Policy Statement

No individual, except the President, Vice President for Finance and Administration, Procure to Pay Director, or persons specifically authorized by these individuals has the authority to enter into purchase contracts, or in any way obligate Elon University for procurement indebtedness. Any other commitments are considered unauthorized purchases and the individual may encounter a personal obligation to the Supplier.

Contract Procedures

Contracts are carefully reviewed by Purchasing to minimize the risk to you, your department, and the University. Be sure to follow this process to ensure that your contract review goes smoothly.  If your contract involves your vendor coming to campus, please request a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from them (this should be included with the routing of the contract).

  1. Complete the Contract Approval Cover Sheet
    The Contract Approval Cover Sheet asks for summary details about the contract and guides you to determine the parties that will need to approve the contract before moving forward. It is your responsibility as the contract submitter to obtain the signatures needed for the contract. As you send the contract cover sheet around for the appropriate signatures, be sure to attach the unsigned contract to the cover sheet. The Contract Approval Cover Sheet is not complete until all appropriate signatures have been obtained.
  2. Send the completed Contract Approval Cover Sheet and the unsigned contract to Purchasing (CB 2950)
    The Procure to Pay Director will review the contract and ensure all signatures have been obtained on the Contract Approval Cover Sheet. Once reviewed and verified, Purchasing will send the contract to the vendor for execution. Contract initiators will be sent a copy of the executed contract.
  3. Create a Purchase Request
    If the contract requires funding, complete a Purchase Request and attach the scanned copy of the final Contract Approval Cover Sheet and the signed contract. Because you already obtained the appropriate signatures in the Contract Approval Cover Sheet process, there is no need to obtain the signatures again for the purchase request.
  4. Manage the contract
    The initiating department is responsible for executing contract requirements as well as monitoring expiration date(s) and initiating renewal. If the vendor breaches any contract requirements, the initiating department should notify Purchasing to determine the appropriate action to be taken.

Purchasing maintains the central repository for all University contracts, and will maintain an electronic copy of the executed contract.