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UT System Administration Policy Library -- Policy UTS156 Purchaser Training and Certification

 

Responsible Officer: Executive Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs
Sponsoring Office: Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs
Effective Date: March 27, 2002
Last Reviewed: March 16, 2007
Next Scheduled Review: June 15,  2009
Errors or changes to: policyoffice@utsystem.edu

 

CONTENTS

 

Policy Statement
Rationale
Scope
Website Address For This Policy
Related Statutes, Policies, Requirements Or Standards
Contacts
Definitions
Responsibilities
Procedures
Forms Tools/Online Processes
Appendix

POLICY STATEMENT

 

This policy is adopted in accordance with UTS159, Purchasing, and provides guidelines for the development and implementation of a purchaser training and certification plan to ensure that each institution and System Administration are staffed with qualified purchasing professionals.

 

RATIONALE

 

UTS159, Purchasing, requires each institution and System Administration to establish a purchaser training and certification plan that:

• Requires all personnel who process procurements of goods or services on behalf of the institution or System Administration to obtain appropriate training;
• Requires all personnel who process competitive procurements of goods or services in an amount greater than $25,000.00 to attain nationally recognized and/or State of Texas buyer certification; and
• Conforms to the guidelines established in this policy.

SCOPE

 

All institutions and UT System Administration

WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THIS POLICY

 

http://www.utsystem.edu/policy/policies/uts156.html

RELATED STATUTES, POLICIES, REQUIREMENTS OR STANDARDS

 

 

CONTACTS

 

If you have any questions about UT System Administration Policy UTS 156, Purchaser Training and Certification, contact the following offices:

Subject	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/URL
	Office of Business Affairs	512-499-4560	http://www.utsystem.edu/bus

DEFINITIONS  

 

 

None

RESPONSIBILITIES 

 

 

Primary Procurement Officer

• Establishes and implements a training and certification plan at his or her institution.
• Submits the institution's purchaser training and certification plan.
• Implements of the institution's approved purchaser training and certification plan.
• Submits proposed substantive modifications or changes to an institution's plan.

 

Chief Business Officer

• Approves training and certification plan.

 

Executive Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs

• Approves training and certification plan.

 

Office of General Counsel

• Approves training and certification plan.

 

Applicable UT Purchasing Personnel

• Must be certified within eighteen months of his or her date of hire.

 

UT System

• Modifies the job description for each personnel classification to incorporate the training and certification requirements applicable to that classification in the job description.

 

UT Institution

• Modifies the job description for each personnel classification to incorporate the training and certification requirements applicable to that classification in the job description.

PROCEDURES  

 

Plan Development
The primary procurement officer of each institution and System Administration shall be responsible for the establishment, implementation, modification, or change of a training and certification plan at his or her institution.

The plan may be implemented, modified, or changed only after review and approval of the respective chief business officer, the Executive Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs and the Office of General Counsel

At a minimum, the plan must contain the following:

• identification of personnel who are required to obtain training and/or certification; personnel training and certification levels shall be classified by the type of purchase (e.g., formal bids, informal quotes, small dollar procurements) and level of commitment authority;
  
• training requirements for the identified personnel classifications; the training requirements shall identify the subject matter and the minimum hours of training required; and
  
• certification requirements for the identified personnel classifications.

Refer to Appendix for a sample training and certification plan

 

Core Training Curriculum
At a minimum, purchaser training must include the following areas:

a) ethics;
b) supplier relations;
c) The University of Texas System HUB program;
d) applicable laws, rules, and regulations;
e) the role of the buyer and the buyer's fiduciary responsibility;
f) documentation and records management;
g) applicable policies and procedures;
h) contract administration; and
i) principles of "best value" procurement.

 

Certification Programs

Only the certifications listed below are approved for inclusion in a training and certification plan.

 

Institute for Supply Management:
Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.)
Accredited Purchasing Practitioner (A.P.P.)

 

National Institute of Government Purchasing:
Certified Public Purchasing Officer (C.P.P.O.)
Certified Public Purchasing Buyer (C.P.P.B.)

 

State of Texas (administered by Texas Building and Procurement Commission):
Certified Texas Purchaser (CTP)
Certified Texas Purchasing Manager (CTPM)

 

Deadlines and Submittal Requirements for Plan
The primary procurement officer at each institution is responsible for maintaining a current purchaser training and certification plan which has been approved by the chief business officer of the institution, the Executive Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs and the Office of General Counsel.

The primary procurement officer shall submit proposed substantive modifications or changes to an institution's plan to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs and the Office of General Counsel after the approval of the modification or change by the institution's chief business officer.

