Categorizing University Contracts

Types of University Contracts

The Contracts Office within the Distribution Services Department is primarily dedicated to working with vendor service agreements, or procurement contracts. The University, however, enters into a number of different types of contracts aside from procurement contracts. Below is a sample list of the various contracts utilized by the University. For contact information and further details regarding these additional agreements, see Non-Procurement Contracts.

• Sponsored Research Contracts and Sponsored Projects
• Interagency Cooperation Agreements (IAC) interlocal agreements
• Athletic-Specific, or Student-Specific Contracts (non-procurement in nature)
• Museum and Exhibit Agreements
• Affiliation Agreements and International Program Agreements
• University-Provided Services
• Procurement Contracts; Vendor Services
• Services Provided by Individuals (non-business entities)

Procurement Contracts Defined

Generally Defined:

Procurement contracts are defined in general terms as formal agreements with a business entity to secure specific goods and/or services that are subject to compliance with procurement policies (e.g. technology, hotels & resorts, marketing, maintenance services, temporary personnel, leases, and auxiliary contracts such as bookstore services, vending machines, or food service agreements).

Defining competitive requirements:

It is important to note that competitive purchasing requirements are not necessarily dictated by a vendor payment. In fact, many procurement contracts do not include a University payment to a vendor. Extended Education or Auxiliary contracts, for instance, actually involve a vendor payment to UTSA. Competitive requirements, rather, can be dictated by statutory provisions, UT System polices, Best Value Procedures, and appropriate business relations (multiple vendors may request and/or deserve an opportunity). In defining whether a contract is subject to competitive procurement requirements, one needs to ask whether procurement competition could ever reasonably be viewed as applicable.

NOTE: If the service requires a sole source justification, then the goods and/or services probably fall within the definition of a procurement contract. If the non-existence of purchasing competition must be justified, then it follows that the contract was subject to compliance with purchasing policies.