UMass Boston

A "consultant" shall mean any person who, as a non-employee of the Commonwealth, gives advice or employee training and whose compensation is payable from Object Class HH. No person employed by the University, as a consultant shall directly or indirectly supervise another temporary or permanent employee of the University. A consultant may be required to render a written report prior to final payment.

The process for selection of a consultant to perform services for the University shall be as competitive as practicable under the circumstances.

No consultant to perform services classified under subsidiary HH costing over $50,000 annually, may be awarded, except pursuant to competitive bidding or submission of a no bid justification form. Request for consultants exceeding $50,000 involves the mandatory solicitation of bids, or an extensive no bid justification.

Consultants are responsible for making their own estimated income tax and self-employment-tax payments, and because they are not employees, are not entitled to fringe benefits such as employer-paid retirement and insurance

Consultant Services (HH) under $10,000 annually; a requisition is required, a complete description of services, rates that apply and the contract term must be on the requisition. An Employment Status Form is also required.

Consultant Services (HH) greater than $10,000 per fiscal year; requires a completely executed Contract for Services Terms and Conditions along with a requisition online. All documents must be in the Procurement Department before services begin. The department will be responsible for obtaining all the necessary signatures.

Requires a draft copy of the Contract for Services Terms and Conditions along with a requisition online. All documents must be in the Procurement Department before services begin. Legal review is required over $100,000. The Procurement Department draws the contract and is responsible for obtaining all signatures.

Consultant Contract, greater than $50,000 annually; the Contract shall be bid competitively whenever practicable or an extensive sole source justification submitted. The procedure must involve the solicitation of formal written proposals. Funds must be encumbered in advance and a Contract for Services Terms and Conditions must be executed before commencement of services. The Procurement Department will draw up the contract once the proposal has been awarded and will be responsible for obtaining all signatures.

If bidding is required, specifications along with the requisition must be submitted (8) eight weeks prior to the start date of the Contract.

Employment Status Form

State law, M.G.L. c. 149, s. 148B, establishes a three-part test that presumes an individual is a contract employee unless:

The individual is free from control and direction in connection with the performance of the service, both under his contract for the performance of service and in fact.
The service is performed outside the usual course of the business of the employer.
The individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed.

• Contracts 
• Strategic Sourcing

The Assistant Vice Chancellor for Contracts and Compliance is the only individual authorized to sign Maintenance Agreements on behalf of the University, regardless of the source of funds.

Following is the procedures that shall be followed to contract with an outside vendor for the maintenance/repair of University-owned equipment; e.g., office machines, computers, research equipment.

MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS
All requisitions for maintenance services may have an agreement and if so it must be forwarded to the Procurement Department for approval and signature.  A bill is not considered an agreement.

Maintenance/repair service/parts for equipment: When there is labor involved, charge subsidiary LL. If the purchase covers only replacement parts without labor, charge to the appropriate account code.

 There are two types of equipment repair service that are usually available from those vendors that offer it:

(1) Per Call Service: Equipment is serviced only when requested. Fees are usually based on an hourly rate plus replacement parts and the requesting department is billed for each call.

(2) If the total value of the maintenance service contract is greater than $50,000 per fiscal year and the service is available from more than one vendor, and if the agreement is not covered by State, MHEC, University or Campus contract, the department shall submit their request for bid to Procurement by creating a requisition. The Procurement Department will send out requests for bids for competitive requirements and will issue a Purchase Order to cover the resulting agreement. The requesting department will be responsible for issuing requisitions to cover any subsequent years of the agreement, if applicable.

In all instances, the vendor shall provide the University with an itemized bill, including the rate per hour, the number of hours worked, and an itemized list of parts (if applicable). Lump sum bills are unacceptable.

Service Contract (usually issued annually): Equipment may receive regularly scheduled preventive maintenance inspections and is repaired, as needed, between inspections for a flat annual rate. Some service contracts include replacement parts; other, only cover labor. The requesting department should check the terms of the vendor’s service contract prior to contracting for maintenance to determine exactly what is covered.

 All maintenance service contracts shall be signed by the vendor and by the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Contracts and Compliance.  

If the total value of the maintenance service contract is greater than $10,000 and less than $50,000 per fiscal year the department may prepare a requisition and submit it to Procurement for review, together with the vendor’s contractual agreement.  No Purchase Order covering a maintenance service contract will be processed unless and until it has the appropriate, properly executed contract attached to it.

 All maintenance service agreements are subject to the review and approval of the Procurement Department, all the necessary procedures shall be followed, and approvals and signature obtained, prior to making any commitment to the vendor.

A stipend is a payment made to an individual (non-student/non-employee) in order to defray the cost for taking a course or participating in a special project.

All stipends must be done as a direct payment. 

Any orders involving ALTERATIONS TO PLANT (air conditioners, large scientific equipment, etc.) are to be cleared through the Facilities Department first, to determine if the right course of action is being taken and if there are sufficient utilities to support the new equipment.

Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, repair, or demolition of any public building or public works by the Commonwealth or by any governmental unit thereof, estimated to cost $10,000 or more, shall be awarded to the lowest responsible and eligible general bidder on the basis of competitive bids obtained by the Procurement Department (or the campus equivalent thereof) in accordance with the procedures set forth in the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 30, Section 39M, as amended; Chapter 149, Sections 44A-44J, inclusive.

Prevailing Wages Link

This object class includes Information Technology expenditures associated with operations.

• Telecommunications Services (VOICE, DATA Lines)
• Telecommunications Consultants
• Telecommunications Cabling
• Telecommunications Equipment
• IT Consultants
• Travel reimbursement for IT Consultants
• IT Cabling
• IT Equipment/Equipment Enhancement
• Federal IT Equipment/Equipment Enhancement
• Software/Software upgrade/Software licenses

• Contracts 
• Strategic Sourcing

By statute, both state and non-appropriated funds are subject to Internal, State, and Federal audit. Therefore, it should be clearly understood that uniform purchasing and accounting procedures must be followed to insure proper control and compliance with regulations under fiscal autonomy.

In accordance with University policy, reimbursements to faculty or staff are not allowed against any University funds. Some reimbursements are authorized under extraordinary circumstances. Such requests must be submitted on a Disbursement Voucher with the original cash receipts and a memorandum of explanation detailing the circumstance.

Contact one of the buyers in the Procurement Department to discuss your particular case before you commit to a vendor with the intention of being reimbursed by the University. Final approval of any reimbursement will be to the discretion of the Procurement Department and the Controller's Office.

Note: Reimbursements for SERVICES cannot be made, under any circumstances. Subsidiaries HH, JJ and NN apply.

The University will not reimburse the individual for Massachusetts Sales Tax.

All printing must be charged to object code 734310. The Office of Government Relations and Public Affairs will assist you in designing and preparing the specifications, if necessary.

Printing Expenses - Includes printing, binding, blueprinting, photography, photo developing, and copyrighting of printed material for both academic and administrative departments. The Office of Government Relations and Public Affairs approval will be done electronically.

Purchase requisitions over $10,000 to $50,000 must provide two quotes or public bidding will be conducted by the Procurement Department. The lowest/qualified of the two quotes or bidding process must be the selected vendor to provide the services.  For orders under $1,000 printing may be charged to your Procard providing you get special approval from the Office of Government Relations and Public Affairs.  The Office of Government Relations and Public Affairs can be reached at 617-287-5300.

All newspaper advertisement must be approved by the Office of Government Relations and Public Affairs, account code 735100. No employment ads are authorized under the printing account code.