Procurement Services

Welcome to Procurement Services   The policies and procedures on these pages define how we function within our changing campus environment and provide the rules that govern our business conduct as agents of the College when obtaining goods and services.

The Way We Work...
A Guide to Accepted Business Practices at Gettysburg College

Overview of Environment
It is the policy of Gettysburg College that the acquisition of required goods and services may be made by departments to which institutional funds are allocated under the terms and conditions described within this guide. Each department is required to comply with the policies and procedures developed by the College which protect the College against legal liability, provide for receipt of goods and services in a timely and organized manner, supply accepted standards of quality and service, properly hold vendors accountable for their goods and services, and include essential accountability of institutional expenditures.

Section I - Authorization and Approval Guidelines

A. Purpose
1. To define which individuals may obligate the college to an indebtedness for any goods or services.

B. General Policy Statement
1. Acquisitions of goods and services must be approved in writing by a duly authorized person, as follows: 
                                                            *****
<$15,000, any employee authorized in writing by a Department Director
<$75,000, Divisional Vice President OR Department Director 
>$75,000, Divisional Vice President AND one of the following: President or Vice-President for Finance & Administration 
                                                            *****

2. All agents of the College are responsible for compliance with College policies and procedures as described herein.
3. Duly authorized persons, as defined above, are the stewards of departmental funds and are required to monitor departmental spending and review available budget reporting.
4. College purchasing cardholders are authorized to obligate the College to the extent of their single  transaction limit.

C. Delegation of Authority
1. A Division Head may delegate his or her authority, on a temporary basis, to another senior member of their division, to accommodate absences from campus, vacations, etc.
2. Written notice of such delegation must be sent to the Vice-President for Finance & Administration prior to leaving campus.

D. Unauthorized Purchases
1. No individual except as indicated above, has the authority to obligate Gettysburg College in any way for any indebtedness. Any other commitments are considered as unauthorized and the individual may encounter a personal obligation to the supplier or provider

Section II - Purchasing and Contracting Guidelines

A. Purpose
1. To define the means by which the College purchases goods and contracts for services and makes payment as agreed.
2. To ensure that the College procures its requirements under the most advantageous terms.

B. General Policy Statement
1. The authority to enter into any purchase or service agreement is vested with certain employees defined in Section I who act as authorized agents of the College.
2. Agents must determine the most appropriate procurement tool that adheres to College policy for the planned acquisition.
3. Purchase Orders are the preferred instrument for the acquisition of tangible goods.
4. Any contract having a value greater than $5000 which is presented to an authorized agent of the College for signature by an outside provider must be reviewed and approved by Finance & Administration before execution.
5. Appropriate procurement or payment procedures may not be avoided or bypassed by use of the College's Purchasing Card.

C. Process
1. Departments may make decisions concerning product and vendor selection subject to campus contracts or policies and with consideration for the business practices below:
     a) Competitive bidding is strongly recommended for acquisitions expected to exceed $5000 to maximize the value of each dollar spent unless sole source is justified. Comparative pricing is recommended for acquisitions not exceeding $5000.
      b) Standing and/or blanket orders, and approved contracts performed over a period of time, do not require independent action for each fulfillment unless required by the governing contract.
      c) Departments must be mindful that despite their independent procurement authority, the  acquisition of certain goods and services has been predetermined by College policy or College contract for the purpose of consistency, expediency, logistics, service, quality, and/or price. Departments should place orders through the College's preferred providers.
      d) Gettysburg College is the preferred provider of some services purchased by departments such as:
            1) Transportation services
            2) Catering and coffee services
            3) Mail services
            4) Printing services
      e) Some departments are preferred providers (or actually perform the buying function) for the  campus.
            1) Information Technology has sole responsibility for the acquisition of all computing requirements for academic and administrative department
            2) Facilities Services has sole responsibility for the acquisition of all services and materials for all of the College's buildings and grounds.
            3) Transportation Services has sole responsibility for the acquisition of all College vehicles.
            4)  Media Services has sole responsibility for the acquisition and use of media equipment of any kind.
            5) IKON has sole responsibility for the acquisition and use of copier equipment and copy and printer paper.
      f) Departments should adhere to the terms and conditions of existing College agreements and should not place orders for the following goods or services independently:
            *Overnight mail
            *Ground transportation
            *Freight by common carrier
            *Equipment rentals
            *Uniforms 
            *Bottled water
            *Office supply products 
            *Furniture
            *Toner cartridges
            *Banners
            *Industrial gases
            *Temporary employment services
            *Charter bus services

D. Purchase Order
1. A Purchase Order is the recognized, business-to-business, standard instrument used to procure goods. It defines the agreement between the buyer and the seller. Once accepted by both parties, it is a binding contract. It commits buyers to accept and pay for the described goods and the supplier to deliver them as ordered.
2. Departmental Purchase Orders and College Purchase Orders are distinguishable only by dollar thresholds and procedures as explained in the When To Use paragraph below.
3. The terms and conditions appearing on the Purchase Order forms used by the College are beneficial to and protective of the College. For this reason, the Purchase Order is an important procurement tool.

