Skip to main content

PMM 1.2 Property Management Definitions

Last Revised Date:
July 1, 2026
Responsible Unit(s):
Property Management
Responsible Unit Email(s):
FNSV-PropertyManagement@arizona.edu
Manual:
Property Management Manual
Status:
Active

Purpose and Summary

The Financial Services Property Management Manual (PMM) provides direction for the management and control of property owned by or in the custody of the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) for the University of Arizona and to satisfy the requirements of the Federal Government regarding control over Government Property for which the University is responsible and accountable.

Scope

This policy applies to all University locations and units, including all University extensions, satellite locations, and off-site campus units, both domestic and international.

Definitions

  1. Accessory Item - An item which facilitates or enhances the operation of Equipment, but is not essential for its operation (e.g., extra lenses for cameras or microscopes, etc.).
  2. Acquisition Cost - The total amount paid to acquire an asset and bring it to its intended and useful condition. Acquisition Costs may include, but are not limited to, the cost of an item, shipping and handling, freight, sales or use taxes, in-transit insurance, installation/modification costs, the Fair Market Value of University assets given in exchange, and the present value of liabilities incurred or assumed. For donated capital assets, Acquisition Cost is its Fair Market Value at the time of the donation (plus any acquisition related expenses such as freight and installation).
  3. Acquisition Date (In-Service Date) – For Federal and Government titled assets, it is the date the Equipment or Material is received by the University. For University or other titled assets, it is the date of first payment.
  4. Agency - An entity (i.e., organization, corporation, foundation, person) from which the University derives Sponsor support through Contracts or Grants.
  5. Arizona Educational Institution – Specifically referenced when discussing donation of equipment, this includes a community college, school district, career and technical education district, recognized charter school, or non-profit private school.
  6. Auxiliary Item - An item without which the basic unit of Equipment cannot operate (e.g., operating systems, batteries, etc.).
  7. Award - Financial assistance provided by an external entity—such as a Government Agency, private foundation, or corporation—to the University to carry out specific activities with a defined purpose and adherence to the Sponsor's guidelines or interests. Awards include Grants and other agreements in the form of money or other Property in lieu of money, by the Federal Government to an eligible recipient.  
  8. Cannibalization - The act of disassembling or dismantling Equipment to the point of making the Equipment unable to perform its intended use.  For Government Property it is defined as - remov[ing] parts from Government Property for use or for installation on other Government Property.
  9. Component Parts - Items which are not complete in themselves which are parts of a higher assembly that lose their individual identity through incorporation into an end item.
  10. Contract - A procurement Contract under an Award or subaward, and a procurement subcontract under a recipient’s or subrecipient’s Contract.
  11. Contracting Officer - The duly authorized individual delegated by appropriate Sponsor authority to enter into a Contract, and thereafter, administer the Contract, on behalf of the Federal Government or other Sponsors. A person with the authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate Contracts and make related determinations and findings.
  12. Custodial Department - A department or unit of the University having physical control of Equipment (i.e., the using department, owning department or Sponsoring Department for a Contract).
  13. Deliverable - Equipment that is purchased, assembled or fabricated by the University for delivery to a Sponsor or third party designated by the Sponsor.
  14. Discrepancies Incident to Shipment - Any differences (e.g., count or condition) between the items documented to have been shipped and items actually received. Such deficiencies include loss, damage, destruction, improper status and condition coding, errors in identity or classification, and improper consignment. For University titled Equipment, please refer to the Procurement Policies Manual.
  15. Equipment:
    1. Federal - A tangible item that is functionally complete for its intended purpose, durable, nonexpendable, and needed for the performance of a Contract.  Equipment is not intended for sale and does not ordinarily lose its identity or become a Component Part of another article when put into use.  Equipment does not include Material, Real Property, Special Test Equipment or Special Tooling. 
    2. University:
      1. Capital - An item of non-expendable, tangible, Personal Property which has an aggregate Acquisition Cost or Fair Market Value of $5,000.00 or more, is free standing, complete in itself, does not lose its identity when affixed to or installed in other Property and has a useful life greater than one year.
