Financial

Property Disposal

Policy

The purpose of the policy is to document the management and disposition of college owned property. When property is no longer safe or useful to a department or division, it may be declared surplus and disposed of in accordance with this policy. Surplus property may include supplies, materials, equipment and/or furnishings.

Our goal is to dispose of college owned property when it is no longer safe or useful to a department or division; and cannot be repurposed within the college. Disposal procedures will consider evaluation of environmental stewardship responsibilities by seeking reuse markets and ensure that surplus equipment is removed from buildings on campus in an efficient manner to ensure appropriate use of space for core academic and administrative needs.

Property purchased with college funds, donated to the college, or acquired for college use through other means, is considered property of Carleton College, title remains with the College at all times until asset disposal.

Property purchased, all or in part, with federal funds (with a value of $5,000 or greater), must be managed in accordance with applicable college AND federal policies applicable to capital asset dispositions.  Title does not reside with the Principal Investigator (PI).

Only the Vice President and Treasurer of the college is authorized to dispose of college owned property.  College property may not be salvaged, scrapped, donated or otherwise disposed of without prior approval from the appropriate department head and the Vice President and Treasurer.

The following is in order of how a particular item shall be disposed of if no longer wanted by a department to ensure Carleton is upholding a proper disposal hierarchy.

1. Disposal by internal departmental transfer

Supplies and materials declared as surplus by any department may be offered or placed within the College so long as they are determined to meet current safety standards.  Approval from the Vice President and Treasurer is not required for reuse of supplies and materials by internal departmental transfer.  Employees should obtain approval from the department manager or academic department chair prior to using the staff-all/faculty-all listserv to recycle College supplies and materials for departmental use.  Employees and/or students are not allowed to take or purchase surplus college supplies and materials for personal use.  Questions about safety standards can be addressed by the Director of Environmental Health and Safety Compliance, ext. 4146.

2. Disposal involving parties outside the college:

  • 2a. Specialty Disposal

  Disposal of computers

  1. The Vice President  & Treasurer has approved a contracted service for disposal of   computer equipment and printers which require special handling during disposal     in order to ensure college data has been removed from the equipment.  Please contact Information Technology Services to coordinate the disposal of computers,   printers and other computer accessories, Hardware Asset Manager, ext. 4862.

  Disposal of books

  1. The Vice President  & Treasurer has approved a process for disposal of library books maintained in the college catalogue which will be coordinated by Library Services, including, Music Resource Center, LTC GSC, OIIL and Career Center as  well as all Catalyst Catalog items. Students have the ability to sell textbooks back to the bookstore at the end of each term. They can also donate unwanted textbooks to the CSA textbook library at the end of Spring term. Faculty and Staff have the option of donating unwanted textbooks to the CSA textbook library at the end of Spring term. They can also utilize the Facilities drop-off site for the Northfield Auxiliary Book Fair in mid-April or drop off for recycling at Take Back Your Space Day in August. Individual faculty or staff library resources are managed by the individual and can   be dropped off at the Sustainability Office, Facilities 300.

  Disposal of federally funded equipment

  1. Additional approvals are needed from the Federal awarding agency prior to disposal of equipment in addition to the approval of the Vice President and Treasurer of the College.  The Principal Investigator shall contact the awarding agency for applicable disposition instructions.

  Disposal of hazardous substances

  1. Disposal of hazardous substances (chemical, biological, etc.) and equipment containing hazardous substances MUST be coordinated with the Director of Environmental Health and Safety Compliance, ext. 4146.
  • 2b.Disposal by trade or exchange of property
    Certain items may be used as a trade-in for vendor credit with college suppliers (i.e. college vehicles or facilities equipment) if economically feasible and approved by the Purchasing Manager, ext 4178.
  • 2c.Disposal by sale
    If an item is deemed to have some value, it may be sold on a first come, first serve basis at a set price or open for best offer as advertised on GovDeals.com, Carleton Community members are eligible to purchase from this site. Sales must be authorized by the Vice President and Treasurer.  Items will be sold “as is” for pickup.  To preserve an appropriate segregation of duties, proceeds from property disposals are directed to general institutional funds. Individuals responsible for management of operating budgets should not dispose of equipment/supplies/materials to influence and benefit their own operating budget. Operating budgets and carryover are intended to support the renewal and replacement of department furnishings/equipment and supplies. Facilities change requests and Institutional Capital budgets provide support for larger scale expenditures. Sales proceeds will go into the Zero Waste fund. Contact the Sustainability Program Coordinator ext. 4847, for assistance with the disposal process.

    From time to time, community wide events may be coordinated by Facilities as surplus inventories of equipment and furnishing are evaluated for disposal by the college. Public notice of these events will be provided to the Carleton and Northfield community. Funds collected from the sale of surplus items will be deposited into the sustainability revolving fund.  This process ensures that no one person receives preferential pricing or treatment.

    Personal purchase requests from members of the college community are not accepted unless through the GovDeals public auction service. 

  • 2d. Disposal by donation
    Items that cannot be reused internally may be donated to other non-profit organizations with a Deed of Gift authorized by the Vice President and Treasurer. Contact the Business Office for assistance, ext. 4178.
  • 2e. Special Event
    The annual Carleton Garage Sale is an authorized event where students leaving campus may dispose of surplus property.  Personal property remaining in the Lost and Found will be disposed of at the Carleton Lighten Up Garage Sale. Proceeds from the event are designated for local non-profit organizations. This event ensures that no one person receives preferential pricing or treatment.
  • 2f. Disposal by waste
    Items that cannot be recycled or donated to other non-profit organizations will be discarded through the college’s normal waste removal process. A work order request to Facilities should be submitted by the department. Facilities will coordinate disposal of these items in a centralized manner on an annual basis.

    To deter theft and address safety issues, items that have been deposited into waste removal containers, including dumpsters, should not to be removed. Please contact Security, ext. 4444 if you have questions or concerns about individuals removing items from college waste removal containers.

Last Revised: March 15, 2021

For: Faculty, Staff

Last Reviewed: March 15, 2021

Maintained by: Business Office