September University Policy Distribution
The September university policy distribution contains four (4) revised policies, one (1) new procedure, and one (1) revised procedure.
Revised Policies
- SYS 520, Board of Regents Procurement Authority
- SYS 521, Authority to Sign Procurement Contracts in the UW System
- SYS 540, Non-competitive Procurement Contracts
- SYS 615, Vehicle Use and Driver Authorization
New Procedure
Revised Procedure
Click on the links above to view the drafts and ensure that your feedback is captured for review during the post-comment period. Comments can include attachments, including word documents and PDFs. Feedback on the items above is due at 5:00 pm on Friday, October 16.
DRAFT POLICY REVISIONS
SYS 520, Board of Regents Procurement Authority
These policy revisions will be effective upon the signature of President.
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- The purpose of the policy is to provide the operational framework for using the Board of Regents (BOR) Procurement Authority. The policy is being revised due to recent changes made to Regent Policy Document 13-1, General Contract Approval, Signature Authority, and Reporting. Proposed revisions include:
- Adding two definitions in Section 5 to mirror the new SYS 520.A procedure.
- Adding verbiage to Section 6, Policy Statement, to specify that the UW System President has the authority to delegate BOR Procurement Authority. This change is then followed up by adding a new Administrative Procedure SYS 520.A, Procurement: Board Procurement Delegation.
SYS 521, Authority to Sign Procurement Contracts in the UW System
These policy revisions will become effective upon approval by the President.
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- The purpose of this policy is to identify individuals authorized to sign procurement contracts on behalf of the University of Wisconsin (UW) System.
- Throughout Section 4, made minor edits to the existing policy to further distinguish whether the existing policy language is referring to procurement authority or signature authority and added reference to the Department of Administration’s Procurement Manual. Clarified that Chancellor’s may sub-delegate authority to others on their campus.
- In Section 5, corrected inaccuracy in definition of “contract signature authority.”
SYS 540, Non-Competitive Procurement Contracts
These policy revisions will become effective upon signature by the President.
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- The purpose of this policy is to establish a policy and procedure when awarding a non-competitive contract to a supplier for goods or services, and to assign contract approval thresholds for non-competitive contracts.
- The policy is being revised due to recent changes made to Regent Policy Document 13-1, General Contract Approval, Signature Authority, and Reporting. The revision adds verbiage to Section 1, to further delineate the difference between Contract Signature Authority and Purchasing Authority.
SYS 615, Vehicle Use and Driver Authorization
These policy revisions will be effective upon the signature of the President.
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- This policy defines who can drive for institution business and use UW vehicles.
- The recommended revisions to SYS 615 are in response to university recommendations, internal audit findings and the subsequent recission of SYS 616, University of Wisconsin Student Drivers Under the State’s Liability Protection.
- Key policy changes include:
- Updating language in the policy purpose section to clarify subjects covered in the policy.
- Adding language in the scope section to specify that institutions can create their own, more restrictive policies using SYS 615 as a baseline, that liability protections under statute are not changed, and that the policy does not apply to non-licensed vehicles.
- Updating definitions to clarify standards.
- Reorganizing subsections in Section 6 for clarity and ease.
- Revising passenger provisions to distinguish between UW-owned/leased/state fleet vehicles and rented vehicles, and clarifying when risk manager approval is required.
- Adding a new section requiring immediate reporting of accidents and vehicle damage to supervisors and institution risk managers and requiring submission of the appropriate State of Wisconsin incident reporting form.
- Removing the Driver Authorization and Vehicle Use Matrix and related language which will be placed in a procedures document.
- Adding language to state that noncompliance with the policy may result in loss of driver authorization.
DRAFT REVISED PROCEDURE
SYS 615.A, Driver Authorization Process and Requirements
These revisions will be effective upon the signature of the Vice President for Finance and Administration.
Summary of Procedure and Procedure Revisions
- The purpose of this procedure is to outline how a state officer, employee, or agent can become an authorized driver
- The recommended revisions to SYS 615.A are in response to university recommendations, internal audit findings and the subsequent recission of SYS 616, University of Wisconsin Student Drivers Under the State’s Liability Protection.
- Key procedure revisions include:
- Updating the definition section to align with the revisions of SYS 615, Vehicle Use and Driver Authorization.
- Reorganizing subsections in Section 4 for clarity and to match the application cycle.
- Clarifying and standardizing driver eligibility requirements.
- Removing separate sections for out-of-state licenses and international licenses and incorporating those requirements into the standard authorization review process.
DRAFT NEW PROCEDURE
SYS 520.A, Board Procurement Delegation
This procedure will effective upon the signature of the Vice President for Finance and Administration.
Summary of Procedure
- This procedure is being created due to the recent changes made to Regent Policy Document 13-1, General Contract Approval, Signature Authority, and Reporting. The procedure defines how the UW System President will delegate the Boards Procurement Authority under s. 36.11(1)(b), Wis. Stat. to the UW System and UW-Madison Purchasing Directors.
Federal Fridays
The Universities of Wisconsin Federal Update Working group has a Federal Updates web page for the public to learn about the federal issues the UW is monitoring. The site provides a dashboard view of the various issues organized by topic, with a summary and links related to the topic.