The University Policy Review Committee (PRC) met virtually on October 14, 2021 and discussed University Finance policy and procedure updates.
Sole Source or Brand-Specific Purchasing updates
Troy Morse, Director of Purchasing Services, shared that Finance Policy 1232 and Finance Procedure 1232.1 are being updated to align with the existing Waiver of Competition form. He noted that the existing policy only listed 9 sole source exceptions but that the waiver of competition form has 18.
Morse updated PRC members on efforts to streamline sole source justification paperwork. He noted that sole source justification has historically been two separate documents – one on departmental letterhead and signed; the other document being the waiver of competition form itself, which also had to be signed. Finance has modified the sole source form to include a 1,000-word justification field directly on the form. This will result in less administrative burden for Units and help speed up the process of requesting sole source justifications. PRC members were enthusiastic about the changes and expressed their thanks to Morse for his hard work.
Team Dynamix/Policy Management System Updates
Matthew Teal, University Policy Analyst, presented updates about the University’s new electronic policy repository by vendor Team Dynamix (TDX). He informed PRC members that they will start seeing automatic monthly reports on the first day of each month showing their respective Unit’s overdue policies and procedures. Teal explained that the reports are intended to help Units organize and prioritize their review efforts. He also clarified that Units may choose who in their Unit receives these reports and to coordinate with him offline as needed.
Teal unveiled the new Approval Workflow Request Form and asked PRC members for their feedback and suggestions on ways to make the form more intuitive and user friendly. PRC members were satisfied with the language in the form. Finally, Teal demonstrated how to use the form. PRC reviewers noted that the system-generated email was not intuitive, needed more clarity and detailed instructions. Teal promised to work with ITS and other experts to address the feedback.