Policy on Lost and Found Property

Effective Date: July 7, 2021

Revision History:

Revised:

Executive Summary

Reason for the Policy

This policy is intended to provide a standardized, efficient and documented process for handling, storage and return or disposal of lost and found items throughout the College.

Who is Responsible for this Policy

The College has designated the CARES (Community Accountability, Response & Emergency Services) with primary oversight of lost and found property, including valuables.  Some areas, such as Residence Halls, Milstein Library and Barnard Fitness Center, may also temporarily hold lost and found items turned in to their respective areas. Valuable items should be brought promptly to CARES.

Who is Governed by this Policy

All Barnard College faculty, staff and students are governed by this policy.

Policy Statement

If you find a lost item, you may turn it in to any CARES Response staff member in Elliott First floor or to the Community Safety Desk located at 104 Barnard Hall, providing information on when and where an item was found, along with other relevant information. College employees are expected to make reasonable attempts to return the lost items to owners.

If an item is found which may be stolen or contraband, Community Safety must be contacted immediately to document and take possession of the property for proper follow up.

The College will take reasonable efforts to return items to the rightful owner, but assumes no liability if an item is returned to the wrong individual or if a found item is mislabeled, misplaced, or damaged.

REPORTING OR CLAIMING LOST ITEMS:

CARES provides an online form for members of the Barnard community to submit inquiry about an item lost on campus.  Guests and visitors can be referred to the CARES Line (212-854-3362), email lostandfound@barnard.edu, or website form (barnard.edu/cares/response-team) to inquire about lost items.  When CARES has identifiable information of ownership, outreach will be made to the extent possible (if current email or phone information is available) to advise of the found item.

Owners trying to locate lost property will be asked to describe the item, any identifiable markings, and description of where it was left or last time and location it was known to be, as a means to identify ownership.  For technology, owners may be asked to enter their password or other means of confirming ownership. With the exception of reviewing bins of found and unidentified clothes, reusable mugs or bottles, individuals may not request to look through found items.

Items which are unclaimed by the owner will be processed according to protocol of the CARES Department.  Items will be held for 30 days before disposal.  Disposal of unclaimed items will be through means that consider sustainability, safety and giving back to the campus and surrounding community. This may include donation of functional items to relevant campus or community services.  Items such as government issued identification or personally identifiable content (such as credit cards, checks) will be safely disposed of, either through protocol of returning government documents such as passports, to the relevant agency or by shredding sensitive information.

Related Policies and Documents:
Barnard College Acceptable Use Policy -  https://barnard.edu/bcit/policies/acceptable-use-policy  

Definitions:

Items will be considered to be lost when found in an area where items are not normally left for a period of time, or after the conclusion of an event open to visitors or the general public.

Contacts:

Barnard College CARES Line: 212-854-3362

Website for this Policy:

https://barnard.edu/policy-lost-and-found-property