Why is there a red lock on my drawer?
Why do I have to pay to get the red lock off?
Someone else is getting into my drawer and stealing my stuff!
Do I have to pay for stuff I lost/broke?
That sucks! Why? Doesn't the lab fee cover this?
OK, I understand why I have to pay if I broke something, but what if it's just missing?
I lost/broke something but I didn't bring any money to pay for it ... what do I do?
How/when do I pay for broken or lost equipment?
I don't have to check out of my drawer if I drop the class, do I?
Why is there a red lock on my drawer?
Uh-oh, you left your drawer unlocked! If you accidentally leave your assigned equipment drawer unlocked, the stockroom staff will affix a red lock to the drawer, thereby preventing entry to your drawer by anyone else. You are then required to pay a small fee of 50¢ to have the red lock removed by the stockroom staff.
Why do I have to pay to get the red lock off?
There are two reasons for the use of red locks. The first is as a service to you. The cash value (retail cost) of the glassware and supplies in your equipment drawer can run anywhere from $200-$400 (the price range reflects that different equipment is stocked for different lab courses). You are financially responsible for loss or breakage of this equipment. This includes theft, if your drawer is left unlocked. So, to protect you from losing any of the equipment while your drawer is unlocked, a red lock is affixed to it.
The second reason is that the small fee serves as an annoyance which will (in theory, at least!) remind you to check and make sure your drawer is locked before you leave the lab room.
Someone else is getting into my drawer and stealing my stuff!
The stockroom takes precautions to ensure the security of your equipment drawer. Every semester, the several hundred combination locks used are randomly re-assigned to the equipment drawers. Each lock has a unique serial number which corresponds to the combination for the lock. This top-secret "serial-number-to-lock" information is kept in the stockroom, and is not accessed by anyone other than stockroom personnel.
The combination to the lock on your drawer is given ONLY to you, once, at the beginning of the semester. Since you are the only student per semester using your equipment drawer, no combination is given out twice.
Some common reasons for equipment disappearance are: sharing of equipment among two or three students and then not returning the equipment to whom it belongs, accidentally leaving equipment on the drying rack above the sinks at the end of the lab, or leaving your equipment drawer unlocked.
However, if you believe that someone else may possess your combination, or otherwise has access to your drawer, by all means tell us! Stockroom staff will happily assign a different combination lock to you, no problemo. If you don't think this will solve the problem, you are of course free to bring your own lock in and use it -- just remember that if you forget your key or your combination to your own personal lock, the stockroom can't really help.
Do I have to pay for stuff I lost/broke?
In general, yes. In other words, unless you are specifically told by stockroom personnel that you won't be charged for a piece of equipment, expect to be charged for it. Tell you what ... check out the lab equipment page. Each item will have a short description, which includes the cost (if any) for each piece of equipment. Also, please see the next question.
That sucks! Why? Doesn't the lab fee cover this?
Short answer: Nope. Well, kind of.
Long answer: The lab fee that you pay goes toward the purchase of all of the chemicals and reagents used throughout the semester, and for disposable supplies (this includes such familiar and common items like gloves, pipets, melting point tubes, filter paper, band-aids, etc.).
Here's the rub: supplies and equipment that are meant to be re-used are NOT covered by this fee. It would be unfair to charge everyone a larger fee for compensate for the equipment broken (or lost) by individual students, so everyone is instead charged for breakage (or loss) on a per-item basis.
But here's the good news ... when I say "kind of", I mean that some of the equipment in the drawer is inexpensive enough to be considered "disposable"; thus, you are NOT charged for this inexpensive equipment.
OK, I understand why I have to pay if I broke something, but what if it's just missing?
I actually do get this question a lot. The answer is that it doesn't matter what specifically happens to a piece of equipment assigned to you; you're still responsible for it. If you lost it, if you broke it, if it just "turns up missing" one day, the bottom line is still the same: it's gone and needs to be replaced. It's the same as if you check out a book from the library that a buddy borrows and never returns, or it falls out of your backpack unnoticed, or for whatever reason it becomes damaged: the library's policy is the same; you must replace it.
IF, however, you lose a piece of glassware or equipment and later find it, you're off the hook. Simply bring the piece of found equipment to the stockroom and your account will, of course, be credited! There is a bin for "lost-and-found" glassware in each of the lab rooms, and the stockroom maintains a "lost-and-found" box as well for items which are turned in.
I lost/broke something but I didn't bring any money to pay for it ... what do I do?
Don't stress. Come to the stockroom and we'll issue you a new piece of equipment. You aren't expected to pay for it that day, or even the next day or the next. The stockroom staff maintains breakage records if any of your equipment needs to be replaced. At the end of the semester, we total everything up and send you a bill, so you won't need to worry about it until then.
How/when do I pay for broken or lost equipment?
The stockroom maintains records, for each student, of which items are broken or lost. At the end of the semester, the prices for these items are totaled, and an invoice is mailed to the address that the University has on file for you, for this total amount. You are then required to submit payment, either by mail or in person, to the Cashier's Office in Ross Hall (specific instructions on how and where to pay are included with the invoice).
Unfortunately, if you are issued an invoice, the Cashier's Office places a fee hold on your account. This is will make it difficult (actually, impossible) for you to receive grades, register for classes, or just about anything else, until this fee is paid. Sorry ... this is the University's policy, not mine.
You can, of course, check your balance at any time during the semester. If you want to know how much a specific item costs, stockroom personnel will be glad to help you out. Or you can take a look at the lab equipment page, which lists costs of glassware and equipment.
I don't have to check out of my drawer if I drop the class, do I?
Actually you do have to check out of your drawer. When you check in to a lab, you are basically checking out the lab equipment in your drawer. The Lab Safety Rules agreement that you sign includes an agreement with the stockroom to check the equipment of your drawer back to the OCS once you no longer are enrolled in the class, either at the end of the semester, or when you drop the class.
If you do drop the lab class, we do ask you to check out of your drawer as soon as possible (this will help prevent forgotten drawers at the end of the semester). If you do forget to check out, or otherwise decline to do so, the OCS will charge an improper check-out fee. You will then have to pay for the fee at the Cashier's office. (See How/When do I pay for broken or lost equipment?)
Organic Chemistry Stockroom main page
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UNR College of Arts & Sciences |
University of Nevada, Reno