The removal of older computer equipment is an issue of increasing importance. There are several thousand computers, printers and peripheral devices distributed throughout the University campus. As this equipment ages or becomes surplus, it will eventually have to be physically removed from their current locations. The intent of this document is to establish policies and procedures for the disposal, removal, transfer, donation, or sale of University owned computer equipment.

These policies and procedures are intended to cover all computer equipment which is the property of Villanova University, no matter what the original funding source. This includes computer equipment purchased directly by departments or colleges.

The disposal of media, computer equipment and computer software can create information security risks. These risks are related to the potential unauthorized release of sensitive or confidential information, violations of software license agreements, and unauthorized disclosure of intellectual property that might be stored in hard disks and other storage media.

Most electronic equipment contains circuit boards, mercury switches, relays, and tubes which are manufactured with materials considered to be hazardous, and cannot be disposed of in the general trash. If it is determined that computer equipment cannot be reused or recycled, then it should be disposed of in compliance with University, state and federal laws for environment responsible disposition and in accord with college computer disposal procedures.

Responsible Organization

UNIT’s Technology Support Services group will be responsible for assessing the condition of the equipment at the departmental location to determine the status and best means of disposal or redistribution.

Classification

Scrap

A piece of equipment is considered scrap if it does not work and is not usable. Unusable scrap equipment must be disposed of according to University and Government regulations. It may not be used for personal benefit.

Surplus

Unneeded equipment is considered surplus equipment if it is still functional.

Transfer/Redistribution

An effort will be made to redistribute surplus computer equipment within the University to a location that may make use of the equipment whenever possible.

Recycling

Surplus or Scrap computer equipment can be recycled or disassembled for parts and supplies for reuse of components.

Security Processing

Computer and electronic storage equipment identified for disposal or transfer must be reviewed and then subsequently cleaned by an approved data erasing process. Licensed software and institutional data deemed to be the property of Villanova University must be removed prior to disposal or transfer of equipment from the University.

Asset management

UNIT use Service Desk Express (SDE) for asset inventory management. UNITs Technology Support Services group should be contacted when the status of a computing asset changes so that the current status can updated in SDE.