The purpose of the Lost and Found Property policy is to:

1. Arrange for the return of lost property to its rightful owner whenever possible.
2. Provide a reasonably secure holding facility for found property and a central location where persons may attempt to recover lost items.
3. Provide guidelines for handling and disposing of found property that are fair, lawful, and uniformly applied.

Lost and found property processing is the responsibility of the Safety & Security Department. The receiving employee in Safety & Security will determine the classification of the found property whether personal effects, disposable items, usable items, or valuable items.

Reasonable effort will be made to locate and notify the owner of found property. Found property in custody of Safety & Security will be held for at least 30 days for the owner to claim. There may be instances where next of kin may claim or accept the property on behalf of the owner.

If unclaimed, usable items and valuable property may be returned to the finder. All unclaimed personal effects and disposable property will be destroyed unless a situation warrants otherwise. Finders of usable or valuable property may claim the item by presenting their receipt to Safety/Security after the 30-day waiting period but prior to 40 days from the date of finding.

After a minimum of 40 days, the College may dispose of found property as follows:

1. Personal Effects - Personal property items are those that could only be useful to the owner such as wallets, purses, credit cards, checkbooks, keys, and other personal items. If unclaimed after 40 days, these items will be destroyed.
2. Disposable Items - As with personal effects, disposable items such as notebooks, folders, paperwork, and cosmetics, will be destroyed if unclaimed after 40 days.
3. Usable Items - If, after 40 days, the item remains unclaimed by either the owner or finder, usable items, such as calculators, umbrellas, clothing, briefcases, tools, and books, will be either converted to College use or donated to a charitable organization. If the item is a digital storage device it will be destroyed.
4. Valuable Items - Valuable items such as jewelry or money left unclaimed for 40 days will be converted to College use or donated to a charitable organization. If the item is a digital storage device it will be destroyed.

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Historic Information

• Reviewed by Executive Leadership Team: January 24, 2024
• Reviewed by Governance Council: February 16, 2024
• Reviewed by UMCC: February 20, 2024
• Campus Review: February 27- March 12, 2024
• Approved: March 20, 2024