Master Planning
The master plan for the Bryant University campus has evolved along a simple consistent model for the three decades of its presence in Smithfield. The original campus architect, Robert Hillier, envisioned the campus with a simple compelling diagram that strategically placed the glass-walled classroom/administrative building (Unistructure) on a north-south axis along the crest of Memory Ridge. This afforded students and staff with a sleek contemporary learning environment replete with dramatic sweeping views of Smithfield’s Wionkhiege Valley. The original diagram for land usage placed support elements like the Dining Room and administrative offices within the southern half of the Unistructure and the academic elements of classrooms and library on the north side. By extension, the original thirteen residence halls were grouped to the south of the Unistructure and the Gymnasium and playing fields were placed to the north of the Unistructure. Large parking lots bordered each side of the entrance drive from Douglas Pike to the east.
Subsequent development has reinforced the original planning vectors. Additional residence halls were consistently grouped to the south while additional developments to athletic facilities have been placed to the north. The Academic and support core has continued to evolve in the center of the campus. Some of the original parking area originally required for a large commuter enrollment has given way to the growth in the academic and support core of buildings that better serve the predominant residential population. In recent years, this growing core of academic buildings has been arranged in such a way as to enclose a large attractive landscaped campus green and separate it from the vehicular access and parking. A long, patterned, brick walkway forms a pedestrian path that traverses the academic core from the residence halls in the south to the athletic fields in the north. Future development of the academic core is likely to have a strong spatial relationship to this walkway.
During the evolution of this plan, standards emerged for certain planning elements such as the width of roads and walkways, preference for a contemporary style in architecture, and a conservative evolution in the palate of building materials. This general trend was reinforced by formal master plan documents written by the Providence Partnership in 1988 and reiterated by the Stubbins Associates in 1998, and more recently by the team of Gwathmey Siegel and Sasaki Associates in the design of the George E. Bello Center for Information Technology and and the Hassenfeld Commons landscape completed in 2002.
A great deal of thought is given to the placement of each new campus element. Consideration is given to circulation patterns, the relation between building and landscape, utility infrastructure capacity location and distribution, the potential effect on future development, and a host of other relevant and important considerations. Traditionally at Bryant, the President and Vice Presidents are intimately involved in the formulation and execution of these plans. The best architectural talent is brought in to augment and support this team and the resulting attractive campus is testimony their consistent, careful, and imaginative efforts.
As important as the vision and planning is to the aesthetic and functional development of the campus, equal attention is required to ensure that the buildings and grounds are well maintained and even occasionally repurposed in response to the changing needs of the University. The Campus Management Department is charged with the task of performing an ongoing conditions assessment and maintenance plan for all the elements of the campus infrastructure. The inventory includes buildings, furnishings, mechanical/electrical and utility distribution systems, roads, walks, athletic fields, and landscaping. The resulting Bryant Integrated Facility Plan is an ever-evolving document used to prioritize and plan for addressing these issues. The fruits of the IFP is a long-term capital plan that presents a cogent assessment of the bricks and mortar resources required for the institution to fulfill this mission. The plan is presented annually to the Bryant Board of Trustees.
Financial Management
I. Purchasing Procedures – Facilities Management (FM) adheres to the polices written by the Bryant University Purchasing Department. Please click on the link to view those procedures.
- Processing Purchasing Requisitions - FM adheres to the procedures listed in the subject line link.
- Processing Check Requests - FM adheres to the procedures listed in the subject line link.
- Development of RFP’s - FM will develop all RFPs in accordance with the threshold requirements specified in the Purchasing policies and procedures. In addition, any work that is done on a regularly scheduled basis (i.e, monthly/quarterly service, trash removal/recycling, preventive maintenance procedures), will be awarded to a vendor through the RFP process.
II. Tracking Operations and Maintenance Accounts
At the beginning of each fiscal year, the Assistant Director of Business Operations develops a ledger sheet that details all accounts by organization and account code. The Accounting Clerk records all charges against each line item for proper management of the accounts.
III. Tracking Capital Accounts
All capital projects are monitored by their respective Project Managers. The Assistant Director of Business Operations will review each project with the assigned Project Manager on a monthly basis to confirm/create a cash-flow report that is published quarterly. When a project is completed, any remaining funds will revert to the Facilities Contingency Account for proper disbursement.
Fixed-asset Management
| Introduction |
The purpose of this section is to set forth the policies, responsibilities, and procedures for establishing and maintaining control over equipment and fixed assets owned by Bryant University. Certain property records and values are required for insurance purposes, budgeting, and for equipment control and utilization purposes. This section prescribes the procedures and forms to accomplish these requirements.
The Bryant University Policy section titled Capitalization of Equipment defines equipment as "tangible personal property that is not a permanent part of a building and does not lose its identity through incorporation into a more complex unit." The Business Affairs Division is responsible for ensuring that all equipment acquired by the University is properly accounted for when acquired, inventoried on an annual basis, safeguarded throughout its useful life, and properly accounted for at the time of disposal.
Equipment purchased by the University will be either capitalized or expended in the fiscal year in which it is acquired. Equipment purchased having a useful life of more than one year and costing $1,000 or more will be recorded as an annual operating outlay expense. Items costing $5,000 or more will be capitalized in the capital fund.
This entry is intended to assist departments in tracking the equipment they are responsible for, and to accurately report to Business Affairs changes due to transfers, sale to other departments, declaration of surplus, theft, or other movement of equipment that meets the above criteria.
Property Acquisition
Capital equipment may be acquired through purchase, donation, trade-in, or construction. Regardless of the way the equipment is acquired, if it meets the definition of capital equipment, it must be added to the property records and tagged with a Bryant University property tag. These tags are silver in color, with the wording Property of Bryant University at the top, a barcode in the center, and the equipment number below. These tags are to be placed on the equipment in a conspicuous place, so that they can be easily scanned during the annual inventory process.
Title to the property rests with the University, not the department, regardless of whether the equipment may have been donated or purchased from department budget allocations or from special appropriations or allocations. Departments are assigned property for custody using the department attribute, and are responsible for such property. Departments are responsible for completing transfer forms when equipment is moved or otherwise disposed of, in order to transfer that responsibility.
A department is designated as the "Responsible Department" when property is acquired by the department through purchase, gift, or transfer. The Responsible Department is carried on the property and inventory records of the University, and it will be relieved of responsibility only if the property is transferred to another department, declared surplus, traded in on a new acquisition, or reported as lost or stolen to the Department of Public Safety. In these cases, the responsible department must fill out the appropriate form and forward it to Campus Management so that the adjustments can be made.
All items will be carried on the accounting records at cost or purchase price. This will include shipping, installation, and training costs. Where the actual purchase price cannot be established, as in the case of a gift, fair-market value may be used. Purchase of items with trade-ins will be recorded on the property records at the actual cash paid plus the allowance for the old piece of equipment that was traded in. Lease/Purchase equipment will be recorded at the total applicable rental paid plus any remaining purchase price or residual.
Reconditioned items will be recorded at the total purchase price plus all reconditioning costs. Reconditioning of already owned items normally will be charged to expense, and the initial property records will remain unchanged, unless the amount is in excess of $1,000 and will prolong the life of the asset more than another year. These will be considered improvements, and a separate property record should be kept on these betterments.
Property Movement
The movement of equipment on campus is sometimes necessary. Whenever equipment is to be moved from one location to another, it is necessary to notify Campus Management and Purchasing and Auxiliary Services so that property records may be updated. |
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