Contracting
Mines executes various types of expenditure and revenue agreements every year. All agreements for goods and/or services must be either created or reviewed by your purchasing agent and/or the contract administrators. Mines employees are not permitted to sign any agreement for any amount unless they have been granted, in writing, signature authority by the Board of Trustees.
Procurement reviews agreements to ensure that Mines does not agree to terms that are prohibited by Federal or State law, or against Mines policy so that Mines is not put at financial and legal risk.
Mines agreements are stored in the Contract Research System (“CRS”).
Contract Research System (CRS)
Pre-Contract Approvals
Food Truck Approval
If you need a food truck for your event, please submit a food truck approval. After approval Parking will send Procurement an email, and we will reach out to you to complete the agreement.
Alcohol Approval
If you will be serving alcohol at an event where students are present, please submit an alcohol request. After approval, please forward Procurement the approval, along with the agreement, quote and any other information for the contract.
Protection of Minors Approval
If minors will be present at your event, please submit the Protection of Minors Request. Once approved, please send Procurement the approval, agreement, and quote for the contract.
Contract Review
Expenditure
All expenditure agreements should be sent to your purchasing agent. If further review is required from the contract administrators, your purchasing agent will route the agreement appropriately.
Please review the non-legal terms of the agreement before sending to Procurement, such as dates, correct good/service, department responsibilities, etc.
Revenue
All revenue agreements should be sent to the Contract Administrators (contracts@mines.edu) for review and approval.
Technical Service Agreements (TSA)
Procurement no longer handles TSAs. All technical services agreements should be sent to the Office of Research Administration (proposals@mines.edu) for review and approval.
Signature Authority
An individual’s authority to execute contracts on behalf of Mines is only acquired through written delegation, approved in advance. Delegation of authority comes from the Board of Trustees. If you have not been granted signature authority to execute an agreement, you cannot sign any document containing legal or financial terms.
Definitions
Contract (also Agreement): 1. An obligation, such as an accepted offer, between competent parties upon a legal consideration, to do or abstain from doing some act. 2. A legally binding promise, enforceable by law. 3. An agreement between parties with binding legal and moral force, usually exchanging goods or services for money or other considerations.
Execution: Once an agreement has been signed by both parties, it is considered fully “executed.” The terms of an agreement are not enforceable until execution (also known as the “effective date” of the contract).
Expenditure Contract: A contract in which Mines is obligating funds to an external party in exchange for goods and/or services.
Revenue Contract: A contract whose primary purpose is to generate revenue or to create a business opportunity for Mines.
Technical Services Agreement (“TSA”): A TSA is a legal document that outlines how a service provider and client will work together. For example, it can define the scope of work, payment terms, deadlines, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I sign an agreement if there is no expenditure (zero-dollar agreement)?
No. Even though there is no money being paid to a vendor, the agreement may still contact terms that are unacceptable and put Mines at risk. All agreements should be reviewed and approved by the Procurement and Contracting team.
What happens if I signed an agreement that wasn't reviewed by procurement?
If you signed, or find a signed agreement that was not reviewed and signed by procurement, please contact your purchasing agent as soon as possible. A new agreement may need to be negotiated with the vendor or the agreement may need to be re-signed by someone with signature authority.
I'm not sure if this document is an agreement. What do I do?
If you are unsure whether a document a vendor has asked you to sign is an official “agreement,” please contact your purchasing agent. If the document does not contain any legal or financial terms, you may be able to sign it However, determination of whether a document is an agreement must be made by procurement.
The quote I received has terms on it, and needs to be signed. What do I do?
Any document containing legal or financial terms or a link to terms or conditions that requires Mines to sign or issue a PO should be reviewed by procurement regardless of cost.
How long does it take to review and approve an agreement?
It depends. Some agreements may take a few minutes to review, and execute. Others may take several months to review, negotiate with the vendor and execute. The length of the agreement is not a good indicator of how long an agreement will take to complete. One-page agreements may contain many unacceptable terms that may take a long time to negotiate with vendors, while very lengthy agreements may not contain risky terms that require negotiations. It’s best to contact procurement as soon as possible to help with an agreement.