      2. Non-Capital - An item of non-expendable, tangible, Personal Property which has an aggregate Acquisition Cost or Fair Market Value of $4,999.99 or less, is free standing, movable, complete in itself, does not lose its identity when affixed to or installed in other Property and has a useful life greater than one year.
      3. Exceptions:
        1. All vehicles must be tagged in order to track for insurance purposes.
        2. All weapons must be tagged.
        3. All computers must be tagged with an Acquisition Cost greater than $1,000.00.
    3. Found Equipment - Equipment located and identified by either Property Management or a Custodial Department, with no record in UAccess Financials CAM module as Capital or Non-Capital Equipment or was formerly reported as lost and unlocated.
  16. Fabrication - A unique stand-alone piece of Equipment constructed from individual parts that requires creative design effort by University personnel and cannot reasonably be purchased “off the shelf” from a vendor or commercial supplier (i.e., it is one-of-a-kind).
  17. Fair Market Value - The price at which a willing buyer and a willing seller settle a sale for a piece of Equipment. Recent transactions or advertisements can be used as an estimate of Fair Market Value. The best estimate of the gross sales proceeds if the Property were to be sold in a public sale.
  18. General Purpose Equipment - Equipment which is not limited only to research, medical, scientific, or other technical purposes (e.g., computers, automobiles, etc.).
  19. Government - United States of America, Federal Government, unless otherwise specified, as in "State Government".
  20. Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE) - Equipment provided to the University by the Federal Government or Government Contractor with title vested in the Federal Government.
  21. Government Property - All Property owned or leased by the Government. Government Property includes both Government-Furnished Property and Contractor-Acquired Property. Government Property includes Material, Equipment, Special Tooling, Special Test Equipment, and Real Property.  Government Property does not include intellectual property and software.  Such Property acquired under Grants and Contracts with the University includes:
    1. Government-Furnished Property (GFP) - Property in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the Government and subsequently furnished to the Contractor for performance of a Contract.  Government-Furnished Property includes, but is not limited to, spares and Property furnished for repair, maintenance, overhaul, or modification.
    2. Contractor-Acquired Property - Property acquired, fabricated, or otherwise provided by the Contractor for performing a Contract.
    3. Excess Personal Property - Any Personal Property under the control of a Federal Agency that the Agency head determines is not required for its needs or for the discharge or its responsibilities.
    4. Surplus Federal Property - Excess Personal Property not required by any Federal Agency as determined by the General Services Administration (GSA).
  22. Grant - A type of assistance Award and a legal instrument which permits a Federal Agency to transfer money, Property, services or other things of value to a Grantee when no substantial involvement is anticipated between the Agency and the recipient during the performance of the contemplated activity.
  23. Grantee - The Arizona Board of Regents for the University of Arizona.
  24. Idle Equipment - Equipment that currently has no known use for the department, Contract, or Grant.
  25. Loaned Equipment - Equipment which is:
    1. Borrowed by the University from an external Agency
    2. Loaned out by one University department to another
    3. Loaned out by the University to an external Agency or individual
  26. Material - Property that may be consumed or expended during the performance of a Contract, Component Parts of a higher assembly, or items that lose their individual identity through incorporation into an end-item. Material does not include Equipment, Special Tooling, Special Test Equipment or Real Property. Material does include assemblies, components, parts, raw and processed materials, and small tools and supplies that may be consumed in normal use.
  27. Moveable Equipment: Equipment of any value that is portable, stand-alone, complete in itself, does not lose identity when affixed to or installed in other Equipment, and has a useful life of one year or more.
  28. Organization Owner Account Number: The account number in UAccess Financials Capital Asset Management (CAM) Module that dictates the organization code responsible for an asset which is not required to correspond with any past or future accounts used to pay for the asset.
  29. Personal Property - Any movable item subject to ownership; Material but not Real Property.
  30. Personally Owned Equipment - Equipment that is not owned or in the custody of the University and is owned by a University employee or other private party.
