Property Control Guidelines
Property belonging to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, regardless of value, is controlled under the provisions of the State of Illinois Property Control Act and is subject to the regulations of the Department of Central Management Services (CMS) as “state-owned property.” The Chancellor of the University is accountable for all property in the custody of SIUE. These custodianship duties, for property purchased by or assigned to a unit, have been delegated to the fiscal officer of that unit.
Equipment
The State Finance Act (30 ILCS 105/20) states equipment shall mean and include expenditures having a unit value exceeding $100 for the acquisition, replacement or increase of visible tangible property of a non-consumable nature whether by purchase, lease-purchase or installment purchase contract.
All University property with a value of $2,500 or more and high risk equipment with a value of less than $2,500 is required to be identified with a 6-digit bar code tag. Fiscal officers should also request 6-digit bar code tags for items considered to be a high risk for theft, regardless of acquisition cost. Other university property with a value between $100 and $2,499 should be identified with a red “Property of SIUE” tag.
Additions to Inventory
Purchases
Equipment purchased by invoice voucher or procurement card is processed through the Administrative Accounting Office. Property Control assigns a 6-digit tag to equipment purchases costing $2,500 or more and high risk equipment with a value of less than $2,500 and adds the equipment to the appropriate unit’s fixed asset inventory.
Transfer
Equipment may also be added to an account as a result of a transfer. Transfers may be of two types:
Interdepartmental transfers are processed by Property Control upon receipt of a completed Request for Change of Status of Equipment form. This form is to be signed by both the transferring and receiving fiscal officers and forwarded to Property Control so the records can be adjusted.
If a department wishes to transfer in equipment from another agency, Property Control must be notified and the Request for Change of Status of Equipment form completed. Property Control must supply new tag numbers and our agency code to the transferring agency for incoming equipment.
Gift
Gifts may be received, held and transferred to a unit by the SIUE Foundation. Once gifts have been assigned to a particular unit, the Foundation has procedures to provide for the proper notification to Property Control.
Constructed
The fiscal officer of a department which constructs equipment for departmental use must inform Property Control prior to completion of the project, giving a description of the equipment sufficient for inventory identification purposes, the anticipated cost, and the inventory unit to which the equipment is to be added.
Deletions from Inventory
Surplus Property
All SIUE equipment that has been determined by the department’s fiscal officer to be obsolete or no longer needed must be turned over to Surplus Property by initiation of the Surplus Property Pick-up form. The form must be submitted to Property Control first for review, who will then forward to Surplus Property. Surplus Property will pick up the equipment.
Cannibalism
Cannibalizing University-owned computers for spare parts is not permitted by the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) without special permission. Fiscal Officers should consult with Property Control to obtain CMS approval. All computers must be transferred intact to SIUE Surplus Property for proper disposal unless CMS has approved their cannibalization.
Transfer to Another Agency
Departments wanting to transfer any SIUE owned equipment must first submit a Request for Change of Status of Equipment Form along with a written letter explaining the reason and purpose for the transfer of equipment before any equipment leaves the University. The transfer of equipment must be in the best interest of the University and approved by CMS.
Trade-in
Before an item of equipment is traded in for other like or similar equipment, approval must be obtained from Property Control. The Request for Change of Status of Equipment form, along with the requisition for new equipment, is to be sent directly to Purchasing. Purchasing will forward it to Property Control for approval. Some vendors, although offering a trade-in value on equipment, fail to pick up the traded item upon delivery of the new equipment. In such instances, after verification that the vendor does not intend to pick up the trade-in item, it should be turned over to Surplus Property.
Lost or Stolen
When a department discovers that equipment may have been stolen, University Police should be notified immediately. A Request for Change of Status of Equipment form must be submitted to Property Control when equipment is determined to be lost or stolen. Property Control will remove the equipment from inventory. For equipment determined to be stolen, a copy of the University Police Report should also be submitted.
Other Information
When a fiscal officer finds equipment which is not on his inventory, Property Control should be notified. If the equipment does not have a tag, it should be determined whether it is the personal property of one of the department’s staff.
Loans
At times it is desirable for a department to borrow an item of equipment from another department. The Request for Change of Status of Equipment form is to be used. The signature of the borrowing fiscal officer must be obtained, acknowledging receipt and responsibility for the equipment, with the lender and borrower each retaining a copy. Such forms, on file in the respective offices of the departments, will be considered adequate evidence that the necessary records have been maintained. It is not necessary to notify Property Control of the loan.
Loans in excess of one year are discouraged. When loans exceed one year, the departments should consider transferring the equipment.
Off Campus
Circumstances may arise when University responsibility may justify the temporary use of portable equipment off campus in order to advance University programs or activities. The Request for Change of Status of Equipment form must be completed and maintained on file in the unit to which the equipment is assigned. It is not necessary to notify Property Control of such temporary circumstances.
Annual Equipment Certification
As required by the Property Control Act each department is required to review and verify its inventory annually. Each department will receive a list of its equipment as of June 30. After the fiscal officer makes a physical review of all equipment in areas under his jurisdiction, he must report the results of his review to Property Control. All discrepancies, i.e., overages, shortages, untagged items, improperly tagged items, and improperly identified items, must be included in the report. Management requires all departments reporting missing computer’s to contact the SIUE Police department and file a stolen equipment report for their unit. An officer will visit your department to gather information for the completion of the report.
