Procedures on Campus Agreements
Given the complexities of New York State and SUNY requirements and regulations when executing external) agreements and/or contracts, it is critical that the Division of Administration & Finance are involved in the initial discussions and developments of all agreements and provide final authorization/signature of all agreements before execution.
Failure to involve appropriate staff at the beginning of the process may lead to substantial delays in re-writing agreements or rejection of the request if they are not in compliance with all requirements and regulations that are necessary to protect the University, SUNY, and New York State from potentially serious liability and financial issues.
Procurement and Payment Services requires that all agreements/contracts, even when there are no funds exchanged, be submitted in a timely fashion using a purchase requisition. This will ensure the agreement is properly tracked and assigned to the appropriate staff for review/processing.
Lead time for review can be weeks to months, please plan accordingly.
External Agreements and/or Contracts
The following is a list of the agreements and/or contracts and the corresponding contact person in the Division of Administration & Finance responsible for the review and final authorization prior to finalizing:
Exceptions
(Do Not Require Review by Procurement and Payment Services)
These procedures do not apply to the following as they are separate legal entities (with exception to the overseas program) who should be contacted directly if there are questions about their policies on developing agreements.
- Alumni Association activities
- Contracts/Agreements with Brockport Auxiliary Service Corporation (BASC)
- Contracts/Agreements with the Brockport Foundation
- Research Foundation activities
- Articulation Agreements
Guidelines for Contracting
- All written agreements (unless noted above as an exception) between the University and a third party (external) entity must be reviewed and signed by staff in the Division of Administration & Finance before any commitments are made. These would include, for instance, any contracts/agreements for goods or services purchased by the University such as rental agreements for equipment, service contracts, office space, contracts for services to be performed, partnership agreements, credit cards (other than the Procurement Card), bank accounts, etc.
- Under no circumstances are faculty or staff members to sign any agreements with an external entity (unless noted above as an exception) since they do not have the legal authority to commit SUNY Brockport to the terms that might be included in the documents.
- Under no circumstances are faculty or staff members to make oral (non-written) agreements with an external entity or to begin programs requiring written agreements prior to a written agreement being finalized and signed by the Division of Administration & Finance.
- Any faculty or staff member making or signing such agreements without proper authorization may be held personally liable for costs incurred under the agreement or damages that might result. By law, any contract executed by a staff or faculty member, without express prior authorization, is not valid or binding on SUNY Brockport. The Public Officers Law is meant to protect state employees only in the performance of their “official duties,” which do not include signing unauthorized contracts. Faculty and staff place themselves at potentially great financial risk by entering into such agreements - written or oral - on behalf of the University without express prior authorization in writing.
- Some agreements may be sufficiently complex and require additional review by SUNY Counsel’s Office (determined by the Division of Administration & Finance). Depending upon the level of financial obligation, it may also be required to obtain approval by SUNY System Administration and/or the State Attorney General and Office of the State Comptroller before the agreement is finalized. These additional steps of review and approval will obviously add to the time required for final approval and authorization. Lead times for SUNY Counsel review may be lengthy.
- Any program, activity or commitment that is implemented prior to official approvals by the Division of Administration & Finance will be terminated, rather than developing proper agreements after the start of such an activity.
- Please allow sufficient time in the planning process for review and approval. Given current staffing realities and the increasing number of agreements that are received, please allow a minimum of seven business days for the initial review of the agreement.