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University Guidelines

Attachment 3-B: Policies of the Board of Trustees 5C

Purchasing guidelines are repeated here as an attachment to Financial Guidelines

C. Purchasing

Purchases (excluding those for major design consultants subject to the Architectural, Engineering and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Section Act) are to be made subject to the provisions of the Illinois Procurement Code using the bid amounts prescribed in the State Procurement Code, 30 ILCS 500/, as amended, using the competitive bidding principles, economical procurement practices, and the bid amounts prescribed in the Code and the Procurement Rules of the Chief Procurement Officer for Public Institutions of Higher Education. Biddable transactions will be advertised in the Higher Education Procurement Bulletin and will be awarded on the basis of competitive selection. When deemed to be in the best interest of the University, it will be SIU's practice to buy on a competitive basis for transactions that are less than the State-required bid amount. (11/11/99, 04/14/11, 7/18/19

1. Contracts -- General

The University Purchasing Directors of Southern Illinois University are authorized to rent from others, as necessity warrants, properties that in their opinion will help to satisfy the requirements of the administrative, educational, and auxiliary operations of the University. The University Purchasing Directors may negotiate lease contracts in which the University is the lessee subject to approval by the President prior to final execution of the document. The University Purchasing Directors may negotiate leases of University properties to others and give notice to vacate subject to approval by the President. (3/13/03, 04/14/11)

2. Approval - Fixed Improvement Projects

See 6 Policies of the Board B,1 (7/18/19)

3. Requisitions-Purchasing of Goods and Services, Approval and Reporting Requirements

1. Policy Statement -- General: The Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University has delegated to each University Purchasing Director, through appropriate administrative channels, the authority to purchase goods and services. All purchases are made in accordance with the Procurement Rules of the Chief Procurement Officer of Public Institutions of Higher Education, as approved by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, and filed with the Secretary of State.  (04/14/11)
2. Approval Required: Approval is required by the Board for all purchasing contracts involving the commitment of $1,000,000 or more. This requirement also includes purchases requesting multiple deliveries over a period of time. Additional approval of a supplemental requisition will be required if the amount of the supplement is in excess of 10% of the amount originally approved. (3/13/03, 12/08/11, 7/18/19)
3. Authorization by the Board of Trustees is not required:
   1. for requisitions involving a commitment of less than $1,000,000, provided that the President's approval is obtained for commitments of $500,000 or more; (12/08/11, 7/18/19)
   2. for requisitions involving expenditures of a routine nature necessary for normal and usual operation of the University, where there is only one source of supply or in actual practice no price selection is possible; such instances include, but are not limited to
      1. postal charges purchased from the Postmaster and locked in the postage meter machine;
      2. postage stamps, post cards, and bulk mailing;
      3. utilities (electrical energy, city water, and sewage charges, natural gas, and telephone charges); (3/13/03)
      4. freight, express, and interstate moving expenses;
      5. annual renewals for rental of various physical facilities;
      6. annual renewal insurance premiums in years subsequent to the year in which the original insurance was contracted.
      7. subscriptions to journals and periodicals;
      8. books and bound periodicals;
      9. professional and technical services;
      10. credit card encumbrances for usual and customary automotive service station charges. Repair work other than the minor or emergency type must have previous approval of Transportation Service.
      11. annual rental of equipment in years subsequent to the year in which the original requisition was approved for installation, such as data processing equipment, photo- static copiers, accounting machines, and similar items;
      12. annual maintenance contracts provided by a manufacturer or its agent for the equipment made by them. (3/13/03)
      13. payments for items from specific single-item appropriations, such as CDB lease rental payment, retirement contributions, and fire protection, but excluding capital items;
      14. in emergencies involving public health, public safety, or where immediate expenditure is necessary for repairs to University property in order to protect against further loss of or damage to University property, to prevent or minimize serious disruption in University services, or to insure the integrity of University records;
      15. where the goods or services are procured from another governmental agency;
      16. purchases of and contracts for office equipment and associated supplies when such contracts provide for prices that are equal to or lower than Federal General Services Administration contracts and when such contracts or pricing result in economical advantage to the University;
      17. purchases of major design consultants subject to the Architectural, Engineering and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Selection Act, 30 ILCS 535/, as amended. (7/18/19)
   3. for requisitions involving commodities and stock equipment for internal distribution through normal procedures of established storeroom and service units and resale necessary for normal and usual operation of the University, where there are various sources of supply. This category will include, but is not limited to, commodities and stock equipment for the following operations:
      
