Any time the University is committed to an action or payment for services or goods, or the University commits to the acceptance of an action by a vendor, or agrees to a specific dollar amount for services or goods, some form of written agreement or contract is required.

For our purposes, there is no significant difference between a contract and an agreement, although "agreement" is a broader term, and quite often agreements lack the essential elements of a contract. The pre-printed Personal/Professional Services Contract form, and Purchase Orders are also forms of contracts.

Any form of contractual agreement should be signed before the fact.  Advance time should be allowed for either preparation or revision of a contract prior to the anticipated commencement date.

Interstate and international contracts, contracts for legal services, and contracts at certain dollar thresholds subject to House Bill 2321 require prior review/approval from the Attorney General's office via the Business Office Contracts Manager.  You need to allow extra time for these pre-approvals.

See Special House Bill 2321 Requirements for specifics as at Attorney General approval on certain types of contracts or specific dollar thresholds, as well as "exceptions".

There are also other pre-approvals required, which are obtained via the Business Office Contract Officer, for financial auditing services, revisions of insurance coverage or provisions of tort liability coverage above the State's limit, accounting services, and financial and bond counsel services, and thus additional time needs to be allowed for this pre-approval as well.

For more information see the BAO Contracting Page

For help with Contract/Lease/ITB/RFP preparation, consulting, and training. Contact Michael Rogers, Contracts Manager 6-3149 rogersmi@uoregon.edu