This Capital Asset Management Policy provides direction regarding the capitalization, depreciation, and disposal of capital assets of all departments of Loyola University of Chicago.  The policy also addresses the process of verifying the physical existence and location of capital assets. 

This page provides a summary of some of the more frequently referenced topics of the Capital Asset Management Policy.  The complete policy is available here. 

Note that this policy should be read in conjunction with the Capital Expenditure Policy which covers the Capital Budget and Capital Project approval process. 

While every University employee is responsible for the care and safeguarding of University assets they use, the following personnel should be more fully aware of the requirements of this policy: 

• School/Department business managers/administrators 
• Facilities personnel 
• Finance & Accounting personnel 
• Office of Research Services personnel 

For purposes of this policy, LUC considers capital assets to be any real or personal property used in University operations which has an estimated life greater than one year, and which meets certain capitalization thresholds.  Capital assets consist primarily of land, building, equipment, vehicles, furniture and artwork, which are acquired and owned by the University, regardless of funding source (operating budget, gift, grant, endowment, capital budget, etc.). 

Following are the primary capitalization thresholds:  

Each University School/Department is tasked with adequately protecting the University assets against loss, damage, or theft. This includes locking equipment in secured locations, performing adequate maintenance and upkeep, training staff on proper procedures for handling and care, locking doors when rooms are not in use, not letting equipment sit idle for extended periods of time, and storing equipment in environmentally suitable locations. Equipment maintenance is usually funded by the Department and not the capital budget.  

Grant-funded equipment must be used in accordance with the terms and conditions of the grant(s) under which the equipment was purchased.  In particular, equipment purchased under a federally-funded grant to which the University has title: (1) must be used for the authorized purposes of the project until funding for the project ceases, or until the equipment is no longer needed for the purposes of the project; and (2) must be made available for use on other federally-funded projects, provided that such use will not interfere with the work on the project for which it was originally acquired. 

For items which meet the capitalization thresholds, the following table summarizes information about asset tags and physical inventories: 

Capital assets to which the University has title, regardless of funding source, will be identified by General Accounting and tagged with a University asset tag, unless applying a tag is not possible or will damage the asset (such as artwork).

General Accounting tracks all capital assets in the Asset Management System, including pertinent information such as the life of the asset, location, original purchase amount, and contact person. As new capital assets are entered in  the Asset Management System, General Accounting sends an Asset Tag Form (via email) for each capital asset to the contact person identified on the invoice or purchase order.  Upon confirmation, General Accounting will send out the Asset Tag. 

It is the responsibility of School/Department personnel to provide the necessary information for the purchased asset to General Accounting.  The School/Department personnel are also responsible for affixing the asset tag on the asset.  If you have not received an asset tag for a new equipment purchase over $5,000, please contact General Accounting. 

Computers and equipment purchased by Loyola’s Information Technology department are tracked separately and maintained by an IT tag, regardless of purchase cost. IT tags are all numeric. Computers and equipment over $5,000 may have two tags, one to identify them as IT equipment (numeric), and one to identify them as capital equipment (alphanumeric). 

General Accounting performs a physical inventory at least every 2 years of certain capital assets to which the University has title. Departments are responsible to keep track of and inventory any Government-owned capital assets on an annual basis. 

The inventory of capital assets to which the University has title takes place early in the calendar year (February or March) . General Accounting will notify School/Department in advance of the upcoming inventory dates. General Accounting will provide the School/Department with a list of assets to be inventoried. This list is pulled from the Asset Management System and includes relevant information such as asset tag, equipment description, acquisition date, acquisition cost, and asset location. Departments must review this information and notify General Accounting of any changes before the inventory. 

Departments are responsible for keeping current records of equipment location and inventory counts, and must be prepared to show General Accounting where the listed equipment is located during the inventory. 

General Accounting reviews the inventory findings and prepares a list of equipment not found during the inventory.  Research is done to obtain more information on the equipment not found during inventory. If the equipment is not located, Department Chairs or Administrators are notified before the equipment is written off. 

If a Department discovers that capital assets have been stolen, they must complete a Campus Safety report and contact Risk Management for insurance considerations. 

Unauthorized removal, disposal, sale or expropriation of University-funded, grant-funded, or Government-owned property constitutes a serious breach of University policy. Departments must properly use and protect all capital assets in their custody. 

Any capital equipment to be disposed of by way of scrapping requires prior approval in writing by a School/Department Administrator. Sale or transfer of capital equipment should follow the University’s contract policy approval process.  Departments are required to submit an Equipment Move and Disposal Form for the equipment sold, transferred, or scrapped. 

Once School/Department approval has been obtained, the completed Equipment Move and Disposal Form and the Department approval must be emailed to General Accounting.  General Accounting will update asset records in the Asset Management System using the information on the Equipment Move and Disposal Form. 

For questions regarding the Capital Asset Management Policy, please contact inventory@luc.edu, or Anita Hsiao, Accounting Supervisor (yhsiao@luc.edu).

For questions regarding equipment or other assets funded by gifts or grants, please contact Stefanie Rute, Assistant Director Sponsored Program Accounting and Compliance (srute@luc.edu or 5-8732).

For questions regarding stolen property and insurance, please contact Jolie Beulle, Director of Risk Management & Insurance (jbeulle@luc.edu or 5-7861) 

Capital Expenditure Policy 

Reviewed/Updated: June 2024