      
      1. Food Services
      2. Pharmacy
      3. Student Center Bookstore

In the case of purchases which fall within the above-mentioned exceptions, the approval of the Board of Trustees is not required, but the appropriate internal approvals are required.  (2/12/09, 12/08/11)

The various offices and departments of the University shall communicate their requirements for commitments to the appropriate office by means of a requisition. When properly approved, the document constitutes authority for making commitments according to the procedures described in these regulations.

d. Monthly Reporting Procedure

1. The Purchasing Offices of SIUC and SIUE shall prepare an information report monthly, summarizing all purchase orders and contracts against University funds for the period and shall submit such reports to the President and the Board of Trustees.
2. The monthly reports to the President and the Board of Trustees shall also include those contracts and subcontracts with grantors deemed exempt from the Illinois Procurement Code, 30 ILCS 500/1-10(b)(2). (04/14/11)
3. The report of Southern Illinois University Carbondale shall consist of two parts: one for SIUC excluding the School of Medicine and one for the School of Medicine. The Office of the President, the Office of the Board of Trustees and University-wide Services transactions will be included in the campus section where the transaction occurred. (3/13/03)
4. Each report shall be divided into three sections:
   
   
   1. a section on all purchase orders and contracts less than the bid limit which shows the total number of orders with an aggregate dollar total; (7/18/19)
       
   2. a section on all  "purchase orders and contracts" from the bid limit to $999,999 containing information on order number, type of funds, vendor, brief description and amount. (3/13/03, 7/18/19)
       
   3. a section on all orders purchase orders and contracts of $1,000,000 or more containing information on order number, type of funds, brief description, amount, a list of bidders with amount of their bids, the number of vendors invited to bid and declining, information on Executive Committee or President's approval, and the basis of award if other than low bid meeting specifications. (3/13/03, 7/18/19)

e. Authorization of purchases by Illinois Public Higher Education Consortium (IPHEC) on behalf of the Board of Trustees of SIU is approved as follows:

1. IPHEC is authorized, as agent and on behalf of the Board, to prepare specifications, advertise, receive, open, tabulate and evaluate competitive bids for such commodities, equipment, and services as may from time to time be designated by the University Purchasing Directors of Southern Illinois University. In all such activities, IPHEC shall identify the Board of Trustees as its principal.  (04/14/11)
2. IPHEC shall report to the Board all of IPHEC's activities as such agent, its evaluation of the bids received, and its recommendations for award of contracts. Bids shall be accepted or rejected and contracts shall be awarded by and in the name of the Board of Trustees in accordance with procedures heretofore or hereafter established by the Board.
3. All advertising, receiving, opening, recording, and tabulating of bids by IPHEC and the award of any contract shall be in accordance with the Procurement Rules of the Chief Procurement Officer of Public Institutions of Higher Education and in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Illinois.

f.Guidelines for Procurements Exempt from the Procurement Rules of the Chief Procurement Officer of Public Institutions of Higher Education.

Occasionally it is convenient or necessary to vend or lease a privilege or property to the larger community. Examples include the food service franchise within a student union, concessions or broadcasting rights for sports or entertainment events, automatic vending services, and leases of property for uses compatible with the mission of the Board. Sales of a privilege or property do not involve the expenditure of University funds. Nevertheless, such sales do represent the bartering of a University asset in return for cash, services or goods, and most of the same procurement principles and standards should be applied.  (12/08/11)

1. Principles
   1. The opportunity to submit a bid should be offered to any qualified supplier. Minor transactions may be offered on the basis of telephone bids or communicated in electronically transmitted form. When in the best interest of the University, transactions over the legal bid limit should be subject to formal competitive selection procedures. (3/13/03)
   2. The structure of the competitive selection process must be such as to assure bidders that the award was based on objective judgment of known criteria applied to a defined set of facts. It is not sufficient that the award is subjectively impartial; it must also be perceived as impartial. The President will promulgate Guidelines to ensure that such privileges are awarded competitively and impartially. (3/13/03)
2. Standards
   
   Use of the following standards will aid in producing the perception that privileges are awarded competitively and impartially.
   
