last updated: Thursday, July 1, 2004
All employees of SUNY and its campuses share in the responsibility for property control. They have specific obligations to protect the State property issued to them to enable them to do their jobs. This obligation is to both ensure the security of the property and to ensure that it is used appropriately. They also have an obligation to be observant and to notify appropriate authorities if they observe property being removed or inappropriately used.
Policy:
It is longstanding
State policy that all State equipment and resources, including computers, email
accounts, telephones, fax machines, office supplies, postage, photocopying machines
and support staff assistance, are the property of the State and may not be
used for non-governmental purposes.
| Note: Several activities in which employees become involved have created property abuse problems for SUNY campuses that deserve special mention here. They include the use of materials and equipment in connection with political activities, church activities, charitable activities or union activities, among others. Although such activities may be praiseworthy, the use of State property, including equipment and materials to support them, is not! Likewise, the use of, for example, a piano laboratory in a music department to give piano lessons for a private fee is not permissible, nor is the use of a departmental secretary to type the chair's doctoral dissertation. As a general rule if employees at all levels, including managerial/supervisory personnel, keep in mind that the use of property, including equipment and materials and personnel funded from State funds, is restricted to State purposes, they can avoid potential conflicts of interest and/or disciplinary action. |
Except for property that is clearly assigned with the intent that employees would be able to use it off-campus, as well as on-campus, (e.g., cell phones, fleet vehicles, lap top computers, etc.), property must not be removed from a campus even for off-campus State activities without appropriate approval in accordance with the campus' procedures.
Similarly, campus property is for the purpose of supporting state/SUNY operations and it is inappropriate to use it for personal gain.
Questions about the appropriate use of campus property should be directed to supervisors, the Human Resources Office, or the campus purchasing office.
Removal of campus property without appropriate approval documentation, or inappropriate use of campus property, could result in embarrassment, or worse, disciplinary charges, even if such act is with good intentions.
Reference(s):
[to be developed]