Established: July 1, 1996
Last Updated: November 29, 2022
Class: G
1. INTRODUCTION
This policy, administered by the Vice-President, Administration and Finance, applies to all capital and non-capital assets belonging to, or in the custody of, the University of Waterloo (UW) [i.e. all land; buildings; site work; teaching, research and academic-support equipment and furnishings]. Its purpose is to establish general requirements for safeguarding UW assets through the implementation and maintenance of loss prevention practices by all departments. Section 2 sets out general principles; section 3 establishes general requirements for tracking capital assets; and section 4 deals with safeguarding measures, including disposal and removal from campus.
2. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
UW is responsible for all land, buildings, furnishings and equipment to which it holds title. Responsibility for other equipment rests with UW to the extent that it has explicitly agreed to accept responsibility under a contractual arrangement. The ownership of certain assets purchased by UW will be determined by the Grantor upon completion of a research project.
Responsibility for the care and custody of property rests with the UW person providing the resources for the purchase of the asset, and/or the person responsible for the physical area where the furniture or equipment is located. Generally, the responsibility rests with a Department Head.
All purchases of assets by the University are for University business purposes; purchases of assets for an individual’s personal use are not permitted.
3. REQUIREMENTS FOR CAPITAL ASSETS
Owned Furnishings and Equipment
All furnishings and equipment (including vehicles) acquired, fabricated or donated, and charged or recorded to any operating, ancillary, trust, endowment, research or capital account are classified as capital assets subject to the following requirements.
- The asset must be a non-consumable, tangible item with a life expectancy of at least three years.
- The purchase value, or established donated value, must be at least $20,000 in whole or in part.
- Research equipment with a value of at least $20,000. UW is responsible under research grants, contracts and agreements for the custody of the equipment purchased from the funds provided. Unless otherwise specified by the Grantor, all equipment is considered to be UW property. The equipment remains the responsibility of the research director until the research work is concluded, following which it becomes available for other permitted research related UW purposes.
- All capital asset purchases of at least $20,000 (and non-capital asset purchases greater than $10,000) must be purchased through one of UW's approved procurement systems.
Physical Capital Asset Validations
- Items tracked centrally will not be tagged, however, they will be specifically identified within UW’s computerized accounting system, including funding source.
- Random test counts of capital assets (with a value of at least $20,000) may be conducted throughout the year by Finance staff.
- Implementation of proper safeguarding and security measures described below will minimize the need to conduct a physical count each year.
4. REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL ASSETS
Safeguarding Measures
It is the responsibility of UW to take appropriate measures to safeguard all property, including equipment and other moveable assets. All persons/departments having responsibility for the use and care of these assets must ensure that adequate security measures are in place at all locations where these assets reside to prevent damage to or the loss of such assets.
Removal from Campus
When capital and non-capital assets are removed from campus to another location, an "Off Campus Asset Location Form" must be completed and filed with the Department Head, or designate. This form is available on Finance’s Removal of Assets from Campus Procedure website.
Disposal
- Assets must be disposed of according to the procedure issued by Finance which is available on the Finance website. An Asset Disposal Form must be completed for all assets, regardless of original purchase value. This includes, for example, all vehicles, equipment and furnishings including computers, desks, chairs, work stations, filing cabinets, shelving units.
- Assets which are obsolete, worn out, damaged beyond repair, or no longer meet the requirements of a department, may be sold as surplus, transferred to another department, traded-in, reconfigured, used for parts, or discarded. Assets which are lost, stolen, or returned to the Grantor are no longer in the care and custody of UW and must be identified as disposed.
- Surplus assets and any related sale or disposal are to be administered by Central Stores. Central Stores must be notified before any sales are transacted to ensure that items are being sold at market value, appropriate taxes are charged, an asset disposal form is completed, and the sale is recorded in the accounting system.
- All Asset Disposal Forms must be signed by the Department Head, or designate, and in cases where equipment was acquired with research funds, the Office of Research.