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  • Open Comment Period: November 19 - December 17, 2020

    Nov 19, 2020 8:30 am by CFO BUSINESS AND FINANCE POLICY OFFICE

    The Office of the Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller announces an open comment period (beginning 11/19/20 and closing 12/10/20) to present updates and additions to policies and procedures relating to contracts and the contracting process. The new policy section is available for review at the following link: Section 19 Contracts. 

    Highlights of the policy and procedural changes include:

    • The threshold for certain Standard Contract Templates (pre-approved and unaltered) that unit heads are permitted to approve, and sign is increasing to less than $20,000.
    • Approval thresholds for contracts on a Contract Approval/Routing Form (CARF) or electronic approval in Illinois Contract System (iCS) is increasing.
      • $100,000 - dean or director of the unit, or their delegate.
      • $200,000 - university or System Offices chancellor/provost/vice president or vice chancellor/vice-provost/assistant vice president, or their delegate.
    • Approval authority for contracts on a Contract Approval/Routing Form (CARF) or electronic approval in Illinois Contract System (iCS) may now be delegated. If the approval authority is delegated, the unit must maintain documentation of such delegation.
    • The involvement of University Counsel for specific contracts is clarified.
    • Policies and procedures relating to all aspects of contracts and the contracting process have been rewritten and reorganized to improve comprehension.
    • The policy reaffirms that a university or the System Offices may reduce the dollar thresholds for which further levels of approval are required. They may also restrict the ability to delegate contract approval authority. Units should follow reduced approval thresholds and/or restricted delegation of approval, if modified by their university.

    This new policy section includes content that is currently located in Section 1 Introduction to Business and Financial Functions at the University of Illinois of the Business and Financial Policies and Procedures Manual. As part of this update and improvement effort, several subsections will be modified or decommissioned, and the content moved to the new Section 19 Contracts.

     

    We appreciate your review and feedback on this updated policy.

    To review the policy, download the PDF document Section 19 Contracts.

    To provide feedback, please use the "Add Comment" link in the bottom right-hand corner of this webpage below. On the next screen, choose the "Sign in with my NetID" option and log in with your university credentials and then provide your comments on the Feedback Board. Another way to submit comments or feedback without posting to the Feedback Board would be to simply email obfspolicies@uillinois.edu. Thank you for your efforts!

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    clawson@illinois.edu Dec 12, 2020 2:45 pm

    Many units have shared business service centers that handle all the business aspects for all or some units, and all business including contracts is handled there, not in the units.   AHS currently approves all contracts at the college level, and has since the introduction of iCS.  The units do review, but the college is charged with the final review and  negotiation of terms and conditions. 

    jbyrd@illinois.edu Dec 9, 2020 4:54 pm

    Allowing department heads or delegates to sign standard template contracts up to $20K will certainly help relieve some administrative burden and create efficiencies --this is great.  It will also be quite helpful for department heads to be able to further delegate signature authority, but some further clarification of this would be appreciated.  Policy indicates the unit must maintain documentation of delegation.  Can there be some guideline included to suggest a format for documenting such delegation?  Can it be simply stated in an email, our should it be more formal?  Should it include the department head's verifiable signature?  Are there limited roles that signature authority can be delegated to, or can it be given to anyone with any classification within the department?  The policy seems vague and unrestricted, but section 9 of the BOT General Rules does state that "delegation does not relieve the administrative officer of responsibility for what is done there under".  That considered it does charge the department head with responsibility of ensuring the delegate is advised, trained, and/or adequately knowledgable to assume the responsibilty on his/her behalf.

    adeany@illinois.edu Dec 9, 2020 8:49 am

    It is not clear as to who can be delegated signature authority. I understand that it would be acceptable to have a Business Manager or Assistant Director/Head approve such contracts, but what about those employees at lower levels (Office Manager, Administrative Aide, etc.)? Is this up to Unit Head to decide if he/she feels comfortable with such employee approving said contracts?

    sahall@uic.edu Nov 24, 2020 5:42 pm

    This change in policy will be very beneficial for faculty research, which sometimes requires engaging in unique contracts for specific archival, translation, subvention, consultation, editorial and other services that do not exceed the new amount but by their nature are not appropriate to a competitive bidding situation as they are not commercial services on a commercial marketplace nor are they "regular" university business of the kind that procurement rules usually cover. This increase in amount will no doubt expedite collaboration and productivity, which is good for the university as a research-generating entity.