Procedure No. 30.12

Adopted: 4/27/2022

Uniform Guidance (UG) is a set of regulations (located at 2 CFR 200) that consolidates guidance about federal grants from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Uniform Guidance – a "government-wide framework for grants management" – is an authoritative set of rules and requirements for Federal awards that synthesizes and supersedes guidance from earlier OMB circulars.*Per Grants.gov website, this guidance was drawn from OMB Circulars A–21, A–87, A–110, and A–122 (which have been placed in past OMB guidances); Circulars A–89, A–102, and A–133; and the guidance in Circular A–50 on Single Audit Act follow-up.

Goals of Uniform Guidance

UG significantly reforms federal grant making to focus resources on improving performance and outcomes. The intent is to reduce the administrative burden on award recipients and, at the same time, guard against the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Procurement guidance is specifically located in sections 200.317-200.326. This guidance focuses on increased competition and transparency in the procurement process.

All College personnel must comply, at a minimum, with the following principles when purchasing goods or services with Federal and/ or State funds.

General Procurement Standards

General procurement standards that cover the purchase of property, supplies and services under the Uniform Guidance (200.318) include:

1. The organization must maintain written policies and procedures for procurement covering the methods available under these regulations.
2. Costs must be reasonable and necessary, and avoid acquisition of unnecessary or duplicative items.
3. Must provide for full and open competition
4. The organization must maintain written standards of conduct covering internal and external conflicts of interest.
5. The organization must maintain documentation addressing cost and price analysis and vendor selections where applicable based on the method of procurement used.
6. The organization must maintain oversight to ensure that contractors perform in accordance with the terms, conditions, and specifications of their contracts or purchase orders.
7. The organization must be responsible, in accordance with good administrative practice and use sound business judgment, for the settlement of all contractual and administrative issues arising out of procurements. 

Methods of Procurement

Atlantic Cape Community College follows the more restrictive New Jersey Statutes, Title 18A-Education, County College Contracts Law, 18A:64A-25 et.seq, therefore meeting the Uniform Guidance dollar thresholds specified in each of the following methods of procurement.

There are five available methods of procurement for each purchase which are summarized below:

1. Micro-purchases: up to $10,000*
   • Micro-purchases may be awarded without soliciting competitive quotations if the price is considered to be reasonable; and
   • Distributed micro-purchases equitably among qualified vendors when practical

2. Small purchases: Between $10,001 and $250,000
   • Rate or price quotes must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources (at least three); and
   • Documentation of quotes must be kept in procurement records

3. Sealed bids: $250,001 and above
   • Used when selection of successful bidder can be made principally on the basis of price;
   • Bids are publicly solicited from an adequate number of known suppliers, providing sufficient response time and must define the items or services in order for bidders to properly respond;
   • Lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the fixed price contract should be awarded the contract;
   • All bids will be opened at time and place prescribed in invitation; and
   • Bids may be rejected if there is a sound documented reason.

4. Competitive proposals: $250,001 and above
   • Must be publicized and identify all evaluation factors and their relative importance;
   • Used for either a fixed price or cost reimbursement contract when sealed bids are not appropriate;
   • Must be solicited from and adequate number of qualified sources and requires public advertising;
   • Must have written method for conducting technical evaluations of the proposals and selecting the recipient; and
   • Contracts must be awarded to the responsible vendor whose proposal is most advantageous, with price and other factors considered

5. Noncompetitive Procurement

• There are specific circumstances in which noncompetitive procurement can be used. Noncompetitive procurement can only be awarded if one or more of the following circumstances apply:
  • The acquisition of property or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which does not exceed the UG micro-purchase threshold or New Jersey quote limit, whichever is less;
  • The item is available only from a single source;
  • The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation; or
  • After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate.
  • Documentation and justification of the use of a noncompetitive proposal must be maintained in the procurement records

UG Conflicts of Interest Policy

As part of the OMB’s Uniform Guidance, there are requirements for conflicts of interest within a procurement action and how the College must handle them.

The regulation states: “No employee, officer, or agent may participate in the selection, award, or administration of a contract supported by a Federal award if he or she has a real or apparent conflict of interest. Such a conflict of interest would arise when the employee, officer, or agent, any member of his or her immediate family, his or her partner, or an organization which employs or is about to employ any of the parties indicated herein, has a financial or other interest in or a tangible personal benefit from a firm considered for a contract.”