MONTANA BOARD OF REGENTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
 Policy and Procedures Manual

SUBJECT:  FINANCIAL AFFAIRS   

920.1  Information Technology and Telecommunications Equipment and Contracts; Purchase or Procurement

Administrative policy: 

    1.        Unless sections 2 or 3 apply, the acquisition of information technology or telecommunications equipment, software and vendor services with an estimated cost of  $50,000 or more shall be approved by the Commissioner or designee. Requests for proposals, bid specifications and similar documents delineating the requirements of the acquisition shall be reviewed with the commissioner or designee prior to submission to any vendor or to the Purchasing Bureau of the State Department of Administration for final action.

    2.        When an acquisition otherwise covered above has no system wide impact the campus may proceed without review or approval by the commissioner.  The campuses shall at the end of every calendar quarter report and summarize such purchases to the Commissioner. 

    3.        Acquisitions made with funding that contains specific reporting and approval processes (e.g., student computing fee funds) should be approved and reported according to the processes specific to those funds and not required to follow the requirements of section 1.

History: 

             Board of Regents, Item 7-004-R0175, January 16, 1975; Commissioner's Regulations, June 6, 1975; Management Information Systems Memo #1, Nov. 12, 1976; Council of Presidents, Nov. 23, 1981; Item 7-004-R0175, Purchasing requisitions; computing equipment (revised) July 7, 1994; and September 28, 2001 (ITEM 112-104-R0701).