Capital / Fixed Assets

Capital/Fixed Assets

Property and equipment purchased with University funds, including grants and gifts awarded to the University, are University property. Items are categorized as capital or fixed assets if the following criteria are met:

1. Cost of item is more than $5,000 and
2. Expected life of the asset is more than two years.

Gifts of property and equipment to the University that meet this criteria are categorized as fixed assets as well.

Fixed assets are recorded in the University's fixed asset system and depreciated over the expected life of the asset. A property tag is affixed to moveable fixed assets such as equipment and the tag number is recorded in the fixed asset system along with the other information such as location, responsible department, cost, description.

Purchase of Fixed Assets

Payments for fixed assets are generally charge to a 6xxxx object code. See the list of object codes for a detailed listing.

Donation of Fixed Assets

Departments receiving donated fixed assets should notify the Development Office and Business Office. If the donor provides proof of value, the Development Office will record a gift-in-kind using the fair market value of the asset. The Business Office will record the asset in the fixed asset system and, if the asset is equipment, provide a tag to the department to affix to the equipment.

Inventory of Equipment

Every other year, the Business Office will coordinate with each department to ensure that a physical inventory of the department's equipment is conducted. An inventory report listing the department's equipment will be forwarded to the department and the existence and location of each asset must be confirmed. The department should return the completed inventory report to the Business Office within 30 days so that all noted changes can be entered to the fixed asset system.

Disposal of Fixed Assets

Departments should notify Campus Support Services/Purchasing of any surplus equipment no longer useful to their department. If Campus Support Services/Purchasing has no knowledge of other departments requiring such equipment, the equipment will be transported to a storage facility. Periodically, Campus Support Services/Purchasing will offer these surplus items for sale on a sealed bid basis to the highest bidder or at their discretion, sell to interested parties.

Sale and Disposal of University Property

Departs should notify the Business Office whenever equipment is removed from their departments so that the fixed asset records can be updated in a timely manner.