EFFECTIVE DATE: February 01, 2019
ISSUE #: 6
PRESIDENT: Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz
PURPOSE
This PS states the policy and procedures relating to the proper use, maintenance, and
safekeeping of the University of Houston-Downtown’s (UHD) state and federal capital
property and state designated controlled items.
DEFINITIONS
2.1 Capital Property: Property valued at $5,000.00 or over and having a useful life of at
least one year.
2.2 Controlled Property: State designated property that must be secured and tracked due to
the high risk nature of the items. The property is valued between $500 and $4,999 and
has a useful life of at least one year. The specific assets include: desktop and laptop
computers, all firearms regardless of amount, stereo systems, cameras, video cameras,
video recorder/laserdisc players, camcorders, television/VCR combinations, television
sets, video cassette recorders, and data projectors.
2.3 Property Management: Property Management is responsible for promulgating
guidelines to help ensure compliance with all applicable rules related to accounting for
and controlling capital and controlled assets. Property Management is also responsible
for communicating applicable rules to the university departments. Property
Management will notify department heads, deans, and divisional heads of any instances
of non-compliance with Property Management guidelines, as appropriate.
2.4 Property Custodian: Each college, division, department, and unit administrator is
responsible for ensuring compliance with Property Management guidelines and is
required to appoint a Property Custodian to perform the duties specified.
POLICY
3.1 Each Department/Unit Manager will designate a Property Custodian for his/her area.
The assignment will be renewed annually with the Custodian Designation form,
available on the Property Management forms site or from the Property Manager, and is
to be completed and returned to the Property Manager by August 1 of each year. The
Property Custodian will be the Department/Unit Manager unless designated otherwise.
All property custodians will receive training from Property Management on the duties and responsibilities of the property custodian. An alternate custodian must also be
determined.
3.2 The State of Texas requires Property Management to maintain an inventory of
university capital and controlled property. Items received through standard purchase
procedures (purchase orders, direct vouchers, and service center requisitions) are
identified by Property Management through the use of purchasing records and vendor
documentation available from the Accounts Payable department. All property acquired
by the university is to be centrally processed through the Shipping and Receiving
department. Receiving reports should correctly identify property model numbers, serial
numbers, and equipment locations. Immediately upon receipt of any capital or
controlled item by loan or gift, the Property Custodian must notify Property
Management. All computer equipment must be delivered to Information Technology,
who will record warranty information, tag the items, and deliver to the department.
3.3 Departments are responsible for maintaining all capital and controlled property in their
custody. This includes periodic inspections, calibrations, preventive maintenance, and
repairs as specified by the manufacturer and conventional maintenance practices. In
order to assess an item’s worth, it is suggested that departments keep a maintenance
history on each piece of equipment, including date of work done, a brief description of
work done, and cost, if any. These records must be kept in the department office and
must be made available to the Property Manager on request. Maintenance records are
essential in determining current value when property is traded or sold.
3.4 The university is required by state statute to conduct an annual inventory of all capital
and controlled property on campus. See PS 07.A.03, Property Management Annual Inventory, for specific procedures.
3.5 The university's internal auditors or the Texas State Auditor’s Office may inspect the
Property Management records and the physical location of capital and controlled
property, at any time, to verify their accuracy.
3.6 Employees failing to comply with this policy may be considered negligent and may be
liable for any resulting loss or damage to university property.
PROCEDURES
4.1 Any changes in Property Custodian assignments during the year must be communicated
in writing to the Property Manager within fifteen (15) days of the change. The Change of Custodian form is available on the Property Management forms site or from the
Property Manager.
4.2 When a new Property Custodian is appointed, the departmental inventory must be
verified by the new and former Property Custodians, if, at the discretion of the Property
Manager, the new appointment is within three months of the annual inventory. The
Department/Unit Manager will forward a signed copy of the Change of Custodian form
to Property Management designating a new Property Custodian. Property Management
will provide a current inventory listing at the time of the change.
4.3 The Property Custodian is specifically responsible for the proper management and
control of university property and should ensure that:
4.3.1 Capital or controlled property received by means other than purchase is reported
to Property Management.
4.3.2 Property is used for university purposes only.
4.3.3 Property is not loaned, traded, discarded, or moved without approval of
Property Management.
4.3.4 Property is not defaced or damaged in any way.
4.3.5 Property is not returned to a vendor as a trade-in without Property
Management’s approval.
4.3.6 Obsolete and excess property is turned in to Property Management for disposal.
4.3.7 Capital and controlled property are used for their intended purpose by properly
trained personnel.
