Read the related policy below.
I. POLICY STATEMENT
The purpose of this policy is to describe responsibilities and procedures required for the control, use, care, maintenance, and reporting of Government-owned equipment and equipment acquired with either Federal and non-federal sponsored funds.
II. APPLICABILITY
This policy applies to anyone purchasing supplies, equipment or property as decribed in this policy. For questions regarding this policy, please contact SRO@oxy.edu.
III. DEFINITIONS
Equipment - Tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost which equals or exceeds $5,000. (2 CFR § 1108.170)
Exempt Federally-Owned Property - Property acquired under a Federal award where the Federal awarding agency has chosen to vest title of the property with the College without further responsibility to the Federal Government, based upon the explicit terms and conditions of the Federal award. Absent statutory authority and specific terms and conditions of the Federal award, the title to exempt property remains with the Federal Government. (2 CFR § 200.312 (c)).
General Purpose Equipment - Equipment which is not limited to research, medical, scientific, or other technical activities. Examples include office equipment and furnishing, modular offices, telephone networks, information technology equipment and systems, air conditioning equipment and systems, reproduction and printing equipment, and motor vehicles. (2 CFR § 200.1)
Intangible Property - Property having no physical existence, such as trademarks, copyrights, data (including data licenses), websites, IP licenses, trade secrets, patents, patent applications, and property, such as loans, notes and other debt instruments, lease agreements, stock and other instruments of property ownership of either tangible or intangible property, such as intellectual property, software, or software subscriptions or licenses. (2 CFR § 200.1)
Real Property - Real property means land, including land improvements, structures and appurtenances thereto, and legal interests in land, including fee interest, licenses, rights of way, and easements. Real property excludes moveable machinery and equipment. (2 CFR § 200.1)
Special Purpose Equipment - Equipment which is used only for research, medical, scientific, or other technical activities. Examples include microscopes, x-ray machines, surgical instruments, spectrometers, and associated software. (2 CFR § 200.1)
Supplies - Supplies are all tangible personal property other than those described in equipment definition. A computing device is a supply if the acquisition cost is less than $5,000, regardless of the length of its useful life. (2 CFR § 200.1)
Uniform Guidance - Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), Title 2, Subtitle A, Chapter ll of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, referred to as (“2 CFR 200”) or (“Uniform Guidance”), specifically see Subpart D – Post Federal Award Requirements § 200.310 – § 200-316 Property Standards.
Equipment and Supplies shall hereafter be collectively referred to as “equipment”.
Intangible and Real Property shall hereafter be collectively referred to as “property”.
IV. POLICY
Occidental College (the “College”) has adopted the Uniform Guidance as best practices and has incorporated this guidance within the College’s policies and procedures for all grants and contracts. However, should individual Federal or non-federal awards and agreements require procedures that differ from the Uniform Guidance then the College must comply with that agreement. Per the Uniform Guidance, and unless otherwise specified in the applicable sponsored award terms and conditions, it is the policy of the College to ensure equipment and property are procured, used, and controlled in accordance with Federal laws, executive orders, and directives from Federal and non-federal sponsors.
The College’s capitalization policy is to capitalize any piece of movable or tangible equipment or property which has a value of $5,000 or greater and a life expectancy greater than one year. The equipment or property is recorded on the College’s general ledger as a capital asset.
A. General Procedures and Guidance
All purchases of equipment and property made with Federal and non-federal funds must be approved in writing by the sponsor. Appropriate insurance coverage will be maintained for equipment and property charged to Federal and non-federal awards. In addition, the following apply to equipment and property purchased with and charged to a Federal or non-federal sponsored award:
- Any equipment or property that is owned by the Federal government or non-federal sponsor and is given to the College for use in a program must be marked as such.
- Until disposition takes place, procedures for managing equipment and property (including replacement equipment), whether acquired in whole or in part under a federal or non-federal award, must - at a minimum - meet the following requirements:
- Equipment and property records be maintained that include:
- a description of the property,
- serial number or other identification number,
- the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN),
- who holds title,
- the acquisition date,
- cost of the property,
- the percentage of the Federal agency contribution towards the original purchase,
- percentage of the sponsors participation in the project costs for the Federal or non-federal award under which the property was acquired,
- location,
- use and condition; and
- any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal and sale price of the equipment and property.
