Although the CBA Foundation is a separate corporation not subject to UH’s purchasing policies, it is the responsibility of the foundation board and dean to ensure solid business practices, while also maximizing support to UH.  In the past two to three years, UH has become more involved with oversight of supportive foundations.  Now, all expenses that are run through foundations must be certified by the College's Director of Operations and reviewed by the UH Executive VC/VP of Administration and Finance on an annual basis.

For reference, the following are UH rules for purchasing:

Two Kinds of Purchases

Services – anything that isn’t a tangible item.  This includes catered meals with wait staff, furniture delivery, room or facility rentals, (ALL services require a contract)

 

Goods – Tangible item.  This is something like a pencil or pizza.  It requires no labor fees, installation fees, wait staff, or service contracts.  You are only paying for a physical item. (over $5,000 requires a requisition through the purchasing office)

 

Services - Service and Consulting agreements including but not limited to contractual documents, terms and conditions, leases, letters of agreement, letters of intent, and memoranda of understanding with non-UH employees require prior approval via a standard contract agreement form. Some examples that require a contract: Professional Services such as graphic design, software development. All revenue agreements must be on a contract. U H employees have to be paid through payroll, unless they have been separated for 12 months. The College Business Administrator can approve such contracts for agreements not to exceed $15000/fiscal year.  A completed, signed contract must be on file 10 working days prior to provision of the service. All non-standard contracts require approval from Office of General Counsel and require a 30 day advance submission prior to start of service.

Goods - Any purchases of goods from a single company which will cost over $5000 over the fiscal year requires a Purchase Order.  Even if the purchase is for several items over the course of the year, if the total cost is over $5000, you must have a Purchase Order.*

Alcohol - No alcohol before 5 pm on a business day.  If a receipt is processed showing alcohol during working hours, the employee being reimbursed will be docked one day’s pay.

Printing and Advertising- You must get 3 bids for any and all printing done off campus, including brochures, publications, hats, t-shirts, etc.  One of these bids must be from UH printing.  The text of all printed materials distributed outside UH must be approved by University Advancement for content!

Travel - All travel for university business requires a Travel Request.  This must be submitted and approved before departure.  Even if you are not going to submit expenses for reimbursement, you should do a travel request otherwise you may not be covered by university insurance during the trip.

Food -A business meeting form must be submitted with every food purchase must be prior approved by the Dean.. 

Gifts and Appreciation -Flowers and cake cannot be purchased through a university account.  If you need to make this purchase, see an administrator.  Faculty, sponsor, employee and student appreciation gestures under $50.00 are allowable. 

 

*Blanket contracts – The University has blanket contracts/purchase orders with certain facilities, such as University Hilton, Bookstore, Aramark, and Tejas.  You can use these companies without a Contracts Office approved contract or purchase order.

Please plan ahead for services and major expenses.  If you are unsure about a purchase, please ask.  The dean’s business office is more than willing to help you plan for purchasing success!