Procurement Contracts

The UMD Office of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing (PSS) provides guidance and administration in the university’s transactions with suppliers of goods and services.

The University of Maryland Procurement Policy charges PSS with the development of a procurement manual/guide for use in daily business. You can visit the department’s Policies & Procedures page to find such guidance including details related to the approval of contracts, delegated (distributed) purchasing authority, and the acquisition and disposal of surplus University property.

Visit Procurement’s Training site for specific guidance regarding several topics including:

• Procurement methods and tools,
• Purchasing Cards,
• Sole source justifications, and
• Office moves.

Administration / Execution

PSS holds centralized delegated purchasing authority to manage solicitations and contracts for the acquisition of goods and services for the university.

PSS leverages this authority to promote university and State interests including:

• The formation of cost-effective, competitive agreements,
• The management of the university’s transactions with suppliers, and
• The university’s compliance with state and system rules and regulations such as
• Rules seeking to avoid conflicts of interest, or
• The inclusion of specific State-mandated terms in procurement contracts.

Contracts for the procurement of goods or services, binding to the university, may only be signed by PSS unless they fall within one of the following exceptions:

• Delegated Signature Authority
  Procurement has, where appropriate, designated certain campus unit heads who are authorized to approve financial documents meeting certain criteria on their behalf.
• P-Card transaction
  Purchases of up to $5,000 per transaction (including shipping costs) may be made by university departments through UMD Purchasing Cards. Some restrictions apply.