Equipment Inventory Control - Residence Halls

Policy Information

Policy Title	Equipment Inventory Control - Residence Halls
Responsible Office	Residential Life
Policy Type	Facilities and Property
Policy Number	402
Last Revision Date	8/24/2023

Purpose

1. Guidance for Binghamton University and its appropriate departments (Residential and Student Services, Maintenance and Facilities Planning) in establishment and maintaining control over residential equipment as authorized and required by the New York State Department of Audit and Control.
2. Establish objectives and standards for equipment control.

Objectives

1. Provide a safeguard against damage and theft.
2. Maintain an accurate record of equipment assigned by room and student.
3. Provide standard and uniform procedure of inventory and of condition description of equipment.
4. Assist in recording necessary maintenance, replacement and disposal of residential equipment. This is done on a Room Condition Report (RCR) filled out by the student occupying the room and checked by a staff member (SSA, RD, CD, AC, ARC, and AD).

Standards

1. Assistant Directors in each residential community will be responsible for equipment assigned to each residential community and delegate responsibility for the equipment to the Resident Director and Student Support Assistants (SSA) of each residence hall and will assist the appropriate Residential Operations staff in the Central Residential Life Office in establishing and maintaining residence hall equipment inventory and control.
2. System of identification will include condition and type of equipment in each room, installation date, manufacturer, style, and quantity.
3. Method of residence hall inventory shall be maintaining the Room Condition Report  (RCR) for each room.
4. A physical inventory shall be taken at the conclusion of the spring semester and whenever a student leaves or changes rooms. The condition of equipment will be recorded for each student assigned to a room before and after occupancy to maintain responsibility for damage or missing equipment.

Definitions

1. Residential Area
   1. Hinman College – Smith, Roosevelt, Lehman, Hughes, Cleveland
   2. Newing College – Bingham, Delaware, Endicott, Broome
   3. Dickinson Community – Rafuse, Digman, O'Connor, Johnson, Old Digman, Old Rafuse
   4. College-in-the-Woods – Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Mohawk
   5. Susquehanna Community – Brandywine House, Glenwood House, Choconut House, Nanticoke House
   6. Hillside Community – Adirondack House, Belmont House, Catskill House, Darien House, Evangola House, Filmore House, Glimmerglass House, Hempstead House, Jones House, Keuka House, Lakeside House, Minnewaska House, Nyack House, Palisades House, Rockland House, Saratoga House
   7. Mountainview College – Hunter, Marcy, Windham, Cascade
      
      
2. Inventory Items
   1. Equipment – Record on RCR  items of furniture and apparatus used repeatedly without impairment of physical condition and have a probable life of more than two (2) years. The following equipment will be under the residence hall equipment inventory control:
      1. Bed frame
      2. Mattress
      3. Desk
      4. Desk Chair
      5. Dresser
      6. Floor Lamp
      7. Closet/Wardrobe
      8. Smoke Detector/Heat Sensor
      9. All kitchen equipment found in apartment units
      10. All lounge furniture
      11. Thermostat in locations where they are provided
      12. Recycle Bins
   2. Room features - Record on RCR, i.e., floor, ceiling, walls, doors, closet, windows, window screens, lights, sockets, window treatments, towel racks and mirrors, entrance light, and HVAC fixtures.
      
      

   3. Bathroom features - Record on RCR, i.e., floor, ceiling, walls, doors, lights, sockets, outlets, towel racks and mirrors, HVAC fixtures, and plumbing fixtures.

3. Residence Hall Manpower and Responsibilities
   1. Associate Director of Operations & Project Management for Residential Life
      1. Development and maintenance of residence hall inventory.
      2.  Coordinate maintenance, replacement and disposal of residence hall equipment.
      3.  Oversee annual inventory.
   2. 1.      Residential Life Operations & Conference Coordinator
      1. Coordinate annual inventory.
      2. Coordinate Area Assistant Director activities and other assigned personnel involved with residence hall inventory.
      3. Assist in maintenance, replacement and disposal of residence hall equipment.
   3. Assistant Director of Residential Life (for residential areas)
      1. Responsible for instructing and coordinating the implementation of established residence hall inventory procedure for all Resident Directors,  Community Directors and Student Support Assistants in their college/community.
   4. Resident Director/Area Coordinator/Community Director
      1. Reviews all Room Condition Reports.
      2. Performs Joint Tours Inspection at the end of each academic year to update RCR  and report all damages and charges.
   5. Assistant Resident Coordinators
      1. Assist RD/AC/CD with duties
   6. Student Support Assistant (SSA)
      1. Assists in the maintenance of the RCR and monitors condition of equipment throughout the academic year.

