Definition: Equipment includes personal property that retains its identity through use, has a cost (or donated value) greater than $10,000, and a useful life of more than two years. Federally funded purchases of equipment valued over $5,000 are also included. Weapons, vehicles, computers, and other electronics are included regardless of cost.

Capital assets include land, buildings, works of art, historical treasures, and library collections.

Policy: All equipment and capital assets, as defined above, must be recorded in the ISRS equipment/capital asset module.

Procedure: Equipment will be marked with a state inventory sticker before delivery to the department. There are two exceptions:

• If the item is designated as “to be set up by vendor.”
• If the item is too small or unfamiliar to be identified at the time of delivery.

If an item qualifies as an exception, it will be marked under the supervision of the department.

Upon receipt of the equipment, the department must complete the “Verification of Location” form and return it to Inventory Control. Once received, Inventory Control will record the asset in the ISRS equipment/capital asset module.

See Also:
Minnesota State Capital Asset Procedure 7.3.6 for more information on capital assets such as land, buildings, capital improvements, infrastructure, leases, and library collections.

Definition: A department may declare a tangible asset to be surplus property when it is no longer needed.

Policy: Departments should periodically review state property in their possession and notify Inventory Control in writing when an item is no longer of use. Inventory staff will pick up and remove the item.

If the item still holds value for the University, it will be placed in storage until it can be reissued to another department. If the item no longer has value to the University, it will be sold, traded in, transferred, recycled, or disposed of.

Procedure: When a department identifies a surplus item, they must notify Inventory Control in writing. Inventory staff will collect the item and assess whether it retains value or usefulness to the University.

If the item is still valuable, it will be reissued to another department when a need arises.

If the item is no longer of value, Inventory Control will dispose of it through one of the following methods:

• Asset transfer to another state agency or political subdivision
• Auction
• Negotiated sale
• Pre-priced sale
• Sealed bid
• Trade-in
• Junk
• Garbage
• Recycle

Inventory Control may store surplus items in the Inventory warehouse for later disposal. Items determined to be junk at the time of pickup may be taken directly to a metal salvage yard. All computers and electronic equipment must be sent to Asset Recovery Corporation C & T Systems.

Also see:
Minnesota State Surplus Personal Property/Building Disposal Procedure 7.3.13

Definition: Gifts and grants are contributions to the University in the form of real property (land), personal property, or cash. Personal property may include rare books, prints, antiques, artworks, or equipment.

Policy: The President of the University has the authority to accept gifts or grants—other than real property—on behalf of the University. Gifts of real property must be formally accepted by the Minnesota State Board of Trustees. All gifts and grants exceeding $100,000 must be reported to the Minnesota State Board of Trustees.

All gift acceptance forms must be approved by the University President. Grants are approved by the President or their designee.

Gifts intended for purposes aligned with a foundation should be accepted by the St. Cloud State University Foundation, Inc.

Procedure: Most gifts are donated to the SCSU Foundation and then transferred to the University. Please contact the SCSU Foundation to complete their Gift-in-Kind Acceptance form.

Gifts donated directly to the University (which is uncommon) require valuation. If the apparent value is less than $100,000, a University employee with relevant expertise—such as a librarian or art professor—may provide the valuation. Gifts exceeding $100,000 must be valued by an independent, expert appraiser.

Business Services will record gifts and grants in ISRS. Each fiscal year, the University will report all gifts and grants exceeding $100,000 to the Minnesota State Board of Trustees and the Office of the Chancellor.

Also see:
Minnesota State Gifts and Grants Acceptance Policy 7.7

Definition: Employee personal property refers to personal belongings brought into the workplace frequently or for long-term use.

Policy: When an employee brings personal belongings to the workplace for frequent or long-term use, the property should be recorded on the State Employee’s Personal Property form. This form substantiates the employee’s ownership of the item.

Personal property that should be recorded includes items typically tracked under the fixed asset system or items that are easily pilfered.

Procedure: The employee must complete and sign the State Employee's Personal Property form (PDF) and submit it to their supervisor. The supervisor signs the form, forwards the original to Inventory Control, retains one copy, and returns one copy to the employee.

When the personal property is removed from the workplace, the supervisor should sign the bottom of the form and send a copy to Inventory Control.

Also see:
Employee's Personal Property form PS1077 (PDF)

Definition: Physical inventory is the process of verifying that all fixed assets are currently located on campus.

Policy: Physical inventories will be conducted every two years for all assets recorded in the equipment/capital asset module. Additionally, a physical inventory of all assets with an acquisition cost or value of $10,000 or greater shall be completed annually.

Procedure: After completing a physical inventory of a building, the results shall be compared to the records in the equipment/capital asset module, and any discrepancies will be noted. Inventory staff will then work to locate items that were not found during the initial inventory.

Items that cannot be located shall be considered stolen, reported to Public Safety, and removed from the inventory listing.

Definition: Works of art and historical treasures are items held for public exhibition, education, or research rather than financial gain. They are protected, cared for, and preserved.

Policy: All works of art and historical treasures will be recorded at their historical cost or estimated fair market value if donated, whether held individually or as part of a collection. Proceeds from the sale of such items will be used to acquire additional works of art.

Procedure: All works of art or historical treasures valued at $10,000 or more will be recorded in the ISRS equipment module for tracking purposes. These items will not be capitalized or depreciated.