Fiscal Affairs

Purchasing Guidelines

The purpose of this section is to acquaint prospective vendors, bidders and suppliers with the purchasing procedures used by Central.

Central intends that its purchasing be conducted in accordance with State laws and University policies and procedures. Central procedures conform to open, ethical and sound procurement policies.

The Vendor Guide to the Code of Ethics for the State of Connecticut

Central contracts are awarded to the lowest responsible, qualified bidder. Price, quality, experience, and other prescribed selection factors are considered. Where price and other factors are identical (tie bids), preference is given to bidders whose headquarters are located in Connecticut and/or are SBE/MBE/WBE companies currently registered with the State of Connecticut Supplier Diversity program..

Questions relating to purchasing policies or regulations should always be directed to the  Central Purchasing Department at 860.832.2534

  • Vendors are required to obtain a temporary parking permit from the Central Police Dept (located at 1500 East Street) to avoid tickets while on campus. The Police Dept can provide directions to appropriate parking areas.
  • If you wish to make your company or your product or service known to Central, contact the Purchasing Department. We will be glad to meet with you and provide information on how best to conduct business with Central. We will also make sure your information reaches the proper departments.
  • All inquiries into the progress of quotes, departmental decisions, paperwork, etc are to be made through the Purchasing Department.
  • Departments are not authorized to sign any vendor documentation (i.e. lease agreements or software licenses). All such documents must be signed by authorized personnel from the Central Business Office.
  • Providing goods or services to Central without an approved purchase order, personal service agreement, or other bona fide contract is prohibited. Providing goods or services without a properly executed purchase order or contract is a violation of Connecticut General Statutes and is not legal binding. Central has no legal obligation to pay for said goods or services and a vendor risks non-payment for same.
  • Unless specifically directed otherwise, all deliveries are to be made to the Central Receiving Room, East Hall, Wells Street. Circumventing this procedure may result in delayed processing of subsequent invoices.
  • Vendors can reach the Central Purchasing Department and research/request current RFQs/RFPs via links at the right side of the top of this page.
  • Please invoice on a CO-17 State invoice form or vendor invoice to the billing address specified on each contract or purchase order. Each invoice should reference a purchase order number or contract number and provide the appropriate Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or Social Security Number (SSN) to expedite payment.
  • Also, in an effort to avoid delay, we strongly encourage vendors to sign up for direct deposit by completing the direct deposit enrollment form and email the attached enrollment form to purchasing@ccsu.edu. From the moment an invoice is processed, you can reasonably expect the Direct Deposit to post to your checking account the next business day, depending on your bank's ACH scheduling.
  • Please consider these two requests: 1) to email invoices as a PDF attachment to ap@ccsu.edu & 2) to sign up for direct deposit via this form and upload both this form & your W9 through our secure ShareFile site at your earliest convenience.
  • Unless otherwise stated, Central payment terms are Net 45 days after receipt of accepted goods or services and properly executed invoice.
  • Payment is issued through the Central Accounts Payable Department Questions relating to payments should be directed to the Accounts Payable Department at 860. 832.2511.
  • In accordance with Executive Order 7C, vendors are to refrain from offering, and Central employees are to refrain from accepting, gifts of any type or value.

Please consider these two requests: 1) to email invoices as a PDF attachment to ap@ccsu.edu & 2) to sign up for direct deposit via this form and upload both this form & your W9 through our secure ShareFile site at your earliest convenience.

General Conditions
Responsibility for all purchases occurring within Central is centralized in the Purchasing Department. By such centralized control for both goods and services, uniform adherence to the policies and procedures herein is more closely achieved. Under special circumstance and subject to strict regulations, individual departments may conduct preliminary investigations while developing a source or sources for new products or specialized equipment consistent with required quality or adaptability; however, final commitments for all Central goods and services are made by the Purchasing Department in accordance with established policies and procedures.

Communications with Vendors
Purchasing has frequently been asked the question if Central personnel can communicate with vendors when preparing for a procurement. Certainly, to adequately do our jobs, we need to speak to companies to educate ourselves on their products and services well in advance of soliciting bids for new products/services. Here are a few things to keep in mind before starting those communications:

  • Observe all ethics rules. All personnel who will be communicating with vendors or potential vendors must have read and understood all State and Central ethics rules.
  • Never have only one employee meet with a vendor; have at least two, one of whom should be purchasing person and one could be a technical person or a product user. The idea here is to have people from different areas of Central involved and have everything out in the open.
  • Never make any promises/commitments to vendors about procuring their product or services. Never sign anything from a vendor such as quote forms, agreements or licenses. Always send such forms to Purchasing for review first.
  • Obtaining a quote from a vendor is acceptable and is a standard no-cost/no-obligation business practice. Detailed presentations are to be avoided. A vendor who provides substantive help to Central on a potential procurement (i.e. presentations or demonstrations to end users) could be viewed as gaining an unfair advantage in the forthcoming procurement, and such vendors may be disqualified from that bid process.
  • There must only be one point of contact (one person) with vendors once it has been decided to issue a bid or request for proposal. That person is responsible for answering all questions that come in from the outside, for asking questions of vendors and for coordinating the entire procurement in general. Once a bid or request for proposal has been issued, end users, bid review committee members, or any other interested parties from Central should not talk to any vendors at any time. That's a role for Purchasing.
  • The procurement playing field must always be kept level. This is paramount. So, no conduct of any Central employee must ever be such that it can be construed as collusive or fraudulent.
  • Central personnel involved in any bid or request for proposal, either current or anticipated, are encouraged to consult with Purchasing on these matters, with any questions, even easy ones.

Rev 1/19/22