VINCENNES UNIVERSITY FEDERALLY FUNDED EQUIPMENT POLICY

Transcription

1 Purpse The purpse f this plicy is t utline the specific plicies, respnsibilities and prcedures fr acquisitin, cntrl, use, care, maintenance, dispsitin and reprting f federal equipment. Plicy The federal gvernment thrugh the Unifrm Guidance requires the University t prcure, use, and cntrl prperty in accrdance with Federal laws, executive rders, instructins frm the Federal spnsring agency, and any special instructins cntained in the specific spnsred prjects. It is Gvernment plicy, hwever, t rely upn the University s internal written prcedures, subject t evaluatin and apprval. Definitins The federal gvernment s definitin f Capital Equipment is defined as any unit item with a life expectancy f a least ne year and having an acquisitin cst f $5,000 r mre. Shipping, taxes in-transit insurance, and installatin charges shuld be included under this categry fr new purchases, prvided these csts are included n the riginal purchase rder. The University s capitalizatin threshld is $5,000 (effective 7/01/2015). All grants must be reviewed t determine the definitin f capital equipment as defined by the grant. Respnsibilities The University is respnsible and accuntable fr all Gvernment prperty in accrdance with the prvisins f the spnsred prject, including prperty prvided under cntract, which may be in pssessin r cntrl f a subcntractr. This respnsibility is shared by numerus University persnnel, and is specifically delegated as fllws: The Principal Investigatr alng with the purchasing and accunting ffices are respnsible fr reviewing equipment purchases n cntracts and grants, fr btaining any spnsring agency apprvals necessary, and fr cding the equipment purchase prperly in rder t track the equipment that is purchased with federal dllars. The Fixed Asset Crdinatr lcated in the purchasing department maintains inventry recrds fr all Gvernment, University, and ther spnsr wned equipment. This individual is als respnsible fr assigning prperty tags t equipment, fr perfrming inventries in cperatin with the departments, and fr prviding reprts and infrmatin frm equipment inventry recrds. The Principal Investigatrs are authrized t initiate requests fr the purchase f equipment r t request restricted r Gvernment excess prperty fr his/her prject. Principal Investigatrs are als respnsible fr prper use, maintenance and security f all assigned prperty, and fr ntifying the Fixed Asset Crdinatr f any Gvernment prperty received and any shrtage, damage, lss r theft f Gvernment prperty. 1 P a g e

2 Purchasing alng with the Principal Investigatr will manage prcurements. Prcurement will be made in cmpliance with University prcedures, general Federal regulatins (e.g., Unifrm Guidance), and any special prcedures required by the spnsring agency r specific grant r cntract. Equipment Acquisitin Mst federal agencies require that equipment be budgeted fr in the prpsal. Unfreseen equipment purchases are ften necessary; therefre, departments shuld be cgnizant f any spnsr restrictin n the purchase f unapprved equipment. All equipment purchased with federal funds must be necessary and reasnable fr prper and efficient accmplishment f prject r prgram bjectives. Ownership Ownership f equipment is nrmally designated by the spnsring agency at the time f the award. Vincennes University is bund by the spnsr s agreement whether r nt the wnership belngs t the University. Tagging Equipment The Fixed Asset Crdinatr will issue an equipment tag fr all equipment purchases ver $5,000 and fr ther designated equipment requiring tracking. The Fixed Asset Crdinatr enters the funding surce in the fixed asset system which designates the equipment as being purchased using federal funds. Utilizatin f Equipment The Unifrm Guidance prvides the fllwing guidelines f the utilizatin n equipment purchased with federal funds: The recipient shall use the equipment in the prject r prgram fr which it was acquired as lng as needed, whether r nt the prject r prgram cntinues t be supprted by Federal funds and shall nt encumber the prperty withut apprval f the Federal awarding agency. When n lnger needed fr the riginal prject r prgram, the recipient shall use the equipment in cnnectin with its ther federallyspnsred activities, in the fllwing rder f pririty: activities spnsred by the Federal awarding agency which funded the riginal prject, then activities spnsred by ther Federal awarding agencies. During the time that equipment is used n the prject r prgram fr which it was acquired, the recipient shall make it available fr use n ther prjects r prgrams 2 P a g e