  31. Principal Investigator (PI) - The individual who has ultimate responsibility for the design, execution, and management of a sponsored project. The individual may also be known as the Project Director or Project Administrator.
  32. Production Equipment – Equipment necessary to produce Fabricated Equipment, and not intended to be incorporated into the Equipment being produced.
  33. Property - All Real Property, Equipment, intangible Property, and debt instruments.
  34. Property Administrator - An authorized representative of the Contracting Officer appointed in accordance with Agency procedures, responsible for administering the Contract requirements and obligations relative to Government Property in the possession of a Contractor.
  35. Property Records – Asset records within the UAccess Financials Capital Asset Module (CAM) for a specific asset.
  36. Real Property - Land, including land improvements, structures, and appurtenances thereto, and legal interests in land, including fee interest, licenses, rights of way, and easements. Real Property excludes Movable machinery and Equipment.
  37. Salvage Value - Defined by GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) as the estimated fair value of a capital asset, infrastructure or otherwise, remaining at the conclusion of its estimated useful life.
  38. Scrap - Consists of recyclable Material left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus Materials.
  39. Special Purpose Equipment - Equipment which is used only for research, medical, scientific, or other technical purposes, as contrasted with General Purpose Equipment. Equipment that is specifically designed for scientific purposes is Special Purpose Equipment. Equipment that is not specifically designed for scientific purposes still may qualify as Special Purpose Equipment if its use for scientific purposes makes it unusable for general purposes (e.g., a refrigerator used for storing radioactive or hazardous materials).
  40. Special Test Equipment - Either single or multipurpose integrated test units engineered, designed, fabricated, or modified to accomplish special purpose testing in performing a Contract. It consists of items or assemblies of Equipment including foundations and similar improvements necessary for installing Special Test Equipment, and standard or general purpose items or components that are interconnected and interdependent so as to become a new functional entity for special testing purposes. Special Test Equipment does not include Material, Special Tooling, Real Property, and Equipment items used for general testing purposes or Property that with relatively minor expense can be made suitable for general purpose use.
  41. Special Tooling - Jigs, dies, fixtures, molds, patterns, taps, gauges, and all components of these items including foundations and similar improvements necessary for installing Special Tooling, and which are of such a specialized nature that without substantial modification or alteration their use is limited to the development or production of particular supplies or parts thereof or to the performance of particular services. Special Tooling does not include Material, Special Test Equipment, Real Property, Equipment, machine tools, or similar capital items. Sponsoring Department - A department or unit of the University, responsible for the administration of a Sponsor funded project.
  42. Sponsor – A Government Agency or other entity that provides external funding or other support to the University through Sponsored Awards.
  43. Sponsor Owned Property - All tangible Property, both Real and Personal, in which the Sponsor maintains ownership.
  44. Sponsor Titled Acquired Property - Equipment purchased with Sponsor funds under the terms of a Sponsored Award. The Sponsor maintains ownership.
  45. Sponsor Titled Furnished Equipment - Equipment entrusted to the University by the Sponsor under the terms of a Sponsored Award. The Sponsor maintains ownership.
  46. Sponsoring Department - A department or unit of the University, responsible for the administration of a Sponsor funded project.
  47. State - State of Arizona.
  48. Surplus Equipment - Equipment currently not in service, with no anticipated future use, and in the custody of Surplus Property.
  49. Tag - The University of Arizona property control number placed on a piece of Equipment.
  50. University - The Arizona Board of Regents for the University of Arizona.
  51. University Property - Property to which title is vested in the University whether secured with general University funds or funds derived from Sponsors.

Policy Feedback

For questions or comments regarding a particular policy or to notify us of broken links or typographical errors, please provide this information below.

To report violations of a policy, please notify the Responsible Unit.

Please Note: Policy feedback is available to the Policy Office, Policy Sponsor, and elected shared governance representatives, upon request, for policies impacting the populations they represent.

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.