- A physical inventory of all equipment and property purchased with Federal and non-federal funds shall be performed at least once every two years. The results of the physical inventory shall be reconciled to the accounting records of and Federal and non-federal reports filed by the College.
- A control system must be developed to ensure adequate safeguards to prevent loss, damage, or theft of the equipment or property. Any loss, damage, or theft must be investigated.
- The College shall provide the care necessary to maintain all equipment and property in the condition received, to ensure the maximum useful life of the equipment.
- The College maintenance program shall be preventative in nature. Records of the maintenance program must provide the description and date of maintenance actions performed, and details of inspection and deficiencies discovered or corrected, as well as the condition of the equipment or property.
- Equipment and property records be maintained that include:
- Property or equipment that are acquired or improved with a Federal or non-federal award must be held in trust by the College as trustee for the beneficiaries of the project or program under which the property or equipment was acquired or improved.
- The College must use equipment and property for the originally-authorized purpose and must not dispose of or encumber the property without approval of the Federal awarding agency.
B. Equipment (CFR § 200.313)
Title to equipment acquired under a Federal award will vest in the College upon acquisition, subject to the conditions of the Uniform Guidance. This title is a conditional title unless the Federal agency elects to vest title in the College without further responsibility to the Federal Government. The College is subject to the following conditions:
- Use equipment in accordance with the following:
- Use the equipment for the authorized purpose, during the period of performance, or until the property is no longer needed for the purpose of the project
- During the time that equipment is used on the project or program for which it was acquired, the College must also make equipment available for use on other projects or programs currently supported by the Federal government, provided that such use will not interfere with the work on the project or program for which it was originally acquired
- When acquiring replacement equipment, the College may use the equipment to be replaced as a trade-in or sell the property and use the proceeds to offset the cost of the replacement property.
- When the equipment is no longer needed for the original program or project, the equipment may be used in other activities supported by the Federal awarding agency, in the following order of priority:
- Activities under a Federal award from the Federal awarding agency which funded the original program or project, then
- Activities under Federal awards from other Federal awarding agencies.
- Notwithstanding the encouragement in § 200.307 to earn program income, the College must not use equipment acquired with the Federal award to provide services for a fee that is less than a private company would charge for similar services unless specifically authorized by Federal statute. This restriction is effective as long as the Federal Government retains an interest in the equipment.
- When acquiring replacement equipment, the recipient or subrecipient may either trade-in or sell the equipment and use the proceeds to offset the cost of the replacement equipment.
- Dispose of the equipment in accordance with the following:
- When original or replacement equipment acquired under a Federal award is no longer needed for the original project or program or for other activities supported by a Federal awarding agency, and the current per-unit fair market value is greater than $10,000, the College must request disposition instructions from the Federal awarding agency if required by the terms and conditions of the Federal award.
- Disposition of equipment with a current per-unit fair market value of $10,000 or less may be retained, sold or otherwise disposed of with no further obligation to the Federal awarding agency. However, because the College inventories equipment with a fair market value of $5,000 or more, it is still essential to reach out to the Sponsored Research Office before disposition of any equipment with a fair market value of $5,000 or more.
- If the Federal awarding agency fails to provide requested disposition instructions within 120 days, items of equipment with a current per-unit fair-market value in excess of $5,000 may be retained by the College or sold. However, the Federal agency is entitled to an amount calculated by multiplying the percentage of the Federal agency's contribution towards the original purchase by the current market value or proceeds from the sale. If the equipment is sold, the Federal agency or pass-through entity may permit the recipient or subrecipient to retain, from the Federal share, $1,000 of the proceeds to cover expenses associated with the selling and handling of the equipment.
- The College may transfer title of the property to the Federal government or to an eligible third party provided that the College must be entitled to compensation for its attributable percentage of the current fair market value of the property.
C. Supplies (CFR § 200.314)
Title to supplies acquired under a Federal award will vest in the College upon acquisition. If there is a residual inventory of unused supplies exceeding $10,000 in aggregate fair market value upon termination or completion of the award, and the supplies are not needed for any other federally sponsored programs or projects, the College shall compensate the awarding agency for its share. If the supplies are sold, the Federal agency or pass-through entity may permit the College to retain, from the Federal share, $1,000 of the proceeds to cover expenses associated with the selling and handling of the supplies.
