Current through all regulations passed and filed through March 18, 2024
(A)
Purpose. As part of its fiduciary responsibility, the
board of trustees has responsibility and authority over all procurement
activity at Kent state university. The purpose of this policy is to establish
approval authority for agreements to purchase goods and/or services excluding
capital construction projects, which are provided for in rule
3342-7-04
of the Administrative Code. This policy also provides guidance regarding
reports of purchasing activity to be provided to the board of
trustees.
(B)
Definitions.
(1)
Agreement to
purchase goods and/or services. Agreement to purchase goods and/or services
shall mean, for the purposes of this policy, a binding agreement to acquire
goods and/or services from a specific vendor under specified terms and at a set
price.
(2)
Vendor. Vendor shall mean, for the purposes of this
policy, an organization or individual intending to provide goods and/or
services to the university in exchange for a fee.
(C)
Scope. This
policy applies to anyone engaging in university purchasing activity excluding
capital construction projects.
(D)
Procedure for
approving agreements to purchase goods and/or services.
(1)
Agreements to
purchase goods in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars or services in excess
of fifty thousand dollars require a formal bidding process that is coordinated
through the procurement department. Details including exceptions to this
requirement are provided in rule 3342-7-12.1 of
the
Administrative Code.
(2)
A single agreement to purchase goods in excess of
twenty-five thousand dollars or services in excess of fifty thousand dollars
either of which has an estimated total cost of less than one hundred thousand
dollars shall be approved by the director of procurement prior to awarding a
contract or other commitment to purchase. This represents the minimal approval
required and management is not precluded from adopting more stringent approval
requirements at the divisional level
(3)
A single
agreement to purchase goods and/or services with an estimated total cost of one
hundred thousand dollars or more shall be approved by the vice president of the
division making the purchase and the senior vice president for finance and
administration prior to awarding a contract or other commitment to purchase.
The authority under this section is non-delegable.
(4)
Any single
agreement to purchase goods and/or services with an estimated total cost of one
million dollars or more including the initial term and any optional renewals
shall be approved by the board of trustees prior to awarding a contract or
other commitment to purchase.
(a)
The board of trustees meets periodically and any
purchase under this
paragraph must be presented to the board of trustees at a
regularly scheduled meeting.
(b)
Only when it is
determined by the president that time is of the essence, a proposed agreement
to purchase goods and/or services with a total cost of one million dollars or
more may be jointly approved by the president, the chairperson of the finance
and administration committee of the board of trustees, and the chairperson of
the board of trustees. Any agreement to purchase goods and/or services that is
approved in this manner shall be presented and discussed with the full board of
trustees at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
(E)
Procedure for reporting purchasing activity to the board of
trustees.
(1)
The director of procurement shall provide to the senior vice
president for finance and administration, the president, and the board of
trustees for each regularly scheduled meeting of the board of trustees a report
of all vendors for whom year-to-date purchases in aggregate have reached or
exceeded five hundred thousand dollars. This report shall be a component of the
regular financial report package provided to the board of
trustees.
(2)
The director of procurement shall provide to the senior
vice president for finance and administration, the president, and the board of
trustees at least annually a report of purchases with minority vendors, as
defined by the state of Ohio, in keeping with state procurement guidelines
regarding procurement levels with minority vendors.
(F)
Policy
implementation.
The implementation of this policy shall be the responsibility of the university
administration. The office of the senior vice president for finance and
administration shall establish such administrative policies and procedures as
are necessary for the systematic and orderly implementation of this
policy.
Replaces: 3342-7-12