Policies and Procedures

The University's policy on personal business is as follows:

Click on the links below for our policies and procedures.

Applicability of Policies    Approvals   Bidding Guidelines    Confirming Orders    Conflicts of Interest    Gifts & Gratuities    Grant-Funded Orders    PO Revisions    Returns    Review & Approval   
Rush Orders    Screening Labels    Self Approvals    Sole Source & Specification    Standards & Ethics   University-Funded Orders   Environmentally-Preferable Procurement Policy
 

Applicability of Policies

The purchasing practices and procedures contained in this administrative policy apply to all purchases if they are to be the legal and financial obligation of Yeshiva University. As such, all Sponsored & Non-Sponsored purchases are subject to the policies contained herein as well as policies or requirements set forth by the applicable granting agency. The University is not responsible for obligations incurred unless there is full compliance with this policy.

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Approvals

Deans, chairpersons, directors and administrators are authorized to approve expenditures of University funds based upon prior approved budgets. Principal investigators are authorized to approve expenditures of restricted funds based upon prior approved budgets. No purchases can be made without prior approval and verification of the availability of funds. Therefore, Procurement Services will only issue an official purchase order when the procurement requisition has been previously approved by an authorized signatory.

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Bidding Guidelines

1. Items from $7,500 to $20,000
Procurement Services shall solicit a minimum of three verbal quotations from responsible vendors. Documentation of the quotes will be noted on the purchase order. Generally, the purchase is made from the vendor quoting the lowest price, whose product and offer comply with the terms of the solicitation. If the purchase is not made from the bidder quoting the lowest price, a written justification for the low bid bypass (Bid Waiver) will be retained by Procurement Services.

2. Items $20,000 and Over
Procurement Services shall solicit a minimum of three written competitive bids from reliable vendors. The written quotes will be retained by Procurement Services. Purchase will be made from the vendor quoting the lowest price, whose product and offer comply with the terms and specifications of the solicitation. If the purchase is not made from the bidder quoting the lowest price, a written justification for bypassing the low bid will be made and retained by the Procurement Services. A bypass of a low bid requires the approval of the Chief Procurement Officer of Procurement Services.

3. Evaluating the Bids
Once the bids are received, they must be evaluated to determine which vendor will be given the order.

If the products offered by each of the bidding vendors are of equal quality, if each vendor promises the same delivery date and if there are not other considerations, the order would go to the low bidder. However, all these factors are seldom equal and many orders are, therefore, placed with other than the low bidder for good reasons. No set formula can be devised that can be applied to all products for all orders. The quality and delivery requirements will vary for different products and for different uses. The delivery requirements may vary for different orders as well. For these reasons, the act of selecting the bid which best suits the needs of the University's is one that requires the judgment and experience of Procurement Services.

4. Follow-up of Nonbidders
A bidders list that is active and current is maintained by Procurement Services. This stimulates competitive bidding and should result in maximum response to an invitation to bid. Those requesting the purchase of goods or service subject to competitive bidding must allow sufficient lead time so all solicited vendors are able to submit timely bids. Within existing time constraints, alternate vendor(s) will be sought to provide bids. Vendors not returning a bid will be queried as to the reasons they chose not to respond and Procurement Service's bidders list will be updated accordingly.

5. Sole Source and Specified Vendors
The originator of the Procurement Requisitions frequently suggests or requests a specific manufacturer or supplier. Procurement Services will review the request for reasonableness, but reserves the right to place orders with vendors whose prices are lower than those of the vendor that appears on the requisition and who have extended their services to the University. The originator will be so advised prior to purchase. When an item is unique, available from only one supplier or a substitution is not feasible (commonly referred to as ''sole source''), a Request for a Waiver of Competitive Bid approved by a department head for Non-Sponsored purchases or the principal investigator for Sponsored purchases must be completed. Procurement Services will determine the reasonableness of the Request for Waiver by investigating the price and services available from the ''sole source'' vendor. The Waiver must be approved by the chief procurement officer.

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Confirming Orders

A confirming order occurs when a department wishes to place an order for a needed item or service without subjecting the purchase to the normal purchasing procedures of the University. Confirming orders are permitted only in bona fide emergency situation. Examples of bona fide emergencies are a university owned motor vehicle in need of road repairs, emergency equipment repairs and other situations resulting from unforeseen circumstances. Poor planning or poor management are not acceptable reasons for placing a confirming order. The chief procurement officer is responsible for the interpretation of ''emergency situations.'' The nature of the emergency which promulgated the confirming order should be stated in the notes section and approved by the department head for Non-Sponsored purchases or the principal investigator for Sponsored purchases. Call Procurement Services at 718.430.3001 giving specific information regarding your order to the Procurement Services personnel, who will complete the order and issue an emergency purchase order number after financial approval has been obtained.

When an emergency purchase order number is requested for repairs or service, the requisition should be submitted after the service is completed and the service report must be attached to the Requisition. The vendor should be requested to submit the invoice showing our purchase order to Yeshiva University, Accounts payable Office, for processing and payment.

Individuals requesting Emergency Purchase Order numbers for confirming orders who abuse the system through excessiveness or lack of follow-up documentation, will forfeit the ability to use the emergency system.

