Judgment of Compliance

Narrative

Sam Houston State University (SHSU) exercises appropriate control over all its physical resources. Methods employed to maintain this control include the University’s master plan and property inventory. In addition, the University does employ an internal auditor that reports to the Texas State University System (TSUS) office.

Master Plan
SHSU engages a master planner consultant every 10 years to study the campus and create a master plan for construction. The SHSU Master Plan is used to coordinate an orderly and efficient expansion and redesign of the campus in accordance with campus needs and growth [1]. Sam Houston State University is presently in the process of updating its Campus Master Plan [2] [3] [4] [5].

In conjunction with the master plans, the University prepares a capital improvements plan (CIP) for review and approval by the TSUS Board of Regents [6]. This plan encompasses the next six years of construction projects needed to preserve, enhance, and create new facilities in line with the approved Master Plan. These plans ensure the most effective and efficient use of capital budgets for the improvement of the campus.

Campus Planning
In October of each year, deferred maintenance is reported to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) via the Assessment of Deferred Maintenance and Demolition Needs (MP2) Summary Report and the Deferred Maintenance Expenditures (MP4) Summary Report [7] [8]. Deferred maintenance is broken into two components – Critical Deferred Maintenance (CDM) and Deferred Maintenance (DM). CDM is defined as a physical condition of a building or facility that places the occupants at risk of harm or the facility at risk of not fulfilling its functions. DM is described as existing or imminent building maintenance-related deficiency from prior years that needs to be corrected, or scheduled preventive maintenance tasks that were not performed because other tasks funded within the budget were perceived to have a higher priority status. SHSU has $3,910,000 in DM which is under 5.0% of E&G replacement value, the goal established by the THECB. The THECB goal for CDM is zero dollars. SHSU currently has CDM of $1,090,000 consisting of two projects. Both projects are in design.

At A Board of Regents meeting, SHSU submits a 6-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to the Board for their approval [6]. Thereafter, SHSU follows the CIP as a roadmap for construction, renovation, maintenance, and demolition projects for the next year. The CIP is updated annually at a quarterly meeting of the Board of Regents.

The Physical Plant Department oversees the execution of all campus improvement projects and tracks the status of each project over $5,000 in a report entitled the Maintenance, Renovation and Construction (MRC) Report [9]. There is approximately $86,768,875 in projects assigned to project managers for completion in the 2008 MRC program.

Operations and Maintenance
The Physical Plant Department is responsible for the maintenance and operation of all facilities at SHSU. In the case of residence halls, the Office of Residence Life has a budget with which they contract maintenance with the Physical Plant personnel. The goal of the Physical Plant is to provide safe, clean, attractive and energy efficient buildings that are conducive to teaching, research, living and recreation activities. The Physical Plant uses a full-scale computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to record, track, and complete all customer requirements for maintenance or building improvements. The Physical Plant maintains and updates all the space and room inventories across the campus and provides this data to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) as changes occur. The accuracy of the inventory is confirmed on an annual basis through Coordinating Board reports.

The preventive maintenance (PM) program begins with a list of tasks prepared by each shop for building equipment or components under their responsibility [10]. Each shop task may have one or more buildings or pieces of equipment included in the task. The tasks are automatically generated by the CMMS according to the period of recurrence established for each task. The preventive maintenance program is considered high priority as the philosophy of a good preventive maintenance program is to reduce unscheduled repair work orders. Implementing a strong preventive maintenance program reduces building and equipment failure, extends the life expectancy of buildings and supporting infrastructures, and maximizes the availability of campus facilities for the support of the SHSU mission. Preventive maintenance work orders receive the highest priority for shop scheduling after emergency repairs. After hours call-outs, overtime for repairs, replacement of parts is minimized by maintaining a good preventive maintenance program.

Property Management
The SHSU Property Coordinator receives and reviews purchase orders to determine if items purchased are capital assets. The Coordinator assists departments across campus, purchasing, and accounts payable to assure property inventory requirements are met. The Coordinator is also charged with maintaining automated property and real property accounting records using the Statewide Property Accounting (SPA) system from the State Comptroller.

SHSU inventory is maintained on the Statewide Property Accounting System provided by the Texas State Comptroller. The University’s Property Office is responsible for maintaining the electronic records of all SHSU inventoried items and property. The Property Office receives notification of each purchase eligible to be recorded in the inventory records. In addition, the Property Office coordinates the annual inventory of SHSU equipment. Each year, every department performs an annual inventory of its items. Any items appearing on the inventory list that cannot be located are reported to the Property Office. Items found in the department that are not listed with the Property Office are also reported. SHSU Policy FO-PUR-20 (pages 2 and 3) describes departmental responsibilities relative to departmental property [11]. Items costing $5,000 or more having an expected life of one year or more are tracked in the Property records. In addition to these items, equipment with high risk value is also tracked [11].

Internal Audit
Thefts of inventory are investigated by the University Police Department. Thefts and significant amounts of unexplained missing inventory are reviewed and investigated by the Internal Auditor.

The SHSU Internal Auditor reports directly to the Texas State University System’s Director of Audits and Analysis which is designed to provide positive support to the Board of Regents, the Chancellor, System Administration executive management, and the Components in the effective discharge of their responsibilities. The system-wide internal audit function is coordinated through the System’s Director of Audits and Analysis, who reports directly to the Finance and Audit Committee of the Board of Regents. It is the responsibility of the auditor to examine and analyze accounting records of the University and prepare reports concerning its financial status and operating procedures. The internal auditor conducts independent protective and constructive audits for management to review effectiveness of controls, financial records, and operations.

Supporting Documentation