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York College Purchases, RF CUNY Assets

Government (sponsor) regulations require that equipment expenditures be accounted for in the college-wide property management system (INSITE).

The Research Foundation of CUNY as well as York College is under scrutiny by the sponsors for full compliance to these regulations, particularly equipment purchased on behalf of the college. Non-compliance carries adverse consequences for both RFCUNY and York College. As the Research Foundation's Executive Director, Richard Rothbard, commented in his July 25, 2002 letter to the College Presidents and Deans of Professional Schools, "the potential negative consequences include reduced indirect cost recovery rates, audit disallowances, and ineligibility for new awards".

The purpose of this memorandum is three-fold:

  1. Alert you to the importance of complying with existing regulations;
  2. Stress how dependent the Property Manager is upon you providing the pertinent information in an accurate and timely manner;
  3. Provide a mechanism by which a better flow of information can be achieved.

At the heart of the non-compliance issue is the low capture rate for the college, as evidenced in our equipment reconciliations to the INSITE system. An optimal capture rate cannot be accomplished as long as equipment acquisitions are not inventoried and recorded in INSITE.

The Property Manager relies on the information provided so that the equipment can be tagged and recorded as inventory in the INSITE system. Therefore, it is necessary that you contact the Property Manager within (2) weeks of receipt of the equipment and indicate an appropriate time when you or a qualified representative from your office will be available to allow the Property Manager to inventory the property. As you are well aware, the equipment in your possession is the property of the sponsor of your project; it is incumbent upon us all to see to it that the equipment is kept in good condition and correctly accounted for until such time as the sponsor requests its return or deems that it be used in another important research project. Moreover, should you receive property (Computer Hardware, Printers, Scanners etc.) with a unit value between $0 and $4,999.99 via the use of a Purchase Card (credit) or Small Order Form, you must also report such items to your Property Manager.

In an effort to assist you in the information transmission process, we have devised a form, which is attached to this memorandum, which you will need to submit to the Property Manager to advise of all equipment receipts. The form contains basic information, which will be supplemented by the Property Manager's on-site visit to tag the equipment and gather more data for entry into INSITE.

Your cooperation in this matter is very much appreciated. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via phone at (718-262-2916 or email at mtorres@york.cuny.edu

Marlon Torres Director of Purchasing, Contracts & Property Management

Equipment Received Form

Inventory Letter CUNY