3 if such ther use will nt interfere with wrk n the prject r prgram fr which the equipment was riginally acquired. Preference fr use shall be as fllws: ther prjects r prgrams spnsred by the Federal awarding agency that financed the equipment; then prjects r prgrams spnsred by ther Federal awarding agencies. The recipient shall nt use equipment acquired with Federal funds t prvide services t nn-federal utside rganizatins fr a fee that is less than private cmpanies charge fr equivalent services, unless specifically authrized by Federal statute, fr as lng as the Federal Gvernment retains an interest in the equipment. If the equipment is wned by the Federal Gvernment, use n ther activities nt spnsred by the Federal Gvernment shall be permissible if authrized by the Federal awarding agency. User charges shall be treated as prgram incme. When requiring replacement equipment, the recipient may use the equipment t be replaced as trade-in r sell the equipment and use the prceeds t ffset the csts f the replacement equipment subject t the apprval f the Federal awarding agency. Care and Maintenance The department shall prvide the care necessary t maintain the equipment in the cnditin received r better (nrmal wear is expected) in rder that the mst useful life is secured. The Principal Investigatr is als respnsible fr prper use, maintenance and security f all assigned prperty, and fr ntifying the Fixed Asset Crdinatr f all prperty received indirectly and/r any shrtage, damage, lss r theft f prperty. Maintenance shuld be in accrdance with manufacturer s guidelines and recmmendatins. Strage and Mvement When equipment is temprarily nt utilized, but required fr authrized use in the future, it must be adequately stred t prtect it frm theft, crrsin, cntaminatin, and damage t sensitive parts. N equipment will be mved by the Maintenance department unless a transfer frm has been cmpleted and apprved by the Fixed Asset Crdinatr. Lss, Damage r Destructin Departments must have apprpriate safeguards in place t prevent lss, damage, and/r theft f equipment. Hwever, in the event that equipment is stlen, it must be immediately reprted t the department chairpersn, directr, r dean and t security. The department must cmplete a written reprt utlining the descriptin f the missing r damaged items, serial number, date and circumstances fr the lss, building and rm number, steps taken t recver the prperty, and any ther relevant infrmatin. 3 P a g e

4 If gvernment wned equipment is stlen, the University is required t prmptly ntify the apprpriate gvernment fficial f the theft. Therefre, the Fixed Asset Crdinatr must ntify the Accunting ffice immediately. A cpy f the abve referenced reprt must be frwarded t the Fixed Asset Crdinatr. The department culd be liable fr the lss, damage r destructin f gvernment prperty. Equipment Dispsitin Prir t dispsing any equipment, it must be determined if the University has any bligatins t a third party spnsr with respect t the equipment. If equipment was purchased under spnsred funding, it must be determined whether the equipment is: spnsr-wned: equipment purchase made with cntract funding are generally spnsr-wned, hwever, in rare situatins this cnditin may als apply t grants; university-wned: mst equipment purchased under grants is University-wned. After determining wh has title t the equipment, it must be ascertained whether the prject that the equipment was purchased fr is still n-ging. If the prject is still n-ging, the University nrmally has an bligatin t utilize the equipment fr the purpses f the prject, r perhaps t make the equipment available t ther federally-assisted prjects. If it is determined that the spnsred prject has ended and the University retains title t the surplus prperty, the University may still have bligatins with respect t the equipment. Because the requirements f equipment dispsitin differ slightly amng granting agencies, yu shuld cntact the Accunting ffice prir t dispsing federally funded equipment. Physical Inventry The University has the fiduciary respnsibility f maintaining prper cntrl ver all f its equipment, regardless f the lcatin r purpse. Failure t accurately accunt fr equipment culd preclude the University as a whle frm applying fr federal grants as the inventry recrds are subject t federal and ther external audits. Adequate insurance requires accurate dcumentatin f University wned equipment; therefre, each department must review the recrds and submit any changes t ensure that the recrds in the inventry system are crrect. The Purchasing ffice cnducts a physical inventry fr departments n bi-annual basis. This prcess allws University departments t verify inventry and make apprpriate crrectins. The Fixed Asset Crdinatr prepares and distributes a listing f all equipment lcated in each department. Each department must verify the items n the list and nte any crrectins befre returning the list t Purchasing. Departments must als assist the Purchasing ffice t lcate and identify the equipment when they are cnducting the physical inventry, which is perfrmed bi-annually. 4 P a g e

5 Subcntractr Cntrl VINCENNES UNIVERSITY Each subagreement entered int by the University where the Federal prperty may cme under the cntrl f a subcntractr must cntain specific prvisins cncerning the subcntractr s respnsibility fr the care, custdy, and use f the prperty. This prvisin shuld require, by flwing dwn requirements in the prime award, that the subcntractr assume the respnsibility and bligatins f the University with respect t the prperty while it is under the subcntractr s cntrl. These bligatins will include apprpriate care, utilizatin, strage, mvement, dispsitin, and recrd keeping. The subcntractr s apprved prperty cntrl system shall include prcedures necessary fr accmplishing this respnsibility. 5 P a g e

6 Reprting Requirements The Accunting ffice is respnsible fr submitting equipment reprts required by federal agencies. Surces f Federal Guidelines Chapter II Office f Management and Budge Circulars and Guidance, Unifrm Guidance 2 Part Surces f Other Pertinent University Plicies 6 P a g e