Columbia is a huge institution with enormous buying power, where few individual purchases are unique. Because of the depth and breadth of our purchasing, it makes good sense for us all to follow the same set of procedures based on clear policies and practices that fully leverage our collective power in the market; reflect good business practices; and protect the best interests of the University.
In particular, as the recipient of a substantial amount of Federal funding, the University must comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) accompanying the distribution of these funds. Otherwise, the availability of these funds may be jeopardized.
The Purchasing Guidelines articulate the University's policies with respect to the purchase of goods and services, and are useful as a reference and a resource as purchasing related questions arise. The Guidelines also provide links to the relevant federal regulations underlying University policies. To learn more about purchasing policy and procedures, click on the following link.
Buying@Columbia includes information about how to purchase the full range of goods and services required by schools and departments, as well as the many University agreements that have been awarded for this purpose.
This section also explains when and how faculty and staff can make personal purchases at discounted prices for many items in conjunction with University negotiated agreements. In addition, Buying Products and Services explains the different kinds of requisitions and the steps in the purchasing process. Learning about these systems and using them properly will speed and simplify the acquisition of any product or service.
The Purchasing Department staff work hard to apply their knowledge and experience to leverage the University's considerable purchasing power on your behalf. Our goal is to help you secure the best value for your department and for other departments with similar needs across the University, and to ensure that your department and the University are fully protected in the event an unanticipated problem arises with a purchase. Consider the following for quick-and-easy purchasing:
Let Purchasing work with you as you begin your purchase decision-making
Use Preferred Vendors for convenience, reliability and value
Read proposals or contracts carefully before making any commitment
Laptop Purchasing Options If at any point you would like to use a loaner laptop for a business trip, conference, lecture, etc....ÂÂ…you can stop by the helpdesk and/or email us at helpdesk@law.columbia.edu to make a request. We have a small pool of laptops, that are configured with all Law School applications. The laptops are ready to go, fully supported by IT and work with our system. Judging on availability, we can loan laptops for up to 1 week, but please call and/or email for availability.
Purchasing a laptop (institutional) In this area you have a couple of options:
You can purchase, a Dell 630, as a replacement for your desktop. The laptop will have all the necessary law school related software; and will be configured as a docking station, so you can easily remove and replace the laptop without attaching a keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc. The laptop will be fully supported by IT. To make a purchase, please contact us at helpdesk@law.columbia.edu. The price of an office desktop (~$700) will be deducted from the purchase price of the laptop and billed to your research account.
Alternatively, you can purchase any make or model laptop you prefer and IT will support network connectivity to the Law School systems. Software application, hardware, configuration and more detailed support is not currently available on Thinkpads, Toshiba, Gateway, Sony, Panasonic, and all the other vendors.
Purchasing a laptop (Personal)
The University has negotiated good prices on a variety of items with some of the vendors we do business with. As a Columbia employee, we all have access to discounts from a variety of vendors. For detailed information about personal purchase, please visit. http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/purch/personal_p.html.
We hope this information helps and we look forward to assisting you and your decision.
In many cases, the university has negotiated University-wide Purchasing Agreements (UwPAs) that allow faculty and staff to make personal purchases at the same discounted prices paid by the University. These contracts reflect the University's commitment to the people who make the University function.
View contract listings with our preferred vendors for University-wide Purchasing Agreements (UwPAs) with personal purchase provisions. Each listing provides information about the personal purchase features of the agreement, often with a link to a web page the vendor has provided for placing such purchases. Agreements with personal purchase provisions are also designated with a P on our Preferred Vendors list.
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Purchasing Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What discounts can I get as a Columbia Student, Faculty, or administrator? A: Several Vendors who do business with the university extend discount pricing for personal purchases. Please visit. http://www.columbia.edu/acis/sales/ and view discount and personal ordering information for Dell, Apple and many other vendors.
Q: Can I just order an item through my department and reimburse the University? A: Purchase of equipment, furniture or any item for personal use through the University's Purchase Office or through the University contracts violates sales tax regulations and is not permitted. While vendors do offer personal discounts equal to the discount the university receives, individuals must pay sales tax in the State of New York. Attempts to avoid paying sales tax violates the university's nonprofit status.
Q: When I visit the CUIT computer sales site, it asks me for my UNI login ID? What is that? A: Your UNI ID is the first portion of you Columbia University email address (not your law school ID). For example: Mary Ann, Smith may have the Columbia University email address mas2007@columbia.edu. Her UNI ID would be mas2007. You selected your password when you created your Cunix account. If you never created a Cunix account or forgot your UNI or Cunix (same thing) password, please visit: mas2007@columbia.edu. Her UNI ID would be mas2007. You selected your password when you created your Cunix account. If you never created a Cunix account or forgot your UNI or Cunix (same thing) password, please visit: http://www.columbia.edu/acis/accounts/create/current.html
Q: How do I know what kind of computer I need? A: The starting point for selecting any technology is deciding what you will need the computer to do. If you are creating videos or doing graphic-intensive work, you will need a more powerful computer than if you spend most of your time writing text documents and emails. Several sites give good advice and reviews of current products.
Most of the vendors who offer discounts to the Columbia community will work with you to configure and price your selection.
Q. Will the Columbia Law School helpdesk support my personal equipment if I purchase through a university vendor? A. No. Most vendors and/or manufacturers offer service and support for a relatively low fee. The Columbia Law School IT helpdesk only support equipment owned by the law school; however, the helpdesk will assist you with laptop network connectivity.
