19.1 Contract Overview

Policy Statement

“The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois” (“board”) is a public corporation of the State of Illinois with the authority under Illinois law to manage and operate the University of Illinois System, including the power to contract and be contracted with. By law, the contracting party for all system contracts is the board. The Comptroller is the general fiscal officer of the board and is authorized to sign contracts to which the board is a party, unless otherwise ordered by the board in specific cases. The Comptroller is authorized to delegate to responsible members of the system authority to sign contracts in the name of the Comptroller.

Neither faculty nor staff has authority to bind the board to a contract, either verbally or in writing, unless authorized to do so in writing by the Comptroller or as otherwise provided in 19 Contracts. (General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedure, Art. II, Section 4(h)).

Reason for the Policy

The execution of system policies, including those relating to contracts, is delegated to administrative agents of the board, acting under its general supervision. The reason for this policy is to establish what constitutes a system contract and who has authority to sign system contracts for the board.

This policy is also intended to clarify that the campuses of the University of Illinois, which under the 2016 Strategic Framework are now referred to as universities of the University of Illinois System, and any sub-divisions thereof, are not legal entities and may not enter into contracts.

Applicability of the Policy

This policy applies to all system contracts. For purposes of 19 Contracts, “University of Illinois contracts” shall refer to all contracts entered into by the board and one or more external parties, including, but not limited to zero-dollar contracts, memoranda of understanding, revenue-generating contracts, and procurement contracts, whether for the benefit of the entire system, one or more universities, or any sub-divisions thereof.

A contract is an agreement between parties that creates legally enforceable rights and obligations. Contracts may be referred to by a variety of terms, including but not limited to agreements, purchase orders, proposals, memoranda/letters of agreement/understanding, click-to-accept online terms and conditions, addenda, or amendments. Whatever it is called, if the document is intended to create legally enforceable rights and obligations, it should be treated as a contract under 19 Contracts.

Agreements between units of the system are not contracts and are not subject to this policy.

Procedure

System contracts must be processed, approved, signed, and filed appropriately. System contracts shall be entered into in the name of “The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.”