Purpose

This policy establishes standards, guidelines, and procedures for the acquisition of information resources in a manner that supports the goal of providing excellent stewardship of university resources. The appropriate Information Services (IS) area will assist requesting departments in acquiring information resources that meet the needs and priorities of the university community, are sustainable, compatible with existing systems, and can be efficiently supported. The Academic Technology Services (ATS), Client and Systems Support Services (C&SSS), Infrastructure and Enterprise Services (I&ES), Library Services (LS), and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) offices have extensive experience in assessing and procuring information resources and maintain numerous purchasing agreements with hardware, software, publishers, and service agencies. To effectively leverage these agreements and ensure information resource standards and licensing/compliance requirements are met, the appropriate office must be involved in the acquisition of all information resources.

Policy

The offices of Information Services (IS) are charged with assessing, procuring, implementing, and maintaining information resources in support of the St. Mary’s University mission. The Information Resources Acquisition policy establishes guidelines and procedures for purchasing information resources for the St. Mary’s University community.

Information Resources include, but are not limited to:

• Computers, laptops, tablets (Dell, Apple, etc.)
• Peripheral devices
• Printers
• Software (desktop, enterprise, and cloud-based applications)
• Servers
• Storage
• Networking equipment
• Internet service
• Campus phones and phone services
• Various third-party agreements for cloud-based services
• Library Resources

Important Note: Employees are limited to one primary computing device. Anyone who needs to work outside their workspace is only authorized a mobile device.

General Areas of Responsibility

Academic Technology Services (ATS): Supports enterprise academic software/service licenses, new classroom/learning space design, distance learning technologies, and resources for students’ creative digital and multimedia projects.

Client and Systems Support Services (C&SSS): Supports computer hardware and software typically used in office and classroom settings, including faculty, staff, and classroom refresh. Also responsible for the School of Law’s technological needs and functions related to video surveillance and access control.

Infrastructure and Enterprise Services (I&ES): Supports computer hardware, software, networking, infrastructure, cloud-based services, and ancillary components used by the University community at large.

Library Services (LS): Evaluates, acquires, and makes accessible books, eBooks, databases, audiovisual materials, etