OMB
Circular No. A-110, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and
Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit
Organizations
BUS-19
Registration and Licensing of University-Owned Vehicles BUS-28
Property, Equipment, Money, and Securities Losses Resulting from Fire, Theft,
or Other Named Perils BUS-29 Management
and Control of Inventorial Equipment BUS-38
Disposal of Excess Material and Transfer of Federally-Funded University-Owned
Material BUS-43
Materiel Management RMP-5 Records
Retention Program for Financial Documents Pertaining to Federal Awards to
the University
University and Federal guidelines define equipment as a tangible item, generally
standing alone, with an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more and a useful life of
more than one year.
B. Title and Responsibility
The Board of Regents, with few exceptions, holds title
to all property acquired with University funds -
including funds from extramural sources - contracts,
grants, gifts, etc. The few exceptions are limited to
those instances where a funding agency or governmental
entity retains title to acquired property. The Board of
Regents, likewise, has custodial responsibility for all
property that it owns and for all property that it or
its authorized agents has explicitly agreed to accept
responsibility. Such property includes agency or
government furnished items and equipment on loan from
individuals or private organizations.
C. Inventory Control
The Office of the President formulates and promulgates
the general policies and procedures necessary to maintain a uniform
property inventory control system for all such property.
D. Acquisitions Pertaining to Contracts and Grants
Contract and Grant Administration within the Office
of the President formulates and promulgates the general policies
and procedures related to extramurally funded contracts and grants
for research, training, and public service; and advises Materiel
Management concerning the Property Inventory Control System as
it pertains to contracts and grants.
E. Donations of University-owned Property
The official University policy on donations of University-owned property is contained in UC Business
and Finance Bulletin BUS-38. This bulletin essentially prohibits donations, but under certain
circumstances and with appropriate approvals, does allow donations of low-value items to be made
to other governmental, non-profit, and educational institutions. Such donations may only be made by
the Director of Materiel & Risk Management with written approval from University General Counsel.
Property that may be donated, even with General Counsel approval, is limited to items that are no
longer needed or wanted by any campus department and to items with market values (potential
selling prices) that are below estimated selling expenses (advertising, transporting, storing, etc.).
University regulations (particularly BUS-38) are fairly inflexible on donation policy, possibly
because flexibility on such an issue could lead to abuse. It prescribes specific methods to be used in
disposing of excess University-owned property as well as precautions to be taken to ensure that
funding agency interests are considered when disposing of property funded through contracts and
grants.
All University excess property must be reported to Equipment
Management for intra-campus advertising, estimations of market value, and
to ensure that all University and funding agency requirements are considered.
F. Requesting Modifications to Assigned Equipment
Requests from custody departments to Equipment Management to make changes to the
department's assigned equipment may be forwarded to Equipment Management on the
standard Equipment Inventory Modification Request (EIMR)
form or on any document that adequately describes the equipment and the transactions
requested, such as annotated and signed inventory lists, memos, e-mail, etc.
G. Use of Federally Funded Equipment for Stem Cell Research
Federal restrictions prohibit the use of federal resources to support research
with embryonic stem cells that are not on the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell
Registry. The Request to Use
University Equipment in Stem Cell Research form is used to request verification
that the University has clear title to the equipment and may use the equipment
for future stem cell research. If approved, a green tag will be affixed to the
item indicating that the equipment may be used in research on cell lines that
are not part of the Registry.
Four conditions must be met for approval:
The federal contract or grant supporting the equipment purchase has been
completed (including all of its competitive segments)
UCI Equipment Management has submitted the equipment inventory report required
by the award agency and at least 120 days have elapsed from the date the report
was submitted, (this condition will be an option if the equipment inventory
report is not required by the award agency.)
The federal government has not invoked its right to transfer the equipment
within the 120 day period
UCI retains title to the equipment without restriction.