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Poole College of Management IT Student Consultants

Duke Funded Equipment Policy

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General Surplus Property Statement
 
Duke property is defined as all material regardless of value whether acquired by purchase, loan, or donation. This includes any property acquired with federal or other restricted funds. Examples of such material include but are not limited to medical equipment and supplies, computers and peripherals, furniture and furnishings, research equipment and supplies, office equipment and supplies, residential and dorm furnishings, kitchen appliances, vehicles, tools, and other plant and facility related equipment and supplies.
 
It is Duke’s preference that all Duke property reaches its optimal usefulness within Duke. When property is no longer needed by the department and cannot be recycled within Duke, programs have been put in place to assure the appropriate re-use of Duke’s resources in ways that benefit our local and global communities. The Procurement Department handles these programs. More information can be found on the Procurement website.
 
The question of transferring or selling Duke-owned computer equipment comes up regularly. The feedback from both the Duke Surplus Property Office and Duke Internal Audit provides guidance on the appropriate policies. Based on that guidance, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has instituted the following statements and policies.
 
 
 
Resale/transfer for Duke computing equipment
 
The issue of whether existing and functional Duke owned computer can be purchased by or transferred to an individual is straightforward. It isn’t allowed regardless of the affiliation (faculty/staff/student).
 
  • Duke owned computing equipment is defined as anything purchased for or by Duke faculty/staff/students using Duke funds. This includes desktop/laptop computers, servers, printers, iPads, mobile devices like smartphones and other capital computing equipment (cost above $5,000).
  • Duke funds are those managed by the university and generally assigned to cost objects (fund codes). This includes the following commonly used funding sources:
    1. Operational funds and/or reserve funds
    2. Capital equipment/expense funds
    3. Department or individual discretionary funds
    4. Professional Development Accounts
    5. Faculty research accounts
    6. Grant funds
Exceptions to the surplus property transfer/resale policy – Any exceptions to the policy may only be approved by leadership within the academic or administrative program (designated dean, administrative director, program chair) after consultation with the senior associate dean for Trinity Technology Services and the Vice-Dean for Finance and Administration. These exceptions may only be applied for Duke faculty and/or staff. Students (undergraduate or graduate) are not eligible for any surplus property transfers or resale of Duke owned computing equipment.
 
  • Transfer of assets for Duke affiliated programs – Duke allows Duke owned computing equipment to be transferred to entities that are part of Duke affiliated programs. Business administrators and/or grant managers should be consulted to confirm which programs are eligible. These items are not considered “surplus” as they are not at end of useful life without Duke, and therefore the Surplus Property Office does not need to process the transaction.
  • Computer/Surplus Property transfer for research faculty departures – The primary individual exception to the policy is when a PI is transferring to another university with their research data and equipment (generally the project is transferring with them). In those cases Trinity College of Arts & Sciences can request an exception with special approvals and the transfer is coordinated/processed through the Duke Surplus Property Office.
  • Resale of used (not new) computer equipment – For equipment that is not new (purchased more than 30 days prior), an exception may be granted by senior leadership. If approved, the purchase price is set by Duke Procurement and they are involved in the coordination of the steps required to insure Duke licensed software and institutional data are handled appropriately.
  • Ownership transfer of newly purchased computer equipment – The guidance from Employee Travel and Reimbursement (ETR) is to avoid the issue if possible. However, ETR allows for the following when computers purchased on Duke funds can be transferred to the faculty member.
    1. Those items should *not* be purchased by p-card (it complicates the tax issue exponentially). Equipment should be purchased from personal funds, then submitted to the department for approvals with a clear indication that the buyer means to own the device (the department can institute an internal approval workflow/policy).
    2. As long as the funds identified are not restricted, then management can approve the reimbursement and allow the faculty members to retain ownership of the device if the reimbursement is reported through the payroll system as compensation for tax purposes.
    3. The department needs to file a Supplemental Payment Form (paper form available here: https://finance.duke.edu/resources/forms.php#suppp) for the purchase+sales tax amount.
      • If purchased with a pCard, there should be no sales tax included in the purchase price, however please include if purchased with personal funds.
      • Note: *fringe benefits* will be assessed on the total amount reimbursed to the individual.
      • Trinity College of Arts & Sciences does not approve of ‘grossing up’ the reimbursement to cover the sales tax with Duke funds.
 
Resale/transfer of older or surplus computing equipment
 
Older in-service equipment (beyond the active or extended warranty period) or surplus out-of-service equipment that was purchased with Duke funds, or transferred to Duke from another institution, must be dealt with based on Duke surplus equipment policies (https://finance.duke.edu/procurement/surplus/faq). Trinity College of Arts & Sciences will only support the exception for PIs transferring to another academic institution (see above).
 
Transferring or reselling surplus equipment can create tax and liability implications and cause conflicts of interest. Our formalized programs have been established to support Duke’s strategic plans for community involvement, global health, and sustainability. All property must be processed through the Online Surplus Asset Disposition Tool and donated to Duke departments and/or approved non-profit organizations.
 
All requests for exceptions should be submitted to departmental business managers and/or departmental IT support staff for review. These requests will be routed to the senior associate dean for Trinity Technology Services for consultation with appropriate staff and communication with the requester prior to a decision.