The Equipment Center (EQC) charges late fines in order to encourage students and faculty to return equipment on time. It's important to return equipment on time so that others who are relying on reservations are able to use it. Think of a late fine as a "consideration charge".

We have a simple fine structure of $20.00 per hour with a maximum $100 per day. We offer a 3 hour grace period on all checkouts to help avoid fines related to public transit issues. DO NOT rely on the 3 hour grace period, 1 minute after your 3 hour grace period you are fined a full $20.00.

Late fines aren't a way for students to pay for equipment. If you wish to purchase equipment that is certainly a good way to avoid late fines. Late fines are like parking tickets; if a person is 20 minutes late to feed the parking meter the ticket they will find on their dashboard will not reflect the value of the 20 minutes of lost parking, the amount will be much higher. Likewise, we value the lost opportunity cost paid by other students who did not have access to the equipment.

We only waive fines with proof of illness or emergency. If you know that you will not be able to return a piece of equipment on time due to illness or an emergency the recommended course of action is to phone us and let us know. Be sure to bring a doctor's note, or some form of proof of your situation. However, if you are telling us why you couldn't return the equipment on time after it is due then you should also be able to explain why you couldn't call ahead. If you want to appeal a late fine you can contact Ben Simon, EQC Manager, via email.

If a borrower has equipment out that is not returned for 5 days they will have an academic hold placed on their account. After 5 days we contact your advisor and program director. At 28 days we assume that the equipment is stolen and we file a police report (really).

Fines/ Missing Items that remain unpaid by the end of the semester result in the placement of academic hold. Academic holds prevent students from collecting their transcripts or grades. Not returning equipment for 5 days or longer is another way to get an academic hold. Academic holds are lifted when the fine is paid, allow two business days for the academic hold to be lifted.

You will first need to load money onto your NewCard make sure to load the exact amount of your fine. After you have loaded your payment onto your NewCard come to the EQC during our normal operating hours to pay your fine. You will be able to checkout equipment within 48 hours of payment.