Purchase obligations initiated by the university must have written administrative approval before the obligation is paid. Approval responsibilities are assigned to various administrators, depending on the dollar value of the obligation.

A purchase obligation is defined as a single purchase, an open order for multiple purchases from the same vendor, a multi-year purchase contract, or a lease. When the purchase involves a multi-year obligation, the cumulative amount for all years determines the level of approval required.

University approved policies require the signature of the Director of Procurement Services or his/her designee on all Purchase Orders generated by the Procurement Services department. The Director has delegated the authority to sign Purchase Orders up to $5,000 to the assigned Buyer. Purchase Orders of $5,000 or more require the Director’s signature in addition to that of the assigned Buyer.

Obligations, or orders, from $25,000 up to $250,000 must also be approved by the President of the University or his/her designee. Currently that authority is vested in the Executive Vice President, Business and Finance, Chief of Operations. Reviews and approvals are solicited weekly, depending upon availability of authorized staff and other scheduled activities.

Buyers must submit items requiring Presidential approval by Tuesday afternoon each week. These approval requests are then reviewed, edited, and forwarded as a group to the Associate Vice President, Administration and Human Resources for editing and approval submission. Notification of approvals granted is normally received by the Director of Procurement Services by Monday or Tuesday of the following week.

Obligations of $250,000 or more must be approved by the full Board of Trustees. As the Board meets only four to five times yearly, this process requires a much longer lead-time to allow for the necessary steps in the process, including initial review and editing, agenda preparation, presentation and action by the Finance, Facilities & Operations Committee of the Board at their regularly scheduled meetings, and finally, ratification by the full Board at their regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meetings. Average total lead-time for the complete approval process, when required, can be from six to eight weeks, or longer.