Contract Management
What is a Contract?
A contract is an agreement between two parties that creates mutual obligations enforceable by law. A legally binding agreement may not always be referred to as a “contract” so it is important to be vigilant. Some examples include service agreements, Terms of Service, Memorandum of Understanding, Statement of Understanding, Facilities Use Agreement, Lease Agreement and even Terms and Conditions on websites where you are prompted to “Click to Agree”.
What is a Department Sponsor?
“Department Sponsor” is the term used by Risk Services to refer to the department point of contact for the contract that is being submitted for review. Once a contract is awarded, the Department Sponsor is required to verify that all related invoices reflect the pricing established in the Agreement. If there are non-performance or inadequate performance issues, the Department Sponsor must document the incident in writing to the vendor and CC the Procurement Office, procurement@plu.edu. Department Sponsors must monitor contract termination provisions and provide a timely request to Risk Services to provide a notification of termination in accordance with those terms.
Approval Authority
Within your department/division, you must receive approval to initiate the contract review process according to the table below. The thresholds are based on the maximum amount that will be expended in a 12 month period throughout the term of the contract.
NOTE: If the vendor will be paid, in full or partially, using grant funds, approval must be given by the Office of Sponsored Programs.
| Threshold | Authority Level |
|---|---|
| Under $10,000 | Department Chair/Director |
| $10,000-$99,999 | Dean/AVP/Associate Provost |
| $100,000 and Over | Vice President/Provost |
| Grant Funds (Any Amount) | Office of Sponsored Programs |
Quick Links
The contract review process takes at least 30 days to complete.
Who is authorized to sign a contract?
Only an authorized signatory (designated by the Board of Regents) has the authority to enter the University into contractual agreements. All contracts, regardless of dollar amount, must be routed through the Contract Review Process for signature from an authorized signatory.
For a quick overview of the Contract and Procurement process, click here!
Contract Review Process
In order to achieve the most favorable contract possible and provide legal protection to the University and to University employees, students and guests, a formal review process must be performed. Any agreements that require PLU to share University data or allow a third party access to data, contracts for software, web and cloud based services, or other technology also require a review by I&TS and Risk Services in a joint process to address cyber security risk mitigation and data handling regulations. Depending on the value of the contract, additional competitive bidding steps may be required by the Procurement Office. The review process takes at least 30 days so it is important to initiate this process as soon as possible.
To review written instructions of the process, select from the tabs below. The thresholds provided should be interpreted as the maximum value that will be spent in a single 12 month period throughout the contract term.
Pre-planning
Consult with and receive approval from an authorized person in your department/division.
Prepare the Submission
Fill out the Contract Review Form (revised Dec 2023). Contracts without a financial commitment or contracts where the maximum amount that will be spent in a 12 month period will be less than $10,000 do not require prior approval from the Procurement Office. Since the contract is within the micro-purchase threshold, you do not need to complete step 3 on the review form.
Make sure you read through the resources in step 4 on the review form to see if the vendor will need to complete a Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) or HECVAT. If you have questions about the DSA process, please contact Kevin Berg (bergka@plu.edu)
Obtain the Contract
Have the vendor provide you with the unsigned contract/agreement that needs to be reviewed. Ideally, this should be in Word format to allow the review team to make necessary edits. If you are submitting terms and conditions for review, there will be a field to provide the URL.
Submit the Contract for Review
Once you have completed the review form and obtained the contract and DSA (if applicable), you can submit for review through the Contract Submission Portal.
After Submission
After the Google Form has been submitted, a notification will automatically be sent to Risk Services. The Director of Risk Services will review the submission and create a vendor folder that will be shared with all parties that need to review the contract including the person requesting the review (Department Sponsor) and the individual listed as the authorized approver.
- A request will be sent via email to the authorized approver to confirm that permission was granted to begin the negotiation process.
- The contract and supporting documents will be reviewed by the necessary parties.
- Risk Services will contact the Department Sponsor if changes need to be made to the contract language.
- Once the review and negotiations have concluded, the contract will be signed by an Authorized Signatory and it will be returned to the Department Sponsor.
- The Department Sponsor is responsible for returning the fully-executed, counter signed agreement to Risk Services for document maintenance.
Pre-planning
Consult with and receive approval from an authorized person in your department/division. Since the contract will result in $10,000 or more expended in a 12 month period, you must also receive approval from the Procurement Office before a contract is obtained from a vendor.
Based on the maximum amount that will be paid in any 12 month period throughout the contract term, you are required to obtain competitive quotes. All quotes must be from qualified and comparable sources in order to be considered a valid alternative. You as the Department Sponsor are responsible for making a vendor recommendation based on the quotes you have received.
- $10,000 – $49,999: 2 quotes
- $50,000 – $99,999: 3 quotes
If competition is not available, you can submit the Sole Source Justification Form to the Procurement Office.
Procurement Approval
Fill out steps 1-3 on the Contract Review Form (revised Dec 2023). Before continuing onto the next steps, you will need to receive approval from the Procurement Office. Send the Contract Review Form and the quotes you obtained to procurement@plu.edu.
The Procurement Office will review the submission and work with the Department Sponsor if any corrections need to be made. Contingent upon all bidding requirements being met, approval will be given in 1-2 business days.
NOTE: If you submitted a Sole Source Justification in advance and have already received approval from Procurement, you do not need to do this step.
Prepare the Submission
After receiving approval from Procurement, make sure you read through the resources in step 4 on the Contract Review Form to see if the vendor will need to complete a Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) or HECVAT. If you have questions about the DSA process, please contact Kevin Berg (bergka@plu.edu)
Obtain the Contract
Have the vendor provide you with the unsigned contract/agreement that needs to be reviewed. Ideally, this should be in Word format to allow the review team to make necessary edits. If you are submitting terms and conditions for review, there will be a field to provide the URL.
Submit the Contract for Review
Once you have completed the review form and obtained the contract and DSA (if applicable), you can submit for review through the Contract Submission Portal.
After Submission
After the Google Form has been submitted, a notification will automatically be sent to Risk Services. The Director of Risk Services will review the submission and create a vendor folder that will be shared with all parties that need to review the contract including the person requesting the review (Department Sponsor) and the individual listed as the authorized approver.
- A request will be sent via email to the authorized approver to confirm that permission was granted to begin the negotiation process.
- The contract and supporting documents will be reviewed by the necessary parties.
- Risk Services will contact the Department Sponsor if changes need to be made to the contract language.
- Once the review and negotiations have concluded, the contract will be signed by an Authorized Signatory and it will be returned to the Department Sponsor.
- The Department Sponsor is responsible for returning the fully-executed, counter signed agreement to Risk Services for document maintenance.
Major Purchases
If a contract will result in a financial commitment of $100,000 or more expended in a single 12 month period, it is considered a major purchase. All major purchases must go through a formal competitive bidding process. For example, a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a Request for Quote (RFQ).
The Department Sponsor must consult the Procurement Manager as soon as the need arises for a major purchase. This is especially important for complex contracts involving multiple stakeholders on campus.
Procurement Manager – Kaylee Patredis
Email: kpatredis@plu.edu