Indiana University Institutional Policy - Sale of Computer Equipment

SUBJECT: Sale of Computer Equipment

SOURCE: University Purchasing Department

POLICY NO: P - 14.1

DATE ISSUED: February 18, 1992

DATE REVISED: October 15, 1995; March 1, 2000; October 24, 2002; July 19, 2004, August 11, 2005 (updated IT Policy Office Link)

RATIONALE:

To promote the most beneficial use and return on investment for computing technology at Indiana University.

To define and direct how computing technology with storage devices and institutional data shall be managed before the technology is removed from University campuses.

POLICY:

Scope:

The procedures outlined in this policy supplement current, State approved methods for the sale and disposal of university-owned property. This policy limits procedures only to computing technology owned by Indiana University. This policy does not govern nor allow equipment other than computing equipment to be sold by these procedures.

University departments currently have, and will continue to have, authority to sell or transfer property to other IU departments. Authority to sell or transfer property to any other source is mandated only to the campus purchasing department and is governed by University Purchasing Policy, "Disposal and Redistribution of University Property (Policy P-14.0)."

Sale of university property to any individual or entity other than IU departments must be directed by the campus purchasing department. Disposal of property for personal gain or favor is prohibited and illegal. In addition to these procedures governing computing equipment, there are three other approved methods for sale or disposal of equipment as governed under the aforementioned purchasing policy:

  • Public Auction
  • Solicitation of bids from vendors/public
  • IU Surplus Stores

Computer Equipment:

All equipment is sold "as is, where is" and no warranties, guarantees, or functionality are expressed or implied by the sale of this equipment.

Equipment released by a department to this process will be considered "salvaged" equipment and will not be returned to an owner if unsold.

All equipment is sold "as is, where is" and no warranties, guarantees, or functionality are implied by the sale of this equipment.

All computing equipment is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. No equipment can be held back nor carry any prearrangement to its purchase.

Departmental Responsibility:

Data Removal:  Regardless of how computing equipment is disposed of, all IU personnel are liable for institutional data contained on any storage device. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the department and their personnel to see that all data residing on any type of storage device is removed from the computing technology prior to the equipment leaving their possession.

Before a department may relinquish computing equipment to another entity, and such equipment is, or contains a storage device, all data must be removed from the storage device(s). Minimally, data removal shall be achieved by using a product or products that have erase or wiping capabilities that meet or exceed the latest Department of Defense (DOD) standard. The actual method or process for removing institutional data from storage devices over and above that of meeting the DOD standard for removal of data shall be at the discretion of the individual campus. Some campuses may require more stringent regulations with regard to the removal of institutional data before property may be relinquished.

References: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/html/522022m.htm, http://www.dss.mil/isec/nispom_0195.htm

Only the original operating system software may remain and each system should be restored to original configuration and setup.

Compensation from the sale may be shared or given to the department releasing the property only if they have followed the procedures governing the disposal of computer equipment.

Sale by IU Surplus Stores:

Proceeds from the sale of equipment, minus a handling fee will be deposited into an account designated by the department selling the equipment for that equipment which remains intact (includes the hard drive) and has been properly prepared by the department for resale. This includes the requirement of having restored the equipment to the original configuration with the operating system installed and having removed all other data and software applications from the computer.

Sellers:

Only university departments can participate in this process. This process will not facilitate the sale of personal property.

Pricing:

Pricing will be determined by the Purchasing Department and based on current market conditions and other factors.

All prices are non-negotiable.

Pricing for systems where no market information is available will be handled by the Purchasing Department in collaboration with Surplus Operations and other market sources.

Individuals involved with setting special pricing are precluded from participating in the purchase of this same equipment.

For the purchase of equipment known to have been funded from Student Technology Fees, a five (5%) discount will be granted only to students who are currently enrolled.

This procedure includes the right to reduce the original selling price if the equipment has not sold in a predetermined length of time.

DEFINITIONS:

Property:  Is defined as anything acquired through an institutional process including gifting. Unless the specific source of acquisition states otherwise, everything acquired through an institutional process becomes IU property and by definition is State property.

Data:  All data captured using University assets are resources of the University may vary in their relevance to the processes of the University. These data, regardless of whether the data is used or maintained by administrative or academic units, and which may reside in different database management systems and on different machines, in aggregate may be thought of as forming a single, logical database, which will herein be called the Institutional Database (IDB).

PROCEDURE REFERENCE:

CROSS REFERENCE:

RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATION:

University Purchasing Department

Last Reviewed: August 11, 2005 (updated IT Policy Office Link)