When to Use

• For all tangible goods, not purchased for resale or consumption (i.e. utilities,   food), in excess of $500. The Uniform Commercial Code requires that, to be enforceable, a contract for the sale of goods having a value greater than $500, must be in writing.

• Departments may issue Departmental Purchase Orders for amounts not to exceed $5000. These instruments are the same forms as the College's Purchase Order and may not be modified or altered by departments. The Department Purchase Order downloadable template and instructions are provided herein. An institutional Purchase Order is issued for acquisitions in excess of $5000. The College Purchase Order form with its instructions is available for completion and submission as well.

When Unnecessary

• Value less than $500
• Standing order
• Campus contract
• Commodity to be ordered for a department by another department (i.e. industrial gases)
• Travel related
• Professional services

E. Contracts
1. Most of the many, independent, business transactions of the College are contractual in nature, whether written or not. A contract is an agreement between parties having four essential components:

• An offer and an acceptance
• Mutual obligation
• Competency of parties
• Legality of purpose

2. It is efficient for the College to offer our forms of agreement to other parties as these forms have been pre-approved and do not require additional review. The department obligating the College is responsible for determining the suitability of the governing instrument and/or obtaining approval required by Section II.B.4 and by Section I. B.1.
3. The College is able to reduce the complexity of our transactions by standardizing certain common forms of agreement for departmental use. These templates are described and accessible from the table below. Please bear in mind that these standard forms may not meet all business transaction requirements. Departments must have their proposed modifications prepared or reviewed by Finance & Administration when a standard agreement template must be tailored.

4. Departments must consider the relationship of a potential contractor to the College and ascertain that individuals engaged to provide services are independent contractors, and are not engaged in such a manner to suggest that they could be determined to be employees of the College. The Employment Status Checklist provides criteria which may assist in making this determination. Finance & Administration will provide guidance.
5. Certificates of Insurance are important addenda to contracts for work to be performed which creates special risk to the College. For example, Certificates of Insurance would be required for the services of software programmers and pyrotechnicians. The contractor's insurance carrier extends specific coverage to the College for the duration of the contract. Certificates of Workers Compensation Insurance may also be required. Finance & Administration will provide guidance.
Please refer to the Information Directory below to contact the most appropriate individual for contract related concerns.

6. The College is presented with many contracts for execution which have been prepared by the provider of the service. Each is service and/or product specific and, therefore, it is not efficient for the College to standardize contractual language. However, it is important that the types of contracts listed below are first reviewed by departments to ensure that they either include or exclude certain provisions, as the case may be. Checklists of important terms and conditions are provided.

7. The fully executed original of all contracts, regardless of their dollar value, must be sent to Finance and Administration for safekeeping and term/renewal management. Payment pursuant to the contract is the responsibility of the Department.

F. Receiving and Storage
1. The College's Central Receiving Services are performed in the West Building. Receiving hours are 8:00am to 12:00pm, Monday through Friday.
2. Orders for tangible goods (except contracted desktop delivery) should include directions to ship to the West Building as shown on the Departmental Purchase Order.
3. Central Receiving Services will inspect incoming freight for external damages, record receipt, deliver to ordering department, and provide temporary and longer term storage.
4. Furnishings, equipment, etc. removed from departments upon request become general surplus property of the College and will not be held in reserve for a department unless so marked upon removal.
5. Boxed records removed from departments upon request and moved to local storage areas (basements) or remote storage (Knouse Building) must be labeled for content and also with the date they may be destroyed.

G. Methods of Payment
1. College checks, the College's Purchasing Card, and electronic transfer of funds generated by the Office of Financial Services are the only means of releasing an obligation of the College.
2. Issuance of a Purchase Order or execution of an Agreement will not generate a payment within the College's financial management system and therefore, does not complete the transaction cycle of an acquisition. The cycle closes when a department submits a request for payment to the Office of Financial Services and prompt payment follows.

 Section III

Travel Guidelines for Employees, Students, Groups/Teams, and Guests of the College

A. Purpose
1. To establish uniform standards of expense for all members of the College community regardless of the source of funds.
2. To ensure that all members of the College community, traveling on College related business, are reimbursed appropriately for all allowable business expenses and that they are not unduly enriched or suffer personal financial losses as a result of such reimbursement.

B. General Policy Statement
1. When properly authorized and documented, the College will pay all reasonable travel expenses related to the performance of College business considering the business purpose, safety, comfort, and convenience of the individual/s.

C. Approval
1. Conforms with College policy regarding levels of authority.
2. The College does not provide funding for the travel and/or entertainment expenses of a spouse, a dependent, or another who accompanies a College employee on business related travel except when pre-approved by a division head.
3. Authorization by oneself for one's own advance or reimbursement is not a sound business practice.

