Personal Computer Allocations (Evergreen Program)

Introduction

The Evergreen Program was implemented in order to provide all units of the University with a reasonable number of computers to carry out the administrative duties of that unit and to provide a suitable complement of General Purpose Computer Laboratories for student use.

Each year the University provides the Evergreen Program an allotment of funds with which to acquire new equipment to replace existing deployed equipment and to provide new approved positions and General Purpose Computer Laboratories with equipment.

Policy

Information Services shall ensure that the Evergreen Program provides for:

• Ownership by Information Services of all equipment purchased under the Evergreen Program.
• The provision of one new Evergreen computer to a unit for each approved position within the unit.
• A maximum allowance based on demonstrated need of one additional Evergreen computer for every 10 approved positions or part thereof to address issues such as front windows for service, sessional, term, replacement, dual duty, shared duty, and similar administrative overhead issues experienced by units.
• The replacement of each deployed Evergreen computer on a reasonable frequency taking into account the dollars allotted to the Evergreen Program and the number of evergreen computers deployed.
• The unit to have first right to purchase used Evergreen equipment being replaced within that unit and at a price not to exceed the established salvage price for Evergreen equipment as set by Information Services.
• Any remaining used Evergreen equipment to be disposed of in accordance with Supply Management Service’s procedure for unsold electronic salvage items.
• Subject to the availability of funding, physical space and student demand, a reasonable number of General Purpose Computer Laboratories.
• An Evergreen computer for each Smart Classroom.

The establishment of any computer laboratory under the Evergreen Program will be at the discretion of Information Services.

General Purpose Computer Laboratory

General Purpose Computer Laboratories are:

• configured with a standard software image provided and maintained by Information Services, possibly supplemented by specialized software in support of particular academic programs; and
• available for use by any University student for, on average, 50% or more of the time, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Scheduled use of the facility that may restrict access by students will be posted in plain view at least one week in advance.   

Roles and Responsibilities

Information Services

As owner of all Evergreen equipment purchased on behalf of the University, Information Services shall:

• create, implement and as necessary amend the processes to adhere to this policy
• deploy and recover Evergreen equipment based on this policy
• dispose of recovered equipment in accordance with University policy

Unit Head

Each Unit Head participating in the Evergreen Program shall:

• on request from Information Services, provide a detailed list of approved positions within the unit
• provide six weeks prior notice to Information Services of any new approved positions being filled within the unit
• provide reasonable access and assistance to Information Services to identify Evergreen equipment allocated to the unit but owned by Information Services

Consequences for Noncompliance

Unit Heads who cannot account for the Evergreen equipment allotted to their unit will be responsible to pay for the equipment from their unit’s budget.

Units which fail to provide a list of approved positions will have Evergreen equipment withheld until the required information is provided.

Evergreen equipment may be withdrawn, or Evergreen funding withheld, for any General Purpose Computer Laboratory which does not comply with the conditions of this policy.

Processes

Ownership Responsibilities vs. Management Responsibilities

Information Services owns all purchased Evergreen equipment and remains accountable for Evergreen equipment until it is deployed to a unit. Information Services is also responsible for all Evergreen equipment once returned by a unit. 

Once deployed to a unit, the Evergreen equipment comes under the managerial control and accountability of that unit. The unit becomes the custodian of the deployed equipment and is then responsible for securing and locating their Evergreen equipment and associated electronic content.

When all of a unit's Evergreen computers are replaced, individuals who received these computers (or the unit administrator) receive verification e-mail messages with a request to confirm the deployment. The individual or unit administrator shall confirm the deployment(s) via return email or report any issues to Information Services for remediation. This electronic communication will be recorded as verification that the individual or unit administrator has received the equipment.

Financial Services performs asset inventory counts. Once the Evergreen equipment has been deployed to a unit, they will be held accountable to produce the equipment for the count if requested or produce their copy of any acknowledgment indicating that the equipment has been retrieved by Information Services.

