled by the university. The property control system is maintained according to federal and state regulations and university policies.

 

More importance is attached to equipment as replacement costs rise and budgets are at a minimum, according to Debra Megill, equipment management specialist.

 

The Equipment Management office outlined several of the major changes in the policy, including:

 

- All computers, regardless of cost or acquisition, will be tagged and tracked by Equipment Management for personal and proprietary information. Stricter rules regarding use and transfer will also be in effect.

 

- Yearly physical inventory of capital items and computers will be completed by the Equipment Management office.

 

- Equipment that is less than the capital threshold of $5,000 will be the responsibility of the departments. Inventory tags will be sent to departments for tagging the equipment. The responsible department will be required to submit a bi-annual physical inventory.

 

A copy of the new policies and procedures is available online.

 

Those on campus with questions or concerns about the new policies and procedures should contact the Equipment Management office, Old Main Room 10, (435) 797-1999.

 

Contact: Lee Alder, 435-797-1999, Lee.alder@usu.edu