Property Accounting

Guidelines & Procedures: Disposal

Disposal of all University property and equipment must meet five standards:

1. The responsible organization must attempt to capture the remaining value of items (if any) as part of the disposal process,
2. Items no longer required by the organization currently responsible for them must be made available to other departments on campus,
3. Items that could contain confidential or sensitive data must be disposed in accordance with the University’s data security policies and procedures,
4. All reasonable measures must be taken to ensure items are disposed in an environmentally appropriate manner and,
5. The ultimate disposition of all equipment must be reported to the Office of Property Accounting.

Property and equipment purchased using research funds must also be disposed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the funds used for purchase.

The mechanism for ensuring these standards are met is Rice Classifieds. In addition to facilitating the appropriate disposal of University property and equipment, Rice Classifieds is the only online sales site that should be used to sell University property. Other sites, such as eBay and others, do not provide sufficient administrative or financial controls and should not be used.

When a department determines that a piece of property or equipment is no longer needed by the department and should be disposed, the person with primary responsibility for the item must obtain approval from the department chair to dispose it. This approval should include agreement upon the remaining value, if any, of the item and minimum sale price required for sale.

Special consideration must be given to technology items to ensure they are disposed in accordance with data security policies and procedures. Guidelines for proper preparation and disposal of these items are available here: https://iso.rice.edu/resources-disposal. OIT Divisional Representatives can assist with the proper disposal of equipment.

Used lab equipment (including, but not limited to, research equipment, glassware, measurement tools, refrigerators, etc.) and other items that could be environmentally hazardous, must be reviewed by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety to confirm the appropriate method of handling. The Office of Environmental Health and Safety does review Rice Classifieds entries to assist in identifying items requiring special handling but departments are advised to contact them prior to listing an item, if possible.

Once the department chair’s approval has been obtained, the minimum sales price has been determined and all technological and environmental special needs have been met, the item should be listed for sale in the Rice Classifieds at classifieds.rice.edu. This listing ensures that a reasonable attempt has been made to capture any remaining value, other departments have had an opportunity to acquire the item and Property Accounting and Research and Cost Accounting have had the opportunity to confirm that Rice has clear title and the item may be sold.

To list an item for sale, login using your NetID and password. If the item was a capital asset, or you are unsure whether it was a capital asset, begin by searching the Property Accounting Inventory in Banner. If the item is in the Inventory, the posting form will be pre-populated with the available information.

Once the posting form has been completed and saved, the item is available for purchase for two weeks by Rice University organizations only. Sales are transacted using an IDT as described in Transfer: Interdepartmental Transfer or Sale.

Items not sold to University organizations after two weeks are available to off-campus buyers. University organizations may still purchase an item and pay for it by IDT, however, any off-campus person or organization is free to bid on items available for sale. This includes Rice students, faculty and staff although sales to a person affiliated with Rice must clearly be an arms-length transaction to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

When an acceptable off-campus bid is agreed upon, the seller should return to classifieds.rice.edu, change the status of the item from “Listed” to “Sold” and click “Create an Invoice” to prepare an invoice to present to the buyer. The buyer should take the invoice to the Cashier’s Office, make payment and receive a receipt. The buyer can take the receipt to the seller and take ownership of the item.

Please note:

• Items are sold without warranty or guarantee.
• Purchasers are expected to arrange for pick-up and delivery of all purchases.
• All technological and environmental issues must be resolved prior to sale.
• All laws and regulations related to export controls must be followed. If you have any questions whether they apply to your sale, contact either the Office of Technology Transfer or the Office of General Counsel.

Items not sold after being available to off-campus purchasers for two weeks may be disposed in any approved way. After the items have been removed from campus and are no longer eligible to be shown as active in the Banner inventory listing, you should return to the Classifieds listing and change the status from “Listed” to “Recycle/Salvage”. This will notify Property Accounting of the ultimate disposition of the item.

For items that require immediate disposal or should bypass the normal disposal process, submit an email or memo explaining the need for authorization to circumvent the established procedures to the Associate Controller, Guy Booker, at gbooker@rice.edu or Controller’s Office MS70.

To visit the Rice Classifieds website click HERE.