4.3.8 Property within the department is tagged and listed on the departmental property
inventory.
4.4 Capital and controlled equipment purchased from any source of funds is identified with
a UHD property inventory tag, which bears the institution name and a unique property
inventory number.
4.5 Any surplus capital or controlled property received as a gift or property on loan to the
university from state or private sources is to be identified with a UHD property
inventory tag. In the case of property on loan, the tag must be removed before the
equipment is returned to the lender.
4.6 Non-capital and non-controlled properties are not reflected in the Property Management
inventory
4.7 The Receiving Department is responsible for overseeing the receipt of all capital and
controlled property acquired by the university. The following process is followed:
4.7.1 Appropriate documentation is secured and reviewed.
4.7.2 All equipment is identified as property of UHD. Numbered property tags are
affixed to all capital and controlled equipment, and non-numbered property tags
are affixed to all non-capital equipment if requested.
4.7.3 The Receiving Report is reviewed to ensure it contains the required information,
as outlined below, before it is forwarded to Property Management.
4.7.3.1 Complete description of the item
4.7.3.2 Manufacturer's name, model number, and serial number
4.7.3.3 Date of receipt
4.7.3.4 Building and room number where the item will be located
4.8 When a department loans or transfers capital or controlled property to another
department, a Transfer Property Move Request form, available on the Property Management forms site or from the Property Manager, must be completed and
forwarded to Property Management. The completed form will have the tag number(s)
and a brief description of the item(s) being relocated, as well as the signatures of the
Property Custodians from both the lending/transferring department and the
borrowing/receiving department. An email will also be sent to the Property Custodians
and alternate Property Custodians of both departments
4.8.1 University property may be loaned from one department to another only for the
purpose of conducting official business and may not be loaned to individuals or
organizations outside the university.
4.8.2 Capital or controlled property transfers between university departments are not
financial transactions. Forms, such as service center requisitions, are not to be
used to document transfers.
4.8.3 For capital or controlled property transfers between state agencies, see PS 07.A.02, Property Management Acquisitions for specific information on
ownership and title.
4.9 All capital or controlled property in excess of the needs of the department should be
turned in to Property Management so that other departments may use the existing property rather than having to make a new purchase. Authorization to move items to
Property Management storage is requested on a Transfer Property Move Request form.
4.10 University equipment, once tagged, may be removed from campus only for needed
repairs or when necessary to conduct official university business. Requests for Property
Management's approval must be made prior to the move using a Request to Remove
Capital Property form, available on the Property Management forms site or from the
Property Manager. Property Management may approve moving equipment to an off-campus location for a specific period of time which may not extend past the end of the
fiscal year. If the equipment is needed for a longer time, the employee may renew the
request without physically returning the equipment by resubmitting the above form
prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year. It is important to note that off-campus
capital property must be reported on the annual inventory.
4.11 Employees having university property at an off-campus location are responsible for that
property and should consider providing insurance coverage under their own personal
property insurance. Should the property be lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed due to
employee misconduct or negligence, the employee must reimburse the university,
whether by an insurance check or personal funds.
4.12 The Property Custodian is responsible for reporting lost or stolen capital or controlled
property to:
4.12.1 Campus Police by a preliminary telephone report to initiate an
investigation.
4.12.2 Property Management by a descriptive email, which will include the
police report number and flag the property on the inventory as lost or
stolen. Capital and controlled property will be removed from the
inventory if unrecovered in accordance with State guidelines.
4.13 The university is required to report capital and controlled property losses to the Texas
State Auditor’s Office. If the State Auditor’s Office determines that an employee is
responsible for the loss of the property, the employee will be required to reimburse the
State. Any lost or stolen property that is subsequently recovered should be reported
immediately to Property Management and the UHD Police. The Property Manager will
report the recovery to the State Auditor. Any unexplained loss of non-capital equipment
or expendable supplies should be reported directly to the Campus Police by the
Property Custodian.
EXHIBITS
There are no exhibits associated with this policy.
REVIEW PROCESS
Responsible Party (Reviewer): Property Manager
Review: Every three years on or before November 1st
.
Signed original on file in Employment Services and Operations.
POLICY HISTORY
Issue #1: 03/23/94
Issue #2: 08/09/99
Issue #3: 02/28/00
Issue #4: 11/05/10
Issue #5: 09/16/14
REFERENCES
PS 07.A.02
PS 07.A.03
UH System Administrative Memorandum 03.E.02
SPA Process User’s Guide
Texas State Auditor’s Office
