Mission Statement

The Mission of the Purchasing Department is to assist the university by providing the community with “best procurement practices” guidelines; maintaining University procurement systems, and communicating the purchasing policies and procedures of the University.  Operating within the guidelines described in this document, authorized department representatives may initiate purchases with funds available in their approved budgets.

General Purchasing Policy

The purchasing policy involves the procurement of goods and services that meet community needs at the lowest possible cost consistent with the quality needed for the proper operation of the various departments.  In general, purchases should be handled in a manner that creates the greatest ultimate value per dollar expended.

Budget officers are responsible to insure that all purchases incurred by their department are made in accordance with the University’s purchasing policies and practices. Therefore, all budget officers and other departmental staff involved in purchasing should be familiar with the guidelines as set forth in this policy.

The following is a summary of the Purchasing Department guidelines:

• Conduct all purchasing in accordance with University policy as outlined in this guide.
• Stimulate competitive bidding and provide interested vendors with an opportunity to offer their products to the University.
• Strive to maintain strong and enduring relationships with vendors of proven ability and desire to meet our needs. To accomplish this, our purchasing activities will be conducted so that vendors will value our business and make every effort to furnish our requirements on the basis of quality, service and price.
• Employees must not become obligated to any supplier.  No member of the staff of the Purchasing Department or University employee shall receive any benefit or profit from any contract or purchase made by the University.
• The Purchasing Department shall not knowingly issue a purchase order when there is evidence of a conflict of interest.
• There must be funds available in the departmental budget before considering any purchase.
• Employees are not allowed to make purchases with University funds for personal use.