D. Travel Arrangements and Payment Options
1. College employees with budget authority are able to affect travel plans directly with the service providers. The College does not have a central travel service at this time.
2. The least costly means of travel and lodging that meets the requirements of the trip should be reserved.
3. Allowable travel expenses for an individual/s that is/are NOT employees or students of Gettysburg College may NOT be prepaid, advanced, or directly billed to the College unless they are 100% refundable. Otherwise, these expenses are reimbursable, in arrears by submitting a Check Request/Reimbursement Form.
4. Travel advances will only be issued to employees who either do not have a College Purchasing Card or who will be traveling out of town for an extended period of time with travel plans including patronizing places that do not accept the College's Purchasing Card as a form of payment. A Travel Advance Request is required to obtain an advance of travel funds. Please note that IRS regulations require that the travel advances be fully accounted for in a timely manner. In those instances where the accounting for travel is not in compliance with IRS regulations, the College is required to treat the advanced amount as taxable income to the employee and include such amount on the employee's W-2.

E. Ground Transportation
1. Gettysburg College Transportation Services
a) Provider of transportation for employees and guests of the College to facilitate College related travel to and from area centers of transportation such as airports, and rail, bus, and subway stations.
b) Preferred provider of vehicles and/or drivers for students and employees to satisfy the logistics of regional, College related travel requirements.
c) Students or employees may request and drive a College provided vehicle for regional College related travel. ONLY the requesting and registered student or employee may operate the vehicle.
d) All transportation services, except scheduled shuttles, should be authorized by a department head.

2. Privately Owned Vehicle
a) Use of a privately owned vehicle is discouraged, particularly when the driver is transporting other passengers on College related business, because the College's insurance does not provide coverage to its students or employees while traveling in this mode. The insurance coverage existing on the vehicle prevails in the event of an accident or loss while using the vehicle for College business. Gettysburg College will not pay claims in excess of existing coverage or deductibles.
b) When a privately owned vehicle is used for local or regional travel, mileage reimbursement at the College's current rate per mile is allowed. The current mileage reimbursement rate is 55 cents per mile. (This document was updated 1/2009). College purchasing cards or College gasoline cards may not be used to fuel a privately owned vehicle.
c) Reimbursements for travel expenses while driving a privately owned vehicle may not exceed the cost of the same services if they had been provided by Gettysburg College Transportation Services.

3. Automobile Rentals
a) Rentals should be limited to situations where other means of transportation are unavailable, more costly, or impractical. The use of a rental must be justified as a business need and not as a matter of personal convenience.  It is expected that all employees read, understand, and abide by the rental agreement terms.
b) Gettysburg College and the name of the employee should appear on the rental agreement and Loss Damage Coverage, and/or Personal Accident Insurance, and/or Additional Liability Insurance should be declined. The College will not pay for these excess coverages as it maintains comprehensive, collision, and liability insurance on all vehicles rented or leased in its name.
c) Rented vehicles may be driven only by the employee signing the rental agreement.
d) Vehicles should be returned to their rental origination location to avoid drop charges.
e) Vehicles should have fuel tanks refilled to the level required by the rental company.

4. Other Ground Transportation
a) Train, bus, subway, taxi, and shuttle services are necessary from time to time. Employees are requested to seek the most appropriate alternative for their location.

F. Commercial Air Travel
1. Standard air travel accommodations with the least costly fare that realistically meets scheduling needs are required unless exceptional circumstances exist.
2. Advance planning and flexibility will result in lower fares.
3. The College will not pay any of the costs, including incremental fare increases, of a traveler's participation in frequent flier programs.

G. Lodging
1. Standard business lodging accommodations at mid-market establishments are required unless unusual circumstances exist. Regional price variances are acknowledged.
2. The guest folio bill with evidence of payment is required as the supporting documentation for lodging expense.
3. Reservations for lodging within a 100-mile radius of the College must be pre-approved by the department head.
4. All reserved rooms should be guaranteed for late arrival. Employees must be mindful of cancellation policies.

H. Meals
1. Personal meal expense, those incurred by an employee when traveling out of the local area on College business, and business meal expense, those incurred by an employee for meals taken with a colleague, student, prospect, etc., during which a business discussion takes place may be paid for with a College purchasing card or is reimbursable at actual cost. All meal expenses must be reasonable. Regional price variances are acknowledged.
2. Per diem meal allowances are permissible for student groups only. Amounts are determined by the program budget. Funds are available in advance of an event or trip.
3. If your meal will be expensed to a federally funded grant, be aware that federal regulations prohibit the purchase of alcoholic beverages with federal funds.
4. All meal expenses must be supported by original receipts and a business purpose notation provided.

I. Non-Allowable Travel Related Expenses (not an all-inclusive list but the following expenses are not specifically mentioned above)
1. Traffic fines
2. Towing charges from illegal parking
3. Additional insurance
4. Membership fees
5. Personal services in route (hair, car wash)
6. Personal items required in route (umbrella, prescription, luggage)
7. Loss of personal items
8. "No show" charges
9. Unapproved charges for upgraded travel, lodging, or rental vehicle
10. In-flight movies and/or beverages
11. Host/Hostess gifts >$25
12. Cost of care for family members, pets, houses, etc. while traveling
13. Excessive personal calls (one brief call per day is anticipated)
14. Laundry services
15. Valet services
16. Room service >$25
17. Fees for exercise rooms
18. In-room movies and/or games
19. Non-business related internet services
20. Optional conference activities not included in conference fee (golf, cruise)

End