Once Evergreen equipment is returned to Information Services and prior to its being repaired for reuse, or purchased by the custodian, Information Services ensures that either:

• Prior to resale or reuse the hard drives have been reinitialized with a default software image cleansed of all data and unlicensed software; or
• The hard drives have been removed from the systems and destroyed

Deployment of New Evergreen Machines

Evergreen equipment is deployed by Information Services based on approved positions. Approved positions are not based on the number of individuals a unit may employ. Therefore, if a staff member leaves and another person takes their place, new Evergreen equipment will not be deployed. If two individuals job share an approved position, only one Evergreen computer is deployed. A less than fully funded position may, at the discretion of Information Services or the applicable Vice-President, be eligible to receive an Evergreen computer. If a new approved position is created within a unit, a new Evergreen computer will be deployed on request. 

Once per year the number of additional machines allowed will be calculated based on justified need to a maximum of 10% of approved positions, and these machines will be deployed to units during the annual replacement process.

Opting Out Provisions

A custodian has the right to opt out of the Evergreen Program and receive the lesser of:

• an amount calculated by Information Services and intended to reflect the full cost of an Evergreen computer and associated software over the useful life;
• the purchase price of the opt out equipment.

Prior to receiving the specified amount of money from Information Services for an opt out, the custodian must:

• complete and sign the opt out forms provided by Information Services; and
• provide proof of purchase of the opt out equipment and licenses. 

Once these two conditions have been met, Information Services will transfer the funds by Journal Voucher to the account specified by the custodian.

Typical opt out purchases are laptops. Opt out equipment, once purchased, is still owned by Information Services within the Evergreen Program. Therefore, at the end of the established replacement cycle, the custodian can choose to take a standard Evergreen machine or again opt out of the program. Original opt out equipment due for replacement is either returned to Information Services or purchased by the custodian at the specified buy out amount for an Evergreen computer.

Staff Transfers

Employees who leave a position in one unit for a position in another unit cannot take an Evergreen machine with them.

A unit, as the custodian of specific Evergreen equipment, may move or deploy their allotted Evergreen equipment within any area under their responsibility or between areas under their responsibility as they see fit.

The custodian who acknowledges receipt of Evergreen equipment from Information Services is responsible to produce the Evergreen equipment for repair or replacement when requested by Information Services, and for verification of the existence of the Evergreen asset when requested by Financial Services. If the custodian or Information Services can produce a return document with respect to the specific Evergreen equipment, Information Services is then solely accountable for that equipment.

Evergreen Replacement Process

The Evergreen Program replaces Evergreen computers, including opt-out equipment, on a regular replacement cycle as set by Information Services. Prior to deploying replacement Evergreen equipment, Information Services is responsible to ensure all end of life Evergreen equipment being replaced is either purchased by the custodian or is properly disposed of through Supply Management Services. The custodian has the first right of purchase of end of life Evergreen equipment. 

In order to minimize the impact on faculty, staff, and students, to the maximum extent possible the annual equipment replacements occurs in July and August of each year.

Information Services will acknowledge the return of the old Evergreen equipment or its purchase and requires the custodian to acknowledge receipt of the new replacement Evergreen equipment.

End of life purchase documentation is kept on file by Information Services and a copy is provided to the custodian.

Should the custodian (unit) purchase an end-of-life Evergreen machine, it is no longer considered an Evergreen machine. However, it is still an asset owned by the University and governed by University policy. Units do not have the authority to sell University assets to individuals for personal use and must follow the Disposal of Assets procedure. 

Repair and Replacement

If Evergreen equipment requires repair that cannot reasonably be done on location, then the equipment is removed by Information Services and replaced with equivalent working equipment. The custodian signs an acknowledgment receipt for the replacement equipment and Information Services signs an acknowledgment return for the failed equipment. Signed acknowledgments are retained on file by Information Services and a copy is provided to the unit. If it is determined there has been abuse of the equipment, all repair costs are the responsibility of the custodian, otherwise repair costs are the responsibility of Information Services. Repair costs for opt-out equipment are in all cases the responsibility of the custodial unit.

Establishment of a General Purpose Computer Laboratory

Should a unit identify a potential location for a computer laboratory, Information Services may, at its discretion, provide all or a portion of the furniture and computer equipment necessary to outfit the room for use by all students of the University. By accepting the participation of Information Services, the unit agrees to designate the facility as a General Purpose Computer Laboratory and abide by the provisions of this policy including, but not limited to, those pertaining to student access and scheduling.

Related Information

• Procedure for unsold electronic salvage items
• Disposal of Assets Procedure