      2. Assists students in submitting maintenance requests to address worn or broken furniture, fixtures, and equipment.

4. Utilization of Equipment
   If equipment is assigned to a room it is assumed it has a function of being utilized. Students are not allowed to remove items assigned to their room. This includes putting them into Residential Life storage. Damaged equipment should be recorded on a service request or through the damage billing system.
5. Maintenance Condition of Equipment                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    All equipment should be maintained in a safe, operable condition. Equipment not in this condition should be recorded on a Service Request for appropriate action to be taken (repair, disposal) or through the damage billing system.

Implementation

1. Campus Residence Hall Inventory Control Program Coordination will be administered by the Associate Director of Residential Life for Operations & Project Management.
2. Residence Hall Area control will be managed by assigned Assistant Directors of Residential Life. The AD will be responsible for implementation of procedure through their Resident Directors/Community Directors/Area Cooridinators and Student Support Assistants.
3. Disposal of Equipment: If any equipment that has been purchased by State Funds and is believed to be surplus (no longer used, nor expected to be used in the future, functional or not) established procedures for disposal must be followed. Disposal of equipment must follow Office of General Services (OGS) guidelines and procedures.

Forms, Records and Communication

1. The Room Condition Report (RCR) is available online through the Residential Life maintenance reporting portal. The entering conditions section of the RCR  will be completed by the student prior to a student occupying a residential room or apartment. The RCR  will be recorded online as a digital record retrievable by any staff member with access to the RL Staff online resource. It will provide all information pertinent to the condition of a room/apartment/lounge and the equipment it contains. The student will agree to the conditions reported online upon submission of the form
   
   
2. RCR submission link and instructions will be provided to all residential students via their BU email prior to their initial check-in to any space, including in-term relocations. An example of the correspondence we send is as follows:
   Hello (Student),
   After (time) (date), you'll no longer be able to submit or edit a Room Condition Report for (semester). If you haven't already, please complete all the Room Condition Reports for the room(s) you've been assigned.
   You can reach the Room Condition Report from the "Current Students" link on the Residential Life home page or at https://housing.binghamton.edu.
   Once the deadline passes, your record of room condition will be used to assess your room when you check out. If you don't submit a room condition report for a room for which you're assigned, the condition of the room on check-out will be entirely your responsibility.
   We do anticipate (especially right after this email goes out) that there will be some slowdown on the server. If you're having a hard time, just come back to it later. The system will save what you're doing line-by-line with each update so you won't lose what you've already put in. 
   Thank you!
   The Office of Residential Life
   
   
3. SSA Staff Responsibilities with Equipment Maintenance:
   1. It will be the SSA's responsibility to check all student rooms in the building to which they are assigned to make sure that there are no major problems before students arrive. Staff must check to make sure there is the appropriate amount of furniture in the room and that there are no major problems (i.e. structural problems, major damage, major cleanliness issues, etc.). Any problems found must be reported immediately so that appropriate action can be taken.
   2. In some areas, SSA's will be responsible for doing common area inventory (apartment living rooms, suite lounges, apt/suite bathrooms, etc.) where these types of housing accommodations are located. In areas where there are floor bathrooms and or floor lounges, it will be the RA's responsibility to inventory these locations as well. Main lounges and public areas are also assigned to Res Life staff as determined by the Residential Director in each building.
   3. The SSA or RD will color code the furniture in over-occupied rooms as appropriate before check-in.
   4. The RCR database will be assessed shortly after check-in, with email reminders distributed to students who have not completed submission.
   5. The Associate Director for Residential Operations & Project Management and the Associate Director for Residential Life Information Technology and Assessment will monitor the submissions and produce lists of students who have not completed RCRs for area staff to follow up as needed.
   6. RDs/ACs/CDs, when appropriate, will complete mid-year check-ins or checkouts.
      All variations for the Room Condition Report are available via RL Staff online resource using the “RCR View” tool.