Contracts & Procurement

Contracts & Procurement is responsible for the purchase of commodities, issuance of contracts and agreements for construction and services, including the development of policies and procedures. This section is guided by the CSU Contracts and Procurement Policy. 

• 2022-23 CPOA Impact Report
• 2021-22 CPOA Impact Report
• 2020-21 CPOA Impact Report
• 2019-20 CPOA Impact Report
• 2018-19 CPOA Impact Report 

How to Purchase

Purchasing goods and services may be accomplished in several ways. The department and/or requestor are not permitted to act on any purchase type requiring a requisition until Procurement has dispatched the purchase order notification. Any contract or agreement must be reviewed and signed by Contracts & Procurement, as they have been delegated the authority to sign on behalf of the Trustees and the University. Contracts and Procurement is responsible for reviewing all documents against our CSU General Provisions. 

The state of California requires the university to spend a minimum of 25% of our business with Certified Small Business (SB) suppliers and a minimum of 3% with Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) suppliers. When you are making purchases on the procurement card please solicit California Certified SB and/or DVBE companies whenever possible. You may access the DGS Supplier Search in order to find existing suppliers within the Department of General Services.

Circumventing the procurement policy requires a written justification with approval from your administrator and VP as to why the Procurement process was circumvented.

Option 1. Procurement Card (ProCard) 

The CSU requires low-value purchase transactions be processed in the most effective and efficient manner for the purposes of reducing the costs. Low-value purchases are categorized as commodities less than $5,000, and off-campus services less than $1,000, and should be facilitated through the use of procurement credit cards ("ProCards"). For these low-value procurements, little or no value can be added by processing the transaction through standard procurement procedures. ProCard purchases are almost always preferred over a personal reimbursement. For common commodities please utilize the CSUBUY Shopping portal.

Requirements for ProCard

1. ProCard Application
2. Commodities less than $5,000
3. Off-campus services less than $1,000
4. Approved on campus service providers by the following vendors (no requisition or contract required):
   1. Western Business Products
   2. Shred Aware
   3. Eureka Oxygen
   4. Sequoia Gas Company

Links 

• ProCard Guidelines
• CSUBUY Shopping

Option 2. Commodity & Service Requisition to Purchase Order

Requisitions are entered by department end users and are automatically routed to the Procurement team for Purchase Order (PO) issuance. A PO should be used when a commodity is over $5,000, an off-campus service is over $1,000, or for all on campus services. Anytime there is an associated contract, please email the contract to procure@humboldt.edu for review.

Requirements for Commodities and Services

• Requisition for a Purchase Order (PO)
• Bid thresholds for Goods, and Services

Links

• Payee Data Record Form Std. 204 (new vendor/ update status).
• Facility Management
  • Furniture & Fixture
• Ergonomic Equipment
• For IT purchases (computers, software, equipment, etc.): see the ITAR Procurement Approval Request
• For Independent Contractors: Independent Contractor Review Process

If the project involves construction (Public Works), additional documents will be required. Consult with Procurement.

Option 3. Direct Pay – Least Preferred Option

Direct Pay expenditures are payments made against a department's account without the establishment of a Purchase Order, or if the vendor will not accept a ProCard.

Requirements for Direct Pay

1. Should only be used on low-value procurements where the vendor does not accept ProCards
2. Services over $5,000 should be on a PO – no Direct Pay form is necessary with the invoice
3. A Payee Data Record Form Std. 204 form must be collected
4. Itemized backup documentation must be included
5. A single PDF including the Direct Pay form (one single PDF per email (Max 5MB)) should be emailed to Humboldt.invoices@trustflowds.com
   1. To follow-up on payment status, please comment on the document in CSUBUY

Links

• Payee Data Record Form Std. 204 (new vendor/ update status). Must be on file and approved by AP for any campus payee unless ProCard payment is acceptable by payee and within campus policy
• Direct Pay Instructions
• Direct Pay Form

Alternate Purchasing Policies

Emergency Transactions 

When an emergency involving the public health, welfare or safety, or the protection of State property or programs requires the immediate issuance of a purchase order, standard agreement, or service order without a formal issuance of bid invitations, a statement regarding the nature of the emergency will be attached to the requisition and be signed by both the requestor and the campus procurement officer. Such statement shall include an attestation that an immediate threat to the public health, welfare or safety or damage to State property exists.

Sole Source / Sole Brand

Purpose: The State of California and the CSU system are committed to a program of active competition in the purchase of supplies, equipment, and services and require that all purchases/contracts from State and State-controlled funds be open and competitive. A sole source/brand request cannot be considered unless it clearly demonstrates that no other comparable products or sources can meet the functional needs of the University. Preference of a particular brand or source or time constraints may not be used as reasons for bypassing normal purchasing procedures.

Sole Source or Sole Brand procurements must be justified and approved in writing if the specified procurement exceeds $50,000 for services and commodities, excluding Public Works.

A sole source acquisition is justified when it has been determined that only one source exists for the required product or service, and bidding is not possible. Justification for a sole source acquisition must accompany the requisition. This justification should include: the unique performance features of the product, why these specific features are required, and why other products that could be considered will not meet requirements.

A sole brand acquisition exists when only one brand-name product will satisfy the requirements of the requester, and a written justification has been authorized to limit the bidding only to dealers of that specified name-brand. Unless exempted, standard bid specifications call for "brand-name or equal."

For the sole source/sole brand justification form please follow this link.

Staff

Contracts & Procurement will be monitoring incoming emails from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at procure@Humboldt.edu. For assistance, please call (707) 826-3512 from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.