University’s Contracting Procedures
ACU has updated policies and procedures for approval of university contracts:
Summary of Contracting Procedures
Once you have complied with any departmental contract requirements and ensured that any funding commitments are valid follow these steps:
1. Prepare contract by using one of the Office of General Counsel’s form contracts or review the existing contract by using the Checklist for Departmental review of contracts.
2. Determine the contract tier:
Tier One Contracts do not require review by the General Counsel.
- Contract Originator should coordinate execution of the contract with an authorized signer in his or her unit or division according to Contracting Policy. If legal review is desired, use the processes set out below.
Tier Two or Three Contracts require review by the General Counsel.
- Complete a contract submission form online
- Submit the contract to the Office of General Counsel by email at ogc@acu.edu (preferred) or in hard copy to room 111 of the Hardin Administration building or ACU Box 29125.
- Secure approval of responsible chair, dean, director, or vice president. (If you are a chair, dean, director, or vice president, no additional approval is required.) The responsible administrator should send an email approving the contract to ogc@acu.edu.
3. Determine if insurance is required:
- Regardless of tier, if the contract requires the other party to provide insurance, a certificate of insurance must be submitted to and approved by the Department of Risk Management before execution. (For Tier One, please send certificates directly to Risk Management. For all other tiers, certificates can be submitted to the Office of General Counsel along with the contract.)
- If a contract requires ACU to provide proof of insurance, the Office of Risk Management should review those provisions before execution and obtain any necessary certificates of insurance.
- For detailed information regarding insurance see both the Checklist for Departmental Review and Insurance Procedures and Requirements. Visit the Tulip website to learn about purchase options for small group or individual insurance coverage for on-campus events.
4. The General Counsel reviews contracts for legal content and not for business terms and conditions. Unless there are concerns or questions that need to be addressed, the Office of General Counsel will have the contract signed electronically by an authorized officer of the university using Adobe eSign. After a signature is attained, a copy will by sent back to the originator’s email address through Adobe eSign. Note: if the other party requires a handwritten signature, please indicate this on the submission form.
After the contract is returned to you, it is your responsibility to have the other party sign the contract (if they haven’t already) and to maintain the signed contract in your department’s files.