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 $500 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.
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.