D. Real Property (CFR §200.311)
Title to real property acquired or improved under a Federal award will vest upon acquisition in the College. Except as otherwise provided by Federal statutes, real property will be used for the originally authorized purpose as long as needed for that purpose, during which time the College must not dispose of or encumber its title or other interests.
When the real property is no longer needed for the originally authorized purpose, the College must obtain disposition instructions from the awarding agency. The instructions must provide for one of the following alternatives:
- Retain title after compensating the Federal awarding agency.
- Sell the property and compensate the Federal awarding agency.
- Transfer title to the Federal awarding agency or to a third party designated/approved by the Federal awarding agency.
E. Federally Owned and Exempt Property (CFR §200.312)
Title to federally-owned property remains vested in the Federal Government. Annually, the College must submit an inventory listing of any federally-owned property in its custody to the Federal awarding agency. Upon completion of the Federal award or when the property is no longer needed, the College must request disposition instructions from the Federal awarding agency.
F. Intangible Property (CFR § 200.315)
Title to intangible property acquired under a Federal award will vest upon acquisition in the College. The College must use that intangible property for the originally authorized purpose and must not encumber the intangible property without the approval of the Federal agency or pass-through entity.
When the intangible property is no longer needed for the originally authorized purpose, disposition of the intangible property must occur in a manner consistent with disposition of equipment noted above.
Copyrights: To the extent permitted by law, the College may copyright any work that is subject to copyright and was developed, or for which ownership was required, under a Federal award. The Federal agency reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so. This includes the right to require recipients and subrecipients to make such works available through agency-designated public access repositories.
Patents and Inventions: \ The College is subject to applicable regulations including government wide regulations issued by the Department of Commerce 37 CFR Part 401 “Rights to Inventions Made by Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business Firms Under Government Awards, Contracts and Cooperative Agreements”.
Federal Government Rights: Uniform Guidance § 200.315 includes several other Federal government rights and responsibilities, including provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for research data, which should be included in the management of intangible property. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to be familiar with these terms and conditions for all Federal awards.
G. Storage and Movement
When equipment or property is temporarily idle, but is required for authorized future use, the Principal Investigator (“PI”) must ensure that the equipment is stored with adequate security and protection and that controls and inspection are provided for the items in storage that may be subject to corrosion, humidity, temperature, etc.
All equipment should be utilized or declared excess, as the College can only take depreciation or indirect cost recovery on items that are “usable” and in “use”. As soon as the PI has determined the equipment is excess, the PI must initiate the disposition process. Disposition requirements vary, so if the PI is unsure, the PI should contact the Sponsored Research Office ("SRO") for assistance.
H. Roles and Responsibilities
1. Principal Investigator
The PI is the person authorized to initiate requests for the purchases of equipment or property for their project. The PI should ensure budget availability and coordinate all required approvals prior to making the purchase. In addition, the PI is responsible for:
- The care and maintenance of all purchased equipment and property.
- Restricting the utilization of equipment and property acquired for use under a Federal or non-federal sponsored project to the purpose of that award unless otherwise noted in the award agreement.
- Participate in the performance of the physical inventory, noting any change in condition or location.
- Repairs should be addressed in a timely manner.
- Notify SRO if the equipment or property is no longer in use and consult with SRO on disposition procedures.
- Notify the SRO of any change in condition or location of equipment and property.
- Prepare an Equipment Inventory Report and submit to the Federal or non-federal sponsor as required.
2. Sponsored Research Office
The SRO is responsible for:
- Determining when equipment title vests with the College or with the sponsor.
- Ensuring new identification tags are assigned to equipment and property that will reflect title to the College or the Federal or non-federal awarding agency.
- Ensuring new identification tags should title be transferred between the College and the awarding agency.
- Participating in the performance of a physical inventory.
- Reconciling the physical inventories to the College financial records.
- Updating Equipment Inventory Reports regarding condition, location, maintenance records, etc.
- Determining disposition procedures should the PI inform SRO the equipment is no longer in use.
- Requesting Final Equipment closeout reports from the PI as necessary.
V. POLICY HISTORY
Responsible Officer(s): Director of Sponsored Research; Controller
Effective Date: October 13, 2025 (fist implemented July 1, 2018)