 

Personnel Requirements
Any individual who is hired after September 1, 2002, and who is required to be certified under his or her institution's plan must be certified within eighteen months of his or her date of hire.

Job descriptions for each personnel classification shall incorporate the training and certification requirements applicable to that classification in the job description.

By January 15 of each fiscal year, the primary procurement officer at each institution and System Administration must submit to the respective institution's chief business officer a list of all personnel who are certified. The list must include each employee's name, job title, and certification type.

If an individual fails to obtain training and/or certification for a particular personnel classification in accordance with the requirements set forth in his or her institution's training and certification plan, the individual may not make purchases on behalf of the institution that are permitted for that personnel classification. At the sole discretion of the institution, however, the individual may continue to make purchases on behalf of the institution at those levels for which the individual has attained the requisite training and/or certification.

 

FORMS AND TOOLS/ONLINE PROCESSES

 

None

APPENDIX

 

Sample Training and Certification Program
(This Sample is provided for illustration purposes only)

 

Type of Purchase	Commitment Level	Minimum Hours of Training	Type of  Training	Certification
1.) Spot Market Purchases (e.g., purchases of routine supplies, materials, periodicals)	< $5,000	4 hours	A (see note)	None
2.) Purchases of $25,000.00 or less for materials, supplies, services, and/or equipment using informal bidding methods – direct contract purchases under existing or approved local, state, or group purchasing contracts, or specialty product purchases of restricted items on a sole source/proprietary non-competitive basis	< $25,000	16 hours	B (see note)	None
3.) Purchases over $25,000 (e.g., purchases for materials, supplies, services, and/or equipment for which formal bid (ITB) methods are required; purchases are of a generally non-complex nature, such as annual supply orders, maintenance services, or small capital equipment; individual is responsible for approving solicitations for advertisement, decides appropriate procurement method, and solicits, evaluates, and awards bids)	Up to $100,000	24 hours	C (see note)	A.P.P., C.P.P.B or C.T.P
4.) Purchases over $100,000.00 (e.g., purchases for materials, supplies, services, and/or equipment for which formal methods of procurement are used (ITB, RFP); purchases are generally of a complex nature, such as major capital purchases, lease purchase agreements, master purchase agreements; individual is responsible for approving solicitations for advertisement, decides appropriate procurement method, and solicits, evaluates, and awards bids, offers, proposals and contracts)	Over $100,000	24 hours	D (see note)	C.P.M., C.P.P.O. or C.T.P.M

Notes:  (A)  Individuals performing the procurement function(s) requiring Type “A” training will receive, at a minimum, training consisting of the “Core Curriculum,” which includes: ·          Ethics ·          Supplier relations ·          The University of Texas System HUB Program ·          Applicable laws, rules and regulations ·          Principles of “best value” procurement ·          Role of the buyer and the buyer’s fiduciary responsibility ·          Documentation and records management ·          Applicable policies and procedures ·          Contract administration Dependent on an individual’s specific duties and responsibilities, the primary procurement officer may require that the individual complete additional training as specified by the primary procurement officer; e.g., sole-source/proprietary procurements, the procurement cycle, and basics of specification writing. (B)  Individuals performing the procurement function(s) requiring Type “B” training will receive, at a minimum, training consisting of the “Core Curriculum” listed in Note A, above, and the following: ·          Purchasing cycle ·          Specification writing ·          Basic purchasing law ·          Basic negotiations ·          Supplier selection and price analysis ·          Texas Purchasing techniques and methods ·          Reporting Requirements Dependent on an individual’s specific duties and responsibilities, the primary procurement officer may require that the individual complete additional training as specified by the primary procurement officer. (C)  Individuals performing the procurement function(s) requiring Type “C” training will receive, at a minimum, the training listed in Note B, above, and the following: ·          Advanced purchasing law ·          Contract management and administration ·          Advanced negotiations ·          Value-cost analysis ·          Advanced specification writing Dependent on an individual’s specific duties and responsibilities, the primary procurement officer may require that the individual complete additional training as specified by the primary procurement officer; e.g., contracting for services, major construction/renovation projects, requests for proposals. (D)  Individuals performing the procurement function(s) requiring Type “D” training will receive, at a minimum, training listed in Note C, above, and the following: ·          Requests for proposals ·          Contract writing ·          Supply-chain management ·          Performance contracting Dependent on an individual’s specific duties and responsibilities, the primary procurement officer may require that the individual complete additional training as specified by the primary procurement officer; e.g., software licensing, high-tech purchasing, equipment leasing, purchasing management and administration.