General Guidelines
Faculty, staff, and administrators do not have authorization to procure commodities or services, or to enter into contractual relationships with vendors, or to make any commitments on behalf of the college/university. Only individuals with signature authority may sign agreements on behalf of the college/university.
Proper procurement procedure begins with the creation of a CUNYfirst requisition and the issuance of a purchase order by the Office of Purchasing and Contracting. Orders placed without following the standard procurement workflow are called confirming orders. Confirming orders are a violation of CUNY procurement policy.
In the case of an emergency, contact the Office of Purchasing and Contracting immediately. Casual planning does not constitute an emergency.
If purchasing against a relevant non-tax account and any of the following criteria are present, employees are not allowed to order directly from the vendor and must create a purchase requisition in CUNYfirst:
- The total of the items being ordered from the vendor costs $1,000 or more (excluding reimbursements);
- the vendor requires a Purchase Order to ship the items;
- honoraria;
- the purchase is a capital asset that needs to be tagged by the Office of Internal Audit and Property Management/Compliance (please contact them at 718.951.5727 for further details if you are unsure of the guidelines);
- and/or a contract must be signed and/or there are terms and conditions associated with the purchase. As a reminder, only a very limited number of Brooklyn College employees can sign contracts and agreements and if an unauthorized person signs they are personally entering into the contract with the vendor.
If purchasing against a relevant non-tax account and none of the above criteria have been met, departments may complete a Brooklyn College Non-Tax Levy Payment request form, and submit it, with an invoice, to the Fiscal and Business Services Center, 1146 Boylan Hall.
