Fayetteville Policies and Procedures  313.6 

Information Technology Asset Management (ITAM) Policy

  1. Purpose
    This policy establishes the minimum requirements and responsibilities for the inventory and management of information technology (IT) assets owned by the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. This policy outlines a systemic, cross-departmental approach to managing IT assets throughout their lifecycles, including purchase planning, acquisition, and disposal when warranted. This policy also supports the university’s commitment to managing the lifecycle of its IT assets and strategic decision making for its IT environment.   

  2. Policy Statement
    1. University employees have a duty of care to protect IT assets whether they are in use, stored, in transit, or in a state of disposal.
    2. IT assets must be protected against physical or financial loss, whether by theft, mishandling, or accidental damage, either through primary prevention (e.g., physical security) or remediation.
    3. All university-owned and leased IT assets must be accounted for by performing an annual inventory.
    4. Corporate, individual or foundation gifts, loans, or loans of non-exempted IT assets must be communicated to the Information Technology Services IT Asset Management (ITAM) office and the Financial Affairs Property Accounting office prior to receipt to ensure assets are properly tagged.

  3. Scope and Applicability
    1. This policy applies to all university faculty, staff, and departmental operations, including academic, research, administrative, athletic, and project offices, regardless of funding source, for all IT asset purchases, gifts of non-exempted technology, university leases, sub-leases, or licenses for IT assets under an agreement when the asset is not owned by the university or when the asset is returned at the end of the agreement.
    2. For the purposes of this policy, IT assets include the following:
    3. For the purposes of this policy, IT assets do not include the following:
      • Memory
      • Storage devices (including USB drives)
      • RAM
      • Cables
      • Routers
      • Firewalls
      • Software
      • Related equipment (e.g., locks, cabinets, batteries, keyboards, mice, etc.)
    4. Exemptions beyond those specifically listed above must be explicitly approved, in writing, by the ITAM office.

  4. Roles and Responsibilities
    1. IT Asset Procurement
      IT asset purchases are subject to all university procurement policies and procedures.
      1. PCards and personal reimbursements are not allowed for the purchasing of IT assets as defined in section III.N. of this policy. Please reference Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 313.2, Inventory/Equipment Capitalization Thresholds.  Exceptions are subject to university procurement and purchasing policies.
      2. IT asset purchase requests must be submitted through the University of Arkansas systemwide purchasing platform (e.g., Workday).
      3. The university’s on-campus Tech Store contracts with IT hardware suppliers and is the preferred vendor for most IT assets. Purchases through other vendors are subject to approval by the Procurement Office. Information about requesting and receiving IT asset purchases is available on the ITAM web page.
    2. IT Asset Central Receiving
      1. The ITAM office is responsible for accepting and verifying vendor shipments from off-campus carriers and delivery of IT assets to the requesting department.
      2. If an order is defective, does not meet order specifications, or is of an incorrect quantity, the ITAM office is responsible for communicating with the department requester. 
      3. On-site delivery and tagging of corporate, individual or foundation gifts, or temporary loans of non-exempted technology must be communicated to both the ITAM office and Property Accounting to ensure correct asset tagging and accounting.
      4. In certain instances, it may be necessary to have IT assets delivered directly to the department without first arriving at the ITAM office. Examples of these instances include, but are not limited to, equipment that is extremely fragile or sensitive (hazardous materials, scientific equipment) and requires professional handling by the vendor, requires on-site final assembly and installation directly by the vendor, heavy items (>500 lbs.), or bulky items. In these instances, the ITAM office will coordinate with the requester, user and/or department to arrange on-site delivery and Property Accounting to arrange on-site tagging.
      5. All non-exempt purchases, unless explicitly addressed herein, will be delivered to the ITAM office’s single point of delivery address.
    3. Property Accounting and Inventory
      1. Property Accounting is responsible for tagging and entering IT assets into the university’s property accounting system in accordance with Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 313.2, Inventory/Equipment Capitalization Thresholds, prior to delivery to the requester, user and/or department.
      2. Property Accounting is responsible for physical inventory of IT assets and may perform this inventory in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, physical observation, item scanning, RFID technology, etc.
      3. Property Accounting is responsible for taking an annual inventory of all university-owned and leased IT assets.
      4. The department responsible for an IT asset is responsible for recording in the university’s property accounting system all lifecycle changes, including changes to the responsible party, physical location, or transfer of property ownership.
    4. IT Asset Disposal and Surplus
      1. The Surplus Warehouse under Property Accounting is responsible for property disposal, including the disposal of IT assets.
      2. The ITAM office will provide data sanitization solutions for departments to comply with Arkansas Computer and Electronic Solid Waste Management Act (Act 1410 of 2001, Ark. Code Ann. § 25-34-101 et seq.).

 

August 2021