BP.03.009 - Business Practice for Personal Computer Inventory

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Table of Contents

• History
• Purpose
• Background
• Business Practice
  • Accountability
  • Applicability
  • Definition(s)
  • Text
• Exhibit(s)
  • Assessment History

History [top]

• Business Practice Number: BP.03.009
• Version: 2
• Drafted By: Carlos Miranda
• Approved By: James August
• Approval Date: 02/07/2012
• Latest Revision Date: 01/03/2024

Purpose [top]

To facilitate communication regarding the portfolio of personal computers (PCs) at CSU Channel Islands and to provide for a uniform process for maintenance of the portfolio.

Background [top]

The University currently supports a portfolio of PCs, including desktops, tablets, and laptops, and it is necessary to accurately track changes across that portfolio.

Business Practice [top]

Accountability [top]

Associate Vice President for Information Technology Services

Applicability [top]

All CSUCI employeesor anyone with CSUCI hardware.

Definition(s) [top]

1. Endpoint. A desktop, laptop, tablet or other personal computing device purchased by the University. Public-use devices, such as lab computers, classroom computers, loaned computers and kiosk computers are included in this definition.
   *Grants: All equipment acquired from a grant is university property and will be inventoried as state property.
2. Inventory. The central, authoritative repository and system of record for information on University endpoint and the corresponding data contained in the repository.
3. Inventory Administrator. The ITS staff member (or manager) responsible for day-to-day administration and maintenance the inventory, including additions, changes, deletions and corresponding reporting.
4. Assigned User. The University employee to whom a PC is issued and who is ultimately responsible for that device. For computers that exist in a shared environment (such as labs or classrooms), the Assigned User is the manager for the department/program/unit (or their designee) most closely associated with that environment.

Text [top]

ITS shall provide an authoritative, central, web-based repository to maintain records of University personal computers, including desktop, laptop, and tablet devices. The repository will be built to enable ease of access, updating and reporting, and have the ability to export to other formats should additional reporting be required. In addition, the inventory shall provide an authoritative list of assigned users associated with each device. 

For each endpoint record, the following data shall be documented in the inventory at minimum:

1. The manufacturer service tag or serial number
2. The University asset tag
3. The manufacturer and model of the computer
4. The department and corresponding division to which the PC is assigned
5. The operating system software installed on the PC, including its version
6. The purchase date of the computer
7. The warranty expiration date of the computer.
8. The name of the assigned user
9. Whether the computer exists in a shared environment
10. The physical location of the PC, including building and room number

Additional data fields may be required and shall be added or revised in the future as needed. Optional data fields for each record may also be specified. 

Due to the sensitive nature of inventory data, access to the inventory shall be restricted to specified

University personnel on a need-to-know basis and will not be made available to the general public.

New inventory

Any devices/endpoints purchased or acquired (grants, startup funds) are considered CSUCI assets, will be managed by ITS, and must be properly decommissioned. Any technology, including laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc., purchased with university funds is considered the property of the university. This means that such equipment is issued to you for work-related purposes and must be returned to the university upon request, the end of your employment, or if it is no longer needed for your role.

Additions/Changes to the inventory

The inventory shall be updated when:

• A new endpoint is purchased or put into service
• An existing endpoint is modified, moved, or decommissioned
• An existing endpoint is reassigned to a new user
• A user assigned to an endpoint separates from the University.

ITS employees associated with each of these operations activities shall make changes directly to the inventory. The inventory system will contain an audit log to enable the Inventory Administrator to monitor changes to the inventory data. 

The Inventory Administrator is responsible for enabling access for employees to the inventory system to maintain the inventory as required. The Inventory and the Inventory Administrator are part of the User Services Group (USG) and work with the technicians to keep the records updated.  

Only the Inventory Administrator (IA) shall delete PC records from the inventory. ITS employees associated with inventory update processes may mark PC records for deletion but shall not delete PC records.

Reporting

The Inventory Administrator is responsible for generating reports for ITS leadership as needed. 

Governance and Review

While reasonable care has been taken to create an inventory system that reduces bad data resulting from human error, the Inventory Administrator is ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the data in the system. The Inventory Administrator will perform regular checks of the inventory data as necessary to quickly resolve any discrepancies, inaccuracies or incorrect data.  An audit of the inventory should take place to verify the accuracy.

On a regular basis, the Division shall conduct a review of the computers in the inventory to ensure accuracy. The Inventory Administrator is responsible for coordinating this review with all other Divisions. 

During the regular review process, each Division executive shall receive a list of all computing devices within their division in electronic format and shall review and provide written updates of the list of clients/owners on an annual basis. 

It is recommended that the Division review the computer inventory on an annual basis. 

Exhibit(s) [top]

Computer Inventory System: https://creator.zoho.com/judyfrazier/computer-inventory.  Please contact Inventory Administrator for access.

Assessment History [top]