   
   1. Bid specifications should set forth clearly the extent of services or quality of goods to be provided and the form and time of payment of any cash.
   2. Bid specifications should state clearly the criterion or criteria for award, and no award shall be made which is materially influenced by any other factor.
   3. When technical competence as opposed to unique artistic or professional talent is all that is necessary to performance, a minimum standard of competence shall be clearly described and required as a condition or qualification for consideration of a bidder's proposal. To the extent fiscal stability of the supplier bears upon the performance expected, a minimum prerequisite should also be used. The capacity to furnish a performance bond will usually satisfy the latter concern. The important concern is to avoid subjective comparisons of technical or fiscal ability as a criterion for award whenever such comparisons can be avoided.
   4. Consultants should be used as necessary to achieve the clarity and quantifiability required by the preceding principles, to the end that awards may be on demonstrably objective bases so far as is possible. Where subjective judgments cannot be avoided they should be made on the basis of recommendations of disinterested experts on the subject.
   5. All submittals by bidders shall be received at a specified location via electronic transmission or in sealed packages or envelopes clearly labeled as a bid on a particular proposed transaction, and publicly opened (except proposals), read or described or otherwise made public. Only materials so received shall be considered in making an award. No material omission, pertinent to a criterion for award, may be waived, unless determined by the University Purchasing Director to be in the best interest of the University. No other communication by a bidder on the subject of the bid shall be received or considered if known, except requests for clarification of specifications prior to the bid opening; response to such requests may only be made by an amendment to specifications distributed to all potential bidders or in mandatory pre-bid meeting where all bidders must be present. Further clarification or documentation or other proof of representations in bid documents in hand are the only communications which may be received from a bidder after the bid opening. (3/13/03, 04/14/11)
3. Procedures
    
   1. The office desiring to lease or lease purchase tangible personal property or vend a privilege or property of the University in return for cash, services, or goods shall utilize the same procedure as is mandated for procurement from University funds. A Requisition describing the functions required or stating the privilege or asset to be vended and the desired return shall be approved in the usual manner and submitted to the University Purchasing Director.
   2. The dollar limit above which Board of Trustees approval of a lease or lease purchase of tangible personal property is required is determined by the cost over the whole prospective period of a lease or renewals provided for therein, and approval shall be obtained before making any promise of payment or commitment of funds whatsoever.
   3. The University Purchasing Director will handle a tangible personal property lease or lease purchase or the procurement of the services or goods in the same manner as other procurements so far as possible.
   4. The Procurement Rules of the Chief Procurement Officer of Public Institutions of Higher Education will govern either directly, by inversion, or by analogy, to the extent feasible.

       (9/14/00, 04/14/11)

g. Vendor Suspension or Debarment

The Board authorizes the University Purchasing Directors to petition the State Purchasing Officer to suspend or the Chief Procurement Officer to debar a vendor from submitting future bids for violation of the Procurement Code and/or the Rules of the Chief Procurement Officer of Public Institutions of Higher Education. (12/08/11)

h. Procurement of Search Firm Services

The services of an external hiring search firm shall be retained by the University only as specified in this policy.  A search firm may be retained to assist the Board of Trustees in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of a President or Chancellor.  For all other positions, the Board of Trustees authorizes the President to retain an external hiring search firm to assist in the recruitment, selection, and hiring when a justifiable need is established and approved by the President based on any of the following qualifying criteria.

1.  The position to be filled is of such a specialized nature or scope that use of an external search firm provides a more cost effective use of University resources.            
2.  The position to be filled requires a level of professional search expertise exceeding that available internally to the University.            
3.  The position to be filled is of such a critical nature or scope that it must be filled immediately, time being of the essence.            
4.  The diversity of the applicant pool will be significantly enhanced by services provided by an external hiring search firm.  (11/08/12)