CONTRACTING FOR SERVICES
The guidelines listed below apply to all contracts or agreements (expenditure, non-expenditure and
revenue-generating) between Tennessee Tech University and any external
party, with the exception of research grant contracts, which require
processing by Office of Research.
- All
contracts/agreements, regardless of dollar amount involved, require the
review / approval of the Director of Business Services or Assistant
Director of Business Services, as appropriate, and the approval of the Vice
President for Business and Fiscal Affairs.
- Proposed
contracts of $5,000 or more must be competitively bid unless adequate
non-competitive procurement justification is provided.
- Contracts
totaling $250,000 or more in annual revenue or expenditure require the
signature of the President and the Chancellor.
- Prior
approval of the Fiscal Review Committee is required for all non-competitive
contracts of $250,000 (value of total contract term) or more and for which
the term is greater than one (1) year. This process requires at least 75
calendar days lead time prior to the effective start date of the contract.
The following process should be
followed for approval of University contracts:
Department shall prepare agreement/contract
using the applicable form agreement.
Templates for the most commonly used
agreements are available below. Click on the name of the agreement to
access the form agreement. (Note: The form agreement does not allow
changes to be made to the contract verbiage, except in areas as noted
for completion by department. Should modifications to the form
agreement be required, please contact the Purchasing Office prior to
preparing the draft agreement.)
Department shall complete and attach a Contract
/ Agreement Routing Form to the face
of the draft agreement.
The Agreement and Routing Form shall be
routed for approval by departmental chair/director,
dean/administrative officer and the Associate Vice President for
Research (as appropriate), then forwarded to the Purchasing Office for
further processing.
Purchasing will review and approve contract
for form and legality and forward contract packet (contract and
applicable forms for completion) to contractor for signature.
After contract packet is returned by
contractor, Purchasing will complete processing, and a fully executed
copy of the contract will be returned (along with a Contract
Monitoring Form if applicable) to the department responsible for
procuring the service.
NOTE: Contracts shall be
approved by all parties prior to the effective start date of
the contract.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING
FOUNDATION AND RESEARCH/GRANT CONTRACTS:
Foundation
Agreements:
- All
Foundation contracts require the approval of the Vice President for Business
and Fiscal Affairs and the President, as appropriate.
- Foundation
contracts that obligate the University in any way must be processed
according to policies and procedures established for University
contracting.
Research/Grant
Contracts:
- Research/Grant
contracts are subject to the approval of the Associate Vice President for
Research and the President, as appropriate.
- Subcontracts
of grant contracts are subject to the approval process for University
contracts outlined above.
Contract Monitoring
Pursuant to the requirements of
the contract monitoring statute TCA ¶12-4-109 (d) and Finance and
Administration Rules 0620-3-8 regarding the effective management of all
service contracts, the University is now required to have in place a
Contract Monitoring Plan.
After approval of a service
contract, a Services
Contract Monitoring Form will be returned, along with a copy of the
approved contract, to the department originating the contract. The Services
Contract Monitoring Form should be used to document service provider
compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract, and a copy of
the completed form is to be maintained in the department’s files for audit
purposes. The final responsibility for administering, reviewing,
documenting and recordkeeping with regard to the performance of each
service contract for cost-effectiveness and results, remains with the
department.
Note: Contracts associated with a grant or
research project processed through the Office of Research will be monitored
by the Office of Research. Subcontracts issued on a grant or research
project will be monitored by the department/Center bookkeeper assigned to
that particular project. For additional information or assistance in
monitoring a subcontract on a grant or research project, please contact the
Office of Research.
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