Capital Assets

The Space and Asset Management (SAM) Office located within the Finance Department is responsible for recording and tracking capital assets owned or leased by the CU Denver.  This includes Buildings, Land, Land Improvements, Leasehold Improvements, Capital Equipment, Collections, Library Resources (includes books/journals and electronic resources, and all intangible assets).

The threshold for capitalization differs subject to the type of asset; for Buildings, Land, Land Improvements, Leasehold Improvements, and Software that is $75,000 or greater; for Capital Equipment, Collections, and Library Resources this is $5,000 or more.  Additional criteria such as life expectancy and/or ownership/lease term also impact qualification for capitalization.


Capital Asset Useful Lives

Useful lives utilized in the calculation of depreciation are based on CU Denver's previous experience. Asset useful lives for depreciable assets have been established within the following ranges per asset class: