We are happy to announce that members of the Faculty Senate, Research Community, Procurement Services, and the Division of Finance have been working together to find ways to streamline procurement. These initial changes have been accepted by President Schmidt and the Cabinet and are effective Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

1. Allow for purchasing out of pocket under $2,500 without completing the Purchasing Exception Form.  Faculty and staff can purchase needed items without pre-approval and be reimbursed through Concur, assuming policies are followed, and OSCAR options are not available/viable. Certain exceptions will apply and can be found here.  It is important to remember that expense reports must be submitted within 30 days of the purchase date on the receipt.
2. Increase bid threshold from $5K to $10K.  Increasing the bid threshold will decrease the amount of time spent on obtaining three quotes and completing Request for Single or Sole Source Justification forms for purchases under $10,000.
3. Amazon Business implementation in OSCAR.  Procurement Services will be implementing Amazon Business as a Punch-Out catalog in OSCAR, with some restrictions.  The Punch-Out is expected to be live on March 6th.  A series of emails will be sent beginning March 1st explaining the details.
4. Improve awareness of Punch-Out process in OSCAR.  The current online buying process in OSCAR can be an effective and efficient way to purchase with product delivery in 2-4 days.  Awareness and training will be provided to faculty and staff to ensure that the process runs as efficiently as possible.  To schedule a training, please enter a ticket in the Finance and Administrative Support site. 

Additional details on the committee’s work can be found here.

The Division of Finance is also happy to announce that the receipt limit for travel purchases is being raised from $35 to $50.  For purchases under $50 relating to travel, a receipt will no longer be required.  Please note this is for TRAVEL ONLY.  Receipts for all other purchases will continue to be required.  Other travel and expense changes will be announced in the coming months.