General Statement
The purpose of this policy is to outline the responsibilities and procedures for reporting all losses of College property and resources as required by TCA 8-19-501. Losses that must be reported are set out in this policy and include losses involving cash shortages, physical property, and potential employee misfeasance or malfeasance. When fraud, waste, or abuse is suspected, the appropriate authorities as designated by the President should be informed in accordance with the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) Policy 4:01:05:50, Preventing and Reporting Fraud, Waste or Abuse. All College employees are responsible for safeguarding the College's property and resources and must be responsive in reporting losses.
I. Losses Due to Cash Shortages
- Some cash shortages and overages may commonly occur during the processing of daily sales and cash transactions. Employees must report all cash shortages or overages equal to or greater than $500 at the time of discovery to the Bursar.
- Employees must immediately report any cash shortage due to burglary or robbery to the VSCC Campus Police.
- Any employee who becomes aware of a cash shortage or overage of any amount involving potential employee misfeasance or malfeasance shall immediately report the incident to the appropriate department head. The department head will immediately report the incident to the Assistant Vice President for Business and Finance and the Vice President for Business and Finance.
- The Bursar will report to TBR immediately all cash shortages that equal to or are greater than $500 or any amount involving potential employee misfeasance or malfeasance using TBR’s Notification of Loss Report. The report disclosure will include but not limited to, the cash shortage amount, the individual’s name, and the nature of the shortage. The report will be submitted to the following:
- Assistant Vice President for Business and Finance
- Vice President for Business and Finance
- President
- Internal Auditor
- Campus Police
- TBR Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance
- TBR System-wide Internal Audit Chief Audit Executive
II. Losses of Physical Property
The College maintains inventory records of all capitalized property. This includes all items such as furniture, fixtures, and office and classroom equipment (e.g., computers and computer peripherals; televisions, VCR's and other audiovisual equipment; lab and instructional equipment, etc.) and costing more than $5,000 or deemed by management to be sensitive property (property with a cost of less than $5,000 but vulnerable to theft or misuse).
Any unexplained loss or misappropriation of capitalized or sensitive property which should be reported immediately to the Department Head. The Department Head is responsible for immediately reporting the loss to the Chief of Campus Police and Vice President of Business and Finance. The Vice President of Business and Finance is responsible for reporting the loss to TBR immediately or quarterly dependent upon the circumstances, Internal Audit and the President of the College are to be notified of all losses.
Other Property Losses – Other losses of physical property due to inventory shrinkage, vandalism, unexplained events, natural disasters, or acts of God should be reported to TBR on a quarterly basis on TBR’s Property Loss Report. However, unexplained losses and those due to shrinkage or vandalism should be routinely reviewed by management to identify any unusual events, recurring issues, or a pattern of losses.
Occurrences that are potentially serious situations that would create public concern regardless of the amount must be reported to the TBR and the Office of Risk Management immediately, followed by a written report.
Claims Process – Individual occurrences exceeding $25,000 must be reported to the TBR and the Office of Risk Management immediately, followed by a written report. The Office of Risk Management website contains contact information under the “Contact Us” link and details of the insurance claim process under the “Claims Process” link.
Property Loss Report – The report should list equipment items individually and should include all related data as reflected on the equipment inventory list. Each property damage report should include a detailed description of the loss and the estimated cost. In addition to the reporting requirements noted above, the department where the loss occurred should also receive a copy of this report.
III. Losses Involving Potential Employee Misfeasance/Malfeasance
Potential employee misfeasance/malfeasance is constituted when an employee is suspected of acting in an abusive, improper, or unlawful manner. Losses involving potential employee misfeasance/malfeasance may include, but are not confined to: (1) losses of cash (2) lost, stolen, or altered checks or other negotiable instruments (3) losses of operational supplies, physical property, intellectual property, data or other physical assets (4) use of College facilities and resources for personal gain or profit and (5) any other instance where potential employee misfeasance/malfeasance may have occurred, such as travel claim abuse, long-distance telephone abuse, time and attendance irregularities, or abuse of employee benefits (e.g., leaves, insurances, or retirement.) The TBR must be notified immediately of any potential employee misfeasance/malfeasance.
TBR Source: B-080: November 6, 2002, Presidents Meeting; February 28, 2008, Presidents Meeting; February 29, 2008, Presidents Meeting; November 7, 2012, Presidents Meeting; February 11, 2015, Presidents Meeting
VSCC Source: December 12, 1997, President; January 28, 2009, President's Cabinet; April 9, 2025 President’s Cabinet