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Conflicts of Interest

University employees involved in committing any University managed funds shall not have a business interest or a family relationship with a supplier of goods of services to the University so as not to impair the integrity and objectivity of the purchase. An apparent conflict of interest, or at a minimum, the appearance of one, may exist if any employee has a direct or material indirect financial interest in a vendor company or when there is a family or other personal relationship.

All instances where conflicts of interest appear or are suspected must be brought to the immediate attention of the chief procurement officer of Procurement Services.

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Gifts & Gratuities

University employees are prohibited from purchasing personal items from vendors who transact business with the University unless that vendor has a retail operation normally open to the public or otherwise pursuant to a University employee discount program.  In all cases, employees may not use their employment with the University to influence the vendor in any way.  If an employee does transact personal business with one of the University's vendors, the employee must exercise caution as to the appropriate invoicing for personal purchases,  and all purchases should be billed and shipped to the employee's home address.  Regardless of whom the purchase is made from, no personal packages are to be delivered to the University.  Salespersons normally servicing University accounts are not to be involved in any personal transactions.

In addition, employees are not permitted to solicit or receive any gifts or gratuitities of any nature that would, or reasonably could, be expected to influence their responsibilities to the University.  Thus, all gifts or gratuities of more than de minimis value ($25.00 or less) from companies or individuals doing business or seeking to do business with the University are prohibited.  Employees should also refer to the policies of their school or department as they may be more resrictive than the University policy.

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PO Revisions

Any changes in a previously issued purchase order should be avoided, however a change can be made only by the issuance of a Change Order Form.

Only Procurement Services is authorized to issue a revision. In case of extensive changes, Procurement Services may choose to reproduce the complete information on the purchase order, in effect, canceling the original order.

Changes may refer to price, quantity ordered, terms and conditions, delivery point, funding source, etc. As a result of these or any other changes, the accounting information may also have to be altered and the appropriate documentation sent to the Finance Department.

A revision is issued only after the change has been agreed to verbally by the vendor and/or the requesting department. Issues that might require a revision include:

1. Request for a change received by a department or originated by Procurement Services
2. Request from vendor for change in the provisions of the purchase order
3. Any error (typographical or otherwise) discovered by any section of Procurement Services
4. Enhanced SOW
5. Increased Guest count
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Review & Approval

In order to minimize institutional vulnerability to legal claims, unintended program obligations and financial liabilities, all contracts, letters of agreement, leases, real estate and construction documents and service contracts must be reviewed as to form and approved by the Office of General Counsel before any commitments are undertaken.

After documents are approved as to form by the Office of General Counsel and execution is authorized, the next step, in many instances, is the preparation and the submission of a purchase order and its budget approval in accordance with the purchasing procedures as outlined in this policy. The written approval of the Office of General Counsel, as to contract documents and any comments, should be attached to the purchase order.

Do not attempt to negotiate with the vendor. Procurement Services will perform all negotiations and obtain the appropriate institutional authorized signature for any required documents.

If this procedure is not followed, the institution will not be responsible for the financial and legal consequences.

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Self Approvals

The following are the role designations in the new Maccabuy system: 

Shopper 

Creates “Cart” of Products and/or Services 

Attaches documents as needed 

Assigns to Requisitioner (Requester) 

Requisitioner (Requester) 

Can also shop 

Assigns FOAPAL (GL #)  

Submits Cart to workflow (requisition is created) 

Returns, Rejects or updates Cart 

Approver 

Can also shop 

Cannot themselves submit Cart to workflow (cannot request) 

Approves requisitions 

Returns, Rejects or updates requisition 

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Sole Source & Specification

The originator of the Procurement Requisitions frequently suggests or requests a specific manufacturer or supplier. Procurement Services will review the request for reasonableness, but reserves the right to place orders with vendors whose prices are lower than those of the vendor that appears on the requisition and who have extended their services to the University. The originator will be so advised prior to purchase. When an item is unique, available from only one supplier or a substitution is not feasible (commonly referred to as ''sole source''), a Request for a Waiver of Competitive Bid approved by a department head for University fund purchases or the principal investigator for grant purchases must be completed.

Procurement Services will determine the reasonableness of the Request for Waiver by investigating the price and services available from the ''sole source'' vendor.

The Waiver must be approved by the chief procurement officer.

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Standards & Ethics

The Standards and Ethics by which Procurement Services operates are to:

1. Strive to obtain the maximum value for each dollar of expenditure
2. Decline personal gifts or gratuities
3. Grant all competitive suppliers equal consideration insofar as state or federal statute and institutional policy permit
4. Conduct business with potential and current suppliers in an atmosphere of good faith, devoid of intentional misrepresentation
5. Demand honesty in sales representation whether offered through the medium of a verbal or written statement, an advertisement or a sample of the product
6. Receive consent of originator of proprietary ideas and designs before using them for competitive purchasing purposes
7. Make every reasonable effort to negotiate an equitable and mutually agreeable settlement of any controversy with a supplier; and/or be willing to submit any major controversies to arbitration or other third-party review, consistent with the established policies of the University
8. Accord a prompt and courteous reception insofar as conditions permit to all who call on legitimate business missions
9. Cooperate with trade, industrial and professional associations, and with governmental and private agencies for the purposes of promoting and developing sound business methods
10. Foster fair, ethical and legal trade practices

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University-Funded Orders

All expenses greater than $5,000 require approvals as follows:

Approval Chart for Manhattan Campuses and Einstein

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