Ramapo College of New Jersey || Purchasing Department

Purchasing Department: Policies and Procedures

Notices

Fiscal Year 2008 Close Notices:
• Year End Close Notice (PDF)
• Year End Close Memo (PDF)

The Purchasing Department at Ramapo College provides internal customer support to faculty & staff making purchases for the College and monitors purchase activity to assure compliance with College and State of New Jersey procurement policy. In addition the Purchasing Department oversees the use of the Banner Finance purchasing module, identifies opportunities to aggregate purchase demand across campus and manages all formal public bidding opportunities.

State College Contracts Law (Contracts and Bidding) Web site
State College Contracts Law (PDF)

Approval Authority
Bidding Requirements
Bidding Exception Categories
Documentation Requirements

Approval Authority
The Purchase Approval Authority identifies the approvals that are needed for purchases at different dollar values.

As of December 1, 2007 the following approval levels are in effect:

Range	Acceptable Methods of Purchase	SECY	DIRU	CTRL	CPO	PRES
Under $500	ALL	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO
$500 - $4,999.99	ALL	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO
$5,000 - $27,299.99	3 written quotes, unadvertised bid, sole source, state contract, college contract (bid related), federal GSA, authorized emergency	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO
$28,300 - $49,999.99	Advertised bid, waiver, state contract, college contract (bid related), federal GSA, authorized emergency	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO
$50,000 - $99,999.99	Advertised bid, waiver, state contract, college contract (bid related), federal GSA, authorized emergency	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO
$100,000 and above	Advertised bid, waiver, state contract, college contract (bid related), federal GSA, authorized emergency	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
$500,000 and above Construction Only	Advertised Bid, Waiver	Board of Trustees

All computer equipment and software purchases require ITS approval
All external printing purchases require Publications approval

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Bidding Requirements
Bidding requirements are based on the New Jersey State College Contracts Law, N.J.S.A.18A:64. Bidding and bidding format is based on the dollar value of the purchase. Dividing a purchase to avoid the bidding process is prohibited.

As of December 1, 2007, the following bid levels are in effect:

Total Value of Purchase	Bidding Action	Bidding Exceptions
Under $5,000	No bidding required.	Not Applicable
From $5,000 to under $28,300	Three written quotes using the Competitive Bid/Quote form.	College Contract, NJ State Contract, GSA, Sole Source, Board Waiver Category, Health/Safety Emergency.
$28,300 and above	An Advertised Bid issued by Purchasing.	College Contract, NJ State Contract, GSA, Board of Trustees Approved Waiver, Health/Safety Emergency

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Bidding Exception Categories

College Contract – This covers any agreement entered into by the College.

State of New Jersey Contract Suppliers - The Department of Treasury Division of Purchase and Property (DPP) in Trenton contracts with many suppliers for different types of goods and services. RCNJ can purchase under these contracts as long as the contract is not agency or location specific. You can search for contracts at the DPP website: http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/purchase/index.shtml

GSA - This is a Federal supply contract that is issued by the U.S. General Services Administration. Usually a vendor will tell you that they have a GSA contract.

Board of Trustees Bidding Waiver (Board Waiver) - The State College Contracts Law provides for the College's Board of Trustees to waive the advertised bidding process in certain exception categories. At the beginning of each fiscal year Purchasing prepares a vendor and expenditure specific report that is presented to the Board for approval.

Sole Source - A supplier is a sole source when they are the only company authorized to sell the product in this region of the country. Purchasing requires documentation (letter, e-mail or website printout) indicating the vendor's sole or single source status. A sole source purchase at or above the advertised bidding threshold requires a Board of Trustees bid waiver.

Health/Safety Emergency – In some situations an emergency arises that requires immediate action by the College. Time is of the essence and it is impractical to obtain competitive bids. These are situations that could involve health and safety issues or that seriously impact the ability of the College to operate.

Documentation Requirements
In addition to the documents associated with the bidding processes, most vendors will be required to provide the following:

A vendor completed W-9 or a vendor completed RCNJ Substitute W-9 Supplier Information Form
Business Registration Certificate issued by NJ Division of Revenue
A completed PL2005 Chapter 51 (Political Contributions) Form for individual or cumulative purchases within a fiscal year totaling $17,500 or more

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