Equipment Check-Out Program Guidelines

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides and supports the enterprise equipment checkout program. This service is provided free of charge to faculty, staff, and current enrolled students.  There is no charge for the use of any university-owned equipment; loaned equipment is expected to be treated with the utmost responsibility and care. Equipment loans are a privilege, not a right. Other than normally expected wear-and-tear, faculty, staff, and students will be held responsible for any lost or damaged equipment. 

 As the party responsible, borrowers are expected to be aware of the replacement cost of any piece of equipment checked out. A valid UCO I.D. must be presented prior to borrowing equipment. Equipment pick-up and drop-off locations include the Max Chambers Library information desk and the Multimedia Services department in the Library Rm 107. 

 The following policy should be read carefully and understood fully before using the facility or checking out equipment: 

  

I.         Equipment Loan: 

• Equipment reservations can be made online. Pre-approved, long-term projects may be given special consideration by email request to an OIT Media Specialist. Specific future checkout dates can be arranged by giving adequate advance notice to the Office of Information Technology Media Services Department and the Chambers Library Information Desk. 

• To qualify for an equipment loan, borrowers must demonstrate knowledge pertinent to the planned utilization of equipment and are encouraged to take part in mini training sessions provided by a Media Services Specialist. 

• Equipment will be available for loans to students approved by a UCO professional staff member, faculty member, or approved student organization. Appropriate approval is advised prior to any attempt to reserve equipment. 

• This goes for Projectors and projector screens as well- Enrolled students must be part of a formal student organization on campus to be eligible for checkout.  

• Borrowers will be held responsible for all equipment checked out to them. By signing for a piece of equipment, the borrower acknowledges that they understand that all such equipment shall be returned to Media Services in the same condition as when it was issued. 

• It is the borrower’s responsibility to accept only equipment in proper working conditions from the Office of Information Technology. A routine check of parts and cables is recommended before leaving the Chambers Library. 

• Should equipment become faulty for any reason while in the borrower’s hands, absolutely no attempt should be made by the borrower (or any other party unaffiliated with OIT) to repair it. If faulty, return the equipment immediately to OIT Service Desk for evaluation. 

• Under no circumstances should any equipment in the borrower’s charge be loaned to any other person. All equipment transfers must be handled through the OIT Service Desk; initial borrowers may end up paying for another’s mistake. 

• Supplying equipment to individuals who do not have authorization is a severe abuse of the policy and is prohibited. 

• It is essential that equipment be returned on time. This ensures a steady workflow that is compatible with the demands of the UCO community. Late fees will be enforced. 

• Reserved equipment must also be picked up within 3 business days of receiving the On Hold Shelf notification. Equipment not claimed within this period will be reshelved and made available to other clients. It is the borrower’s responsibility to be aware of OIT Service Desk’ hours of operation by checking online. Reserved equipment may be picked up earlier than the scheduled date if the equipment is available. 

• There is a twenty (20.00) dollar late fee per day, per capital item, (cameras, recorders, microphones, projectors, laptops, etc.) for all checkouts not returned by the due date. This fee caps at sixty (60.00) dollars per item. Extenuating circumstances will be considered only if OIT is notified before the equipment is past due. Phone calls to the OIT Service Desk should be made during UCO’s hours of operation. 

• Only OIT Media Specialists and Library staff may confirm or deny any special requests made by a borrower or potential borrower. 

• Equipment checkout privileges may be revoked at any time without warning due to careless handling of equipment, repeated lateness, or abuse of the Media Services policy. 

 

II.         Terms of Equipment Loan: 

• All equipment may be borrowed for a maximum of seven (7) days unless prior arrangements are made for long-term semester checkout by the Media Services Specialist or Library staff. 

• Semester long checkouts are available for certain inventory. 

• Equipment must be returned and inspected before a renewal of the loan may be made. 

• A phone call or email will only be considered viable contact for brief extensions not exceeding one (1) week. The equipment must still be reviewed by a Media Services Specialist to be renewed.  

• Reservations for extended periods or holidays will be considered on a proposal basis. Falsified or misrepresentation of special permission will result in immediate revocation of privileges. 

HOTSPOTS Disclaimer: 

•  A limited number of hotspots are available for short-term use only. 

• A maximum 7-day loan period will be allowed. 

• No long-term checkouts will be allowed. 

• Priority will be given to students who do not have access to necessary technology and depend on campus resources for academic coursework.  

• Faculty and staff will have priority over a hotspot if it’s for an academic professional development conference. If not for an academic conference, then departmental staff will review further.  

 

III.         Lost or Damaged Equipment: 

• The borrower is responsible for returning all equipment received in the same condition as when it was issued. 

• The borrower will be held responsible for the cost of replacing any equipment not returned to OIT or damaged beyond repair. A Lost Item Replacement Fee will be applied to any equipment that is more than seven (7) days past its due date. 

• The borrower will be responsible for paying the repair cost (not to exceed the replacement cost) of any equipment which is returned in a damaged condition. 

• Any Late Fees, Damaged Item Fees, and Lost Item Replacement Fees accrued will be charged to the responsible party’s bursar account.  

 

IV.         Approved Software & Hard Drive Storage: 

All Media Services computer hard drives are subject to UCO IT Acceptable Use Policy 

• Laptops come pre-loaded with UCO Approved Software. 

• Laptops are to be used for educational purposes only. 

• Laptops are UCO property and as a UCO managed device it will be scanned periodically for malware and un-authorized software. 

• If malware is found, the computer will be isolated, and the borrower will need to return the computer to the Max Chambers Library information desk or the Service Desk.  

• All data contained on UCO computer systems is owned by the University of Central Oklahoma and may be monitored, intercepted, recorded, read, copied, or captured in any manner authorized by law and disclosed in any manner to the appropriate authorities by authorized personnel. 

• There is no guarantee of persistence of data on checkout equipment. Any data saved to internal storage is not guaranteed to be available on subsequent logins. External storage or cloud storage solutions are strongly recommended. 

• At the end of a checkout period, all files must be copied onto removable storage devices and then removed from the hard drive or risk deletion. 

• Borrowers who have long-term projects needs may submit a project proposal request for extended use. 

• Media Services does not back up files on Media Services computers and will not guarantee the security of any files left on the hard drives. 

• Reservations can be made online to work on specific Media Services computers (PC or MAC) at predetermined approved times. 

 

V.         Penalties: 

Responsibility for lost or damaged equipment is outlined above. 

• Careless or intentional damage to OIT equipment may result in a ban on the responsible party’s checkout privileges. 

• Failure to pay fines will result in UCO bursar hold until fines are paid in full. 

• Any abuse or disregard for the above policies will result in suspension of the equipment checkout program for the rest of the current semester. Access may be reinstated the following semester through formal application to departmental manager.