Policy Statement

All Augusta University units that have Personal Computers (PC) and any type electronic equipment that contains data storage devices must have the hard drive or data storage device removed before disposal.

To ensure compliance with federal and state laws associated with confidential information, such as the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Augusta University requires the removal of all data storage devices prior to disposal of electronic equipment

Affected stakeholders

All entities and persons within the Enterprise that are affected by this policy:
Faculty, Staff

Policy Owner

Supply Chain Initiative

Definitions

Electronic equipment sent to Surplus Property can be disposed of in several ways, to include transfer to a school district, other approved government entities or a vendors authorized to dispose of electronic equipment. Any software and data files left on a hard drive, main frame, server, and/or electronic storage device could potentially be retrieved. This oversight can lead to conflicts with software license agreements, unauthorized access to personal data or patient/research subject information or other Augusta University documents. This policy ensures that electronic equipment declared surplus by a department has the data storage devices removed and rendered unreadable prior to disposal.

Process & procedures

Procedures can be found on Materials Management’s website

References & supporting documents

Request for Moving Services Form

Related policies

Intentionally left blank.

Approved by

President, Augusta University and CEO, AU Health System Date: June 9, 2017
Last Revision: August 2, 2016 Last Review: June 9, 2017