Business and Finance (Includes Physical Plant)

04:07:00 Contract Policies
(This policy is not applicable to employment contracts with the College.)

1. General:  The following shall be implemented to:
   1. Ensure College contracts adhere to College and TBR policy and guidelines, including 4.02.01.00 Approvals of Agreements and Contracts, G-030 Contracts Guideline, and all relevant laws, collectively (compliance obligations). 
   2. Allow divisions to continue to nurture their contracting relationships with outside entities (Contractors). A contract coordinator will encourage direct coordination at the user-expert level.
   3. Encourage the use of purchase requests for goods and services if the vendor accepts Chattanooga State standard terms and conditions and does not impose their own additional terms on the purchase.
   4. Establish a standardized control system for processing the College’s contracts when a written contract is involved. All contracts must meet the standards as outlined in this document. Each division should select an individual contract coordinator for each contract who is familiar with both the technical aspects of the contract and the outside entity. Coordinators should be clearly identified so that they may be easily contacted, if needed. The contract coordinator will be the liaison between the College and the Contractor.
   5. To access the Contracts Manual and instructions for submitting a contract, log onto TigerWeb, Chattanooga State’s campus portal, and click on the “Faculty/Staff” tab. There you will find a link to the “Contracts SharePoint Portal.”
   6. This policy applies to contracts for independent contractors, but not for any other personnel contracts.
2. Timing 
   1. It is the Originator’s responsibility to ensure contracts are prepared and submitted in a timely fashion. A schedule is set out below for advisory timelines.  Contracts should be submitted taking into consideration the schedule below. Contract requests submitted after the contract start date, or outside the schedule below must include a written explanation for the delay. While “rush jobs” may sometimes be necessary, they should be kept to a minimum.
      1. Standard TBR Model Contracts: Submit at least 10 working days before the desired effective date.
      2. Non-Standard Contracts (including those requiring amendments or addenda): Submit at least 20 working days before the desired effective date.
      3. Contracts Requiring TBR Approval: Submit at least 3 months before the desired effective date.
      4. Contracts Requiring Fiscal Review Committee Approval: Submit at least 5 months before the desired effective date.
3. Contract Preparation
   1. All divisions will be responsible for the preparation of their own contracts. Each division is, then, a contract originator and is responsible for compliance obligations. Originators are strongly encouraged to utilize TBR provided templates, except with permission from the contract officer. TBR contract templates will be made available for your convenience.
   2. Originators are strongly encouraged to reference the contracts manual published by the Contract Officer in preparing their contracts. Specific information about this policy can be found in the document “Contract Processing and Approval” in the Contracts Portal.
   3. All contracts should be submitted to the College for review and signing before the contractor has signed, or the Originator should seek preapproval from the Contract Officer if the contract is expected to be signed before it is formally routed.
   4. The Contract Officer will review all requests and either accept the request, require changes to address issues, or reject the request with an explanation.
4. Obtaining College Approval
   1. Each division shall coordinate and prepare contracts based on their needs. After drafting is complete, a formal contract request shall be submitted via email to the Contract Officer at contracts@chattanoogastate.edu.
   2. Originators are strongly encouraged to reference the contracts manual provided by the Contract Officer in preparing their contracts.
   3. Contracts will be reviewed by the Contract Officer after submission and will be prepared for signing unless issues are noted. If such issues arise, the contract may be revised, the originator may receive instructions to revise, or the contract may be rejected.
   4. Pre-approvals: Contracts will require pre-approval; the Contract Originator and Contract Officer should identify the responsible reviewers for pre-approval. If applicable, the contract will be routed to the responsible individual(s) for pre-approval prior to signing by the President. Approvals are generally in the order indicated below, but the order may change at the direction of the Contracts team.
      1. The Tennessee Board of Regents - must review according to TBR Policy 4.02.01.00 Approvals of Agreements and Contracts.
      2. Grants - the grant accounting team must review contracts involving grants and certain restricted funds.
      3. Foundation matters - the Foundation President must review contracts involving foundation expenditures and other foundation matters.
      4. IT & Accessibility - Digital and software products shall be reviewed and a corresponding risk assessment form shall be completed by information technologies and the accessibility chair. Chattanooga State Policy 02:13:05 Digital Accessibility.
      5. Purchasing - purchasing must review contracts as required by TBR Policy 04:02:10:00 Purchasing Policies and Procedures, and Chattanooga State Policy 04:26:00 Purchasing.
      6. Vice President Approval - All contracts must be reviewed by both the  Vice President of the Requesting Department and the Vice President of Business and Finance.
   5. If pre-approved, the contract will be sent to the President for signature. All contracts must be signed by the President or their designee.
   6. Finally, the contract will be sent to the outside entity for signature.
   7. The Contracts Office will maintain the executed contract in the College’s contract file, according to an organized system which allows for contract tracking and reporting. It is recommended that the division keep an executed copy of the contract on file.
5. Post-Contract Responsibilities
   1. It is the responsibility of the division to ensure each contract is monitored for performance, and to ensure contracts do not lapse. As such, the division-designated contract monitor must prepare and maintain contract monitoring plans on a per-contract basis. Such plans shall be kept in the division records and available for review by the Contract Officer.

Revised by department, August 1, 2025 - to be submitted for Fall 2025 policy review

Submitted to Policy Review Committee on June 4, 2021

Submitted to Policy Review Board on July 8, 2021

Approved by Policy Review Board on July 28, 2021

Submitted to Policy Review Committee on June 14, 2019

Submitted to Policy Review Board on July 22, 2019

Approved by Policy Review Board on July 31, 2019

See Previous Version(s):

Source: Revision submitted to the Policy Review Board on November 10, 2017 

Revision approved by the Policy Review Board on November 29, 2017 

Source: Revision approved by Business and Finance on January 28, 2009 

Revision approved by Executive Staff, President’s Cabinet, and President on May 20, 2009