Procurement Contracts Office

Types of Contracts & Specific Requirements

Procurement-Related Contracts

Although University departments maintain the authority to place orders utilizing the small purchase order system, this same authority does not exist when a formal contract is involved. Therefore, all procurement contracts, regardless of monetary value, should be routed to the Purchasing Office at the earliest possible stages of development. See Routing and Submission for reference, the following is a partial list of example procurement contracts. This is far from a complete list and only represents some of the more common procurement contracts.

Auxiliary Contracts

Auxiliary Agreements are contracted services whereby the University affords a vendor the right to provide on-campus services in exchange for royalty commissions or other consideration. A traditional payment process is typically not a primary factor in an auxiliary contract. Examples of Auxiliary Contracts include bookstore operations, vending machines, or food services. Most Auxiliary Agreements are considered a special procedure contracts, and must be routed to The UT System Office of General Counsel for review regardless of value.

Consultant Agreements

Consultant Agreements are considered Special Procedure contractsand must comply with additional review and approval requirements as detailed in UT System Business Procedure Memorandum 43. The State’s definition of a Consulting Service is as follows: “the service of studying or advising a state agency under a contract that does not involve the traditional relationship of employer and employee; services which include the study and advice with respect to some aspect of an agency’s operations or management. If you believe that the services you wish to procure meet the State’s definition, please contact one of the following individuals for guidance:

Director of Purchasing and Distribution Services at 210-458-4975
Purchasing Manager at 210-458-4060
Contracts Manager at 210-458-4067

Environmental, Health & Safety Agreements

These agreements include services such as campus-wide recycling, soil and air quality testing, asbestos abatement, disaster recovery services, and chemical disposal contracts. All agreements related to heath and/or safety issues are considered special procedure contracts, and must be routed to The UT System Office of General Counsel for review regardless of value.

Extended Education Agreements

The Office of Extended Education maintains various contractual relationships to provide employees, students, and the general public with the opportunity to receive educational benefits from non-credit courses. Although these courses will not provide official university credit, many do offer certifications in a specific area of expertise. Much like Auxiliary Contracts, most Extended Education Agreements affords the vendor a right to provide training services in exchange for royalty commissions or other consideration paid to the University. A typical payment process is generally not a primary factor in an Extended Education contract. Because many Extended Education Contracts have very specific State and System requirements, the Contracts Office may request a final approval of these agreements from the University’s Legal Affairs Office.

Hotel and Resort Agreements

When evaluating hotels and/or resorts, the vendor’s ability to conform with State and System contractual laws and requirements must always be considered. For reasons of efficiency and fairness to the vendor, the UT-System Standard Hotel Agreement should always be provided to any potential hotel at the earliest possible stage of development. Many hotels have previously contracted with UTSA and are knowledgeable of UTSA’s terms, conditions, and other contractual requirements. A partial list of some of these hotels include, but are not limited to, Westin La Cantera, Radisson, Marriot Rivercenter, Adam's Mark/Crown Plaza, Hilton, and the Hyatt Regency. For a full listing of hotels previously utilized by UTSA, contact the Distribution Services Contract Office at 458-4067.

Human Resource Agreements

Human resource agreements include such projects as the provision of professional counseling and licensed clinical assistance, temporary personnel agreements, and management technology. Because many Human Resource contracts can relate to very specific State and System requirements, the Contracts Office will usually request a final approval of these agreements from the University’s Office of Legal Affairs.

Marketing and Advertising Agreements

The ability for any organization to use the University logos, marks, or name is very limited and requires special review and consideration. Many of these agreements are “no-charge” agreements in which a vendor provides UTSA with consideration in exchange for advertising rights or marketing acknowledgements. Although some of these proposals may look very enticing, the University’s status as a government agency restricts UTSA from engaging in any practice that could be considered advertising or solicitation for a particular vendor.

Renovation, Construction, and Architect/Engineering Agreements

All requests for physical and structural changes, including Architectural and Engineering requests, must be routed through the Facilities Services Department via a Facilities' Work Order. If it is deemed necessary to contract out for these services, Facilities Services will issue a purchase request to the Purchasing Office. Purchasing will then follow proper competitive procurement procedures as well as the regulations outlined by the UT System Office of General Counsel.

SpaceLeases

All Space Leases with either UTSA as the lessee (UT is leasing space from an organization) or UTSA as lessor, requires the prior approval of the Director of Business Operations DT. For further information, contact Powell Trotti at 458-2716.

Special Procedure Contracts

UT System Regulations requires the Office of General Counsel to review and approve certain “Special Procedure contracts” regardless of the contract’s value.

Technology Procurements, Software and/or Database Licenses

Any project involving software/database licenses in which it can be reasonably assumed a formal agreement may be necessary, regardless of the amount, should be routed to the Purchasing Office at the earliest possible stages of development. Note that additional approvals may also be required from the Office of Information Technology. When initiating any technology project, departments should always ensure that the requested technology product or service will be compatible with UTSA’s existing network. For further information, contact the Office of Information Technology at 458-4555.

Additional Procurement Contracts

Examples of other procurement-type contracts include, but are definitely not limited to, catering, athletic events (e.g. golf tournaments), advertising and promotional services, and faculty and staff training.

Non-Procurement Contracts

The following are some examples of contracts that do not require involvement by Purchasing & Distribution Services. This is not a complete list and is provided as reference only. For further information, contact (the Office of the Associate Vice President for Administration, or the Distribution Services Contracts Office. All non-procurement contracts require preliminary approval by your Chair and Dean before routing for review and processing.

Affiliation and Program Agreements – Domestic and International

Agreements in which the University affiliates with another entity for the sole purpose of enhancing academic pursuits are typically referred to as “affiliation agreements.” These agreements, along with Program Agreements, both Domestic and International have specific routing requirements. Contact your Dean’s office for direction. If an affiliation agreement is research-related, it may also include involvement from the Office of Research Development.

Athletic-Specific Contracts

Agreements that are specific to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and are non-procurement in nature should be routed to the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs for handling. Such agreements are considered to be athletic-specific if they consist of services that would never be utilized by any other campus departments (e.g. Athletic trade-outs, sponsorships agreements, game contracts). Athletic agreements that are procurement-related, may be subject to procurement regulations, and may require the involvement of the Purchasing Office.

Authorization for Services Agreements (ASAs)

The Authorization for Services Agreements have been phased out as of April 2007.

Interagency Cooperation Agreements (IAC) and Inter-local Agreements

IACs and Inter local Agreements should be routed to the Office of the Vice President for Administration for processing. The latest version of the IAC format (OGC-SC84) can be downloaded from the OGC web site at http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/contract/interagency.htm. IACs are agreements with other State agencies, Inter local Agreements are agreements with city or county governing bodies or independent school districts. Most services provided by or to such local governmental entities can be handled using the standard Inter local Agreement.

Services Provided by Independent Contractors ( non-business entities)

The Services Agreement is for services provided by Independent Contractors. Independent Contractor determination is made by the Office of the Associate Vice President for Administration.
The Agreement should be routed according to the routing requirements on file at Public Folders –UTSA forms – Associate VP Administration folder.
If the Agreement exceeds the competitive limit of $5000, an electronic purchase request (PB4) for the services should be sent to the Purchasing Office. Once the PB4 is received in the Purchasing Office, the most appropriate contracting method and/or document will be determined. See Template Documents.

University-Provided Services

For information on agreements in which the University is being paid to provide services, contact the Associate V.P. for Administration. Services provided by UTSA service centers to third parties will eventually have template agreements.