Section 514 - Purchasing Procedures

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Purchasing must be in compliance with Board Policy 5.14, System Procedure 5.14.5, and all other applicable statures, laws, rules, regulations and policies. Non-compliance may result in purchasing authority being modified or rescinded.

A purchase cannot be made without submitting a completed requisition form that is approved by your supervisor and forwarded electronically to the business office. This form is located either in: Outlook:\\Public Folders\All Public Folders\Forms or the college Web site: REQUISITION.XLS

Purchases relating to computers, including equipment, software or hardware; needs additional approval from the Director of Technology.

All funds must be encumbered by the Business Office before the purchase of goods or services.

If funds are not encumbered prior to making a purchase, a 16A form must be completed and approved by the Chief Financial Officer. A 16A form is a form which must be completed stating the reason why the obligation was incurred before funds were encumbered and what corrective action will be taken to prevent the problem in the future. The 16A form is located on the college Web site: RequestforPayment.doc.

Prepayments

Prepayments can only be for registration fees, conferences, subscriptions, and memberships. Follow the procedures below for purchasing and submit applicable forms. Payment will be made once all paperwork is turned into Business Office.

Price quotes:

All quotes must include the following information:

Vendor name and address
Date of quote
Number of days the quote is valid (i.e. 30 days, 60 days, etc)
Terms, shipping and delivery time
Name of vendor’s authorized representative

Sealed Bids:

All bid requests must be approved by the Chief Financial Officer before advertising the bid notice.
All bids must have the exact specifications of items to be purchased to ensure fair and accurate comparison of bids.

Once approved, the Business Office will prepare and arrange for a public notice requesting sealed bids from interested vendors. The notice must appear for a minimum of 14 days in the official newspaper for the college or in the State Register.

Bids may be directly solicited, but the vendor must be given seven days before the bid is due into the college. All funds must be encumbered by the Business Office before a bid can be awarded to a vendor.

Purchase amount up to $9,999.99

Two verbal quotes are recommended. Quotes are highly recommended to assure competitive pricing.
If applicable obtain a quote from a targeted vendor, contact business office for a list of targeted vendors.
Submit an approved and completed requisition form and recommended quotes to the business office.
A purchase order will be issued.
Business office will mail or fax purchase order to vendor.
Depending on the type of purchase additional paperwork may be needed (i.e. certificate of insurance, consultant, professional or technical contracts, special expense forms, In state/out state travel request).
Contact Business Office for assistance.

Purchases from $10,000.00 to $24,999.99

Two or more written quotes are required. Quotes should be precise and have detailed specifications.
If applicable obtain a quote from a targeted vendor, contact business office for a list of targeted vendors.
Submit an approved and completed requisition form and recommended quotes to the business office.
A purchase order will be issued.
Business office will mail or fax purchase order to vendor.
Depending on the type of purchase additional paperwork may be needed (i.e certificate of insurance, consultant, professional or technical contracts, special expense forms, in-state/out-state travel request).
Contact Business Office for assistance.

Purchases from $25,000.00 to $100,000.00

Sealed Bids are required.
Submit an approved and completed requisition form with awarded bid to the business office.
A purchase order will be issued.
Business office will mail or fax purchase order to vendor.
Depending on the type of purchase additional paperwork may be needed (i.e certificate of insurance, consultant, professional or technical contracts, special expense forms, in-state/out-state travel request).
Contact Business Office for assistance.

Purchases over $100,000.00

All purchases require written approval of the Vice Chancellor-Chief Financial Officer. You must submitt a memorandom to the Vice Chancellor-Chief Financial Officer explaining the need for the purchase, purchase amount, and which availbable funds are paying for the purchase. Resale is not included in this procedure.
A purchase order will be issued.
Business office will mail or fax purchase order to vendor.
Contact Business Office for assistance.

Certificate of Insurance

A certificate of insurance is required whenever someone is hired to come onto our property to do service for the college. Liability insurance in the amount of at least $1,000,000.00 is required. The State of Minnesota must be listed as an additional insured. If we hire a vendor who is paying his/her employees to work on our property, workers compensation insurance in the amount of at least $100,000.00 is required. Any vendors using vehicles on our property must carry automobile insurance in the amount of at least $1,000,000.00.

Consultant, Professional or Technical Services Contract

A Consultant, Professional or Technical Services Contract means any agreement entered into for consultant, professional, or technical services under $50,000.00 usually on a short term basis for a finite period of time and for a specific purpose. These contracts must be executed prior to making the obligation or beginning the work or service. Examples where a contract is required are custom training instructors, entertainers, speakers. Contracts over $50,000.00 require public notice of request for proposals to be placed in an official newspaper.

Contract forms are located at www.finance.mnscu.edu/GeneralContractForms/index.html.

Special Expenses

Special expenses are extraordinary expenses incurred in connection with work-related responsibilities or official functions not generally supported with public funds of MnSCU or assigned duties of system employees, which are not reimbursable through the regular expense regulations. See 5.20.1 Special Expenses.

The form is located in outlook:\\Public Folders\All Public Folders\Forms or the college Web site: TravelSpecialExpensApproval.doc.

In State/Out State Travel Form

Travel management applies to all employees of the college, authorized to travel conducting MnSCU business. The forms are located on the college Web site: TravelSpecialExpensApproval.doc.

Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical