Requests for Quotes| University of Detroit Mercy IT Services

To ensure all University funds are properly and efficiently spent on technology, ITS has defined supportable standards and will provide quotes for departments seeking to purchase products. Requests for quotes should be submitted at least 7 days in advance and contain as much detail as possible. ITS maintains a number of standard products and parts in stock and can IDC departments when the requested product is available. Requests at the end of the fiscal year to spend down departmental funds will not be honored.

The University is committed to providing accessible technology services.  In an effort to meet this commitment, the vendor must warrant their compliance with WCAG 2.0 AA, to provide accessibility testing results and written documentation verifying accessibility, to promptly respond to and resolve accessibility complaints, and to indemnify and hold the University harmless in the event of claims arising from inaccessibility.  All technology software or hosted solutions purchased by the University will require the vendor to submit a “Voluntary Product Accessibility Template” (VPAT).  Departments obtaining their own quotes must review this and submit it to ITS as part of the requisition or contract approval process. All hosted solutions require a HECVAT.

Acquisition of non-standard equipment is only approved for purchases funded through a grant where the grant explicitly requires a specific product and upon the signature of both requestor and supervisor a waiver of support for a non-standard product. Please keep in mind, neither support nor University licensed software will be provided for the use of non-standard equipment. The ITS department strongly encourages each department to adopt the institutional standard.

While every effort is made to provide quotes in a timely fashion, rush quotes or quotes requested during the month of June for the purpose of spending remaining budget funds violate the fiscal responsibility assigned to budget managers. ITS reserves the right to refuse to provide quotes at this time and for this purpose.

All departments placing orders must enter their own requisition information into the My Portal system. This change in procedure is required because the security of the My Portal system only allows purchases from one's own fund and org budget.

Departments placing orders for IT products without an ITS-generated quote should e-mail a copy of the quote to the AVP for IT to expedite verification during the My Portal requisition approval process. All IT-related acquisitions are reviewed and approved by ITS. Submitting the quote in advance will help in keeping the request moving quickly through the approval process.

Acquisitions that require a signature (electronic or wet ink) whether $0 or greater must be submitted through the University’s contract approval process.  Electronic signature documents are to be printed and attached to the contract approval form.  Instructions on who and how an electronic signature will be signed will be provided once the contract has been fully approved by all contract approvers.

Under no circumstances are personal purchases of individual computers or computer related products reimbursed to the purchaser with University funds.  Connections to the University wired network are also not provided for personal purchases. Backdoor attempts to bypass Purchasing and ITS policies are not tolerated.

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    Acquisition Process

    1. Submit a Help Desk ticket using the "Request for Quote" category and include as much detail as possible including product name, product model number, quantity and any vendor suggestions as to where the product may be purchased or obtain a quote and email it to the AVP for IT (needed during the approval process).
    2. Upon approval from ITS, enter the requisition into the My Portal system. Use the appropriate FOAP account codes for IT related requisitions (see below). Please note, on an IBM, Dell, CDWG or Apple order, indicate in the Document Text that the ITS Department will place the order online and also note who the computer will be assigned to or, if a software license, please indicate in the Document Text that the license must be emailed to the its@udmercy.edu. For software acquisitions, always include the recipient's name for the software application.
    3. Upon receiving the product, notify ITS for documentation and installation. If the ITS department receives the product, the Help Desk will schedule a time to install the product. If the product is software, ITS will make a legal backup copy for Procurement Services and place the original in the University's software library.
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    FOAP Account Codes for IT Related Requisitions

    The acquisition of information technology related products at the University requires proper coding within the My Portal system to allow the University to track hardware and software for refresh and compliance purposes. The following details below should assist in documenting a requisition in the system for approval.

    To begin the process, it is strongly advised that the employee works with the ITS department to obtain the quotes needed prior to submission. Quotes may be requested by submitting a Help Desk ticket with the category set to “request for quote.” If the employee elects to obtain his/her own quotes, he/she will need to send those to the its@udmercy.edu account for review during the approval process. Quotes generated by the ITS department do not need to be emailed.

    Contrary to any prior cultural practices whether using unrestricted accounts, restricted accounts or stipends (including UDMPU), all employees must adhere to the University’s purchasing policy. Purchases of IT related software or hardware whether in a store or online, whether reimbursement is sought or not, do not properly entitle the University to ownership and limit ITS’s ability to install or support the various items.

    Contrary to any prior historical practices, acquisitions must originate from the requesting department. ITS does not order and then IDC departments to cover the cost.

    There are six account codes which should be used for the purchase of computers, software, support, and computer peripherals: 7105, 7160, 7377, 7833, 7378 and 7835. If the account being used does not have the necessary funds to cover the purchase, please complete a budget transfer prior to completing the requisition.

    Per the mailroom’s delivery policy for hardware and software, the “Attention To” field on the Requestor/Delivery Information tab must indicate ITS. This is necessary for the proper barcoding and inventorying of equipment. Do not include an ITS person’s name, just state ITS.

    In the Commodity/Accounting block under “Description,” enter a specific product description. Overtype the default entry and include the product number. If necessary, item text may be used to expand the detail.

    Account 7105 (Computer Peripherals) should be used for but not limited to the purchase of the following items when the price is below $1,000:

    • Desktop PCs
    • Fax Machines
    • Flash Drives
    • iPads
    • Laptops
    • Monitors
    • Netbooks
    • Printers
    • Projectors
    • UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)
    • Webcams

    Supplies, such as toner cartridges, CD-Rs, DVDs, power bars, etc. are to be ordered under Account 7100 (General Supplies).

    Account #7160 (Maintenance Contracts) should be used for maintenance and support contracts for hardware. This includes maintenance for servers, PCs, laptops, iMacs, etc.

    If the quote for computers includes a warranty plan and the cost is listed as a separate item, such as the Apple Care Plan for Macs or the Priority Onsite Support for Lenovo Thinkpads, enter the commodity code (Warranty) and description on a separate line from the computer.

    Account #7377 (Software & Database Access Licenses) should be used for the purchase of software under $5,000 and all annual software licenses regardless of price, such as Adobe, Axium, Camtasia, SPSS, Microsoft and online databases as well as hosted solutions such as Zoom, Slate, DropBox. Software support or maintenance should also be ordered under Account 7377.

    Please indicate in the document text the employee name or position that will be assigned to use the software or manage the database.

    If the software license will be electronically delivered, please request the license be sent to its@udmercy.edu to ensure the license is properly documented in the University’s master software licensing library. Once the license is received from the vendor, the ITS Help Desk will coordinate the install of the license with the department.

    Account #7833 (Software) should be used for the purchase of software valued at $5,000 which will be capitalized, such as the software purchased for the Banner project. Software in this account will be owned by the University and used for more than one year.

    Regardless of the cost of the software, any maintenance or support should be charged to Account 7377.

    Account #7378 (Software) should be used for the purchase of multi-year software licenses.

    Account #7835 (Computers) should be used for the purchase of all computers (desktops, laptops & tablets) at a purchase price of $1,000 or more. Also use Account 7835 if a bulk purchase of computers is made totaling $3,000, even if the price per item is below $1,000.

    Account #7835 should be used for Servers, Switches, Projectors, and Printers with a purchase price at or above $1,000.

    Please remember to use “commodity level accounting” when purchasing computers. To use commodity level accounting, uncheck the “document level accounting” box in the upper right corner on the Requestor/Delivery Information block.

    All computers purchased through Dell, Apple and Lenovo (purchased through CDWG and Southern Computer Warehouse) are purchased online. When completing a requisition, include the following verbiage in “Document Text”:

         DO NOT FAX OR MAIL THIS PURCHASE ORDER
         Order to be placed online by ITS
         Enter the bid or quote number and its date (required)
         Enter the person’s name or multiple names if multiple computers are being purchased, for whom device is being ordered

    Failure to use “commodity level accounting” will result in the requisition being returned for revision.

    If the quote has expired, please obtain a new quote prior to completing the requisition. The ITS department will return the requisition if the quote has expired.

    Orders for the end of the fiscal year need to be submitted by May 1 so that the ITS department has enough time to process the orders. “Spending down” unused budget funds at the end of the fiscal year is highly discouraged.

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