During the course of a year, there will be many instances when it will be necessary to make purchases for your department/program.

The Purchasing Department pursuant to delegation by the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor has the sole authority and responsibility for the purchase and selection of qualified suppliers for the supplies, materials, software, furniture, equipment, printing and services needed by College departments/programs.

The Purchasing Department is empowered to: Purchase or contract for the supplies, materials, equipment, printing and services needed by College departments; develop and prescribe standard specifications; enforce compliance with those specifications. The Purchasing department also makes recommendations for awards of College purchases and regulates the making of purchase contracts by College Campuses and Departments.

Non-authorized personnel who sign or execute purchase contracts, i.e. catering, credit contract, contracts for promotional services, financially committing the College assume personal liability. Personnel who sign or execute purchase contracts/agreements will be issued a “Purchasing Violation Form” see Exhibit “D.”

The Purchasing Department maintains various catalogs covering many different commodities to assist the user departments in choosing what is needed. If the Purchasing Department doesn't have a needed catalog, they will assist in getting them.

Determine department/program needs and verify budget availability along with campus or department head approval.

System will assign requisition a number, which requestor should record for reference. After the purchase requisition has been properly filled out and approved by campus or department head it will be forwarded to the budget department for approval. The Budget Department will approve requisition. If requisition is not approved by Budget within (3) three working days requestor should check Banner Messages field for any explanation.

Once budget department has approved requisition the purchasing department will pull requisition(s) for processing.

The Chief Operations Officer of Administration and Finance will assign requisitions to buyers whereby appropriate action is taken to process the requisition and to get the goods or services delivered. The timeline for processing requisitions is detailed on Exhibit “C”, which reflects the required approvals and process for items at various levels of expenses.

The bidding process for various levels of expenses can be time intense, therefore it is important to submit your requisitions at least 3-4 weeks before the goods or services are required. Advance planning is essential to insure that user departments receive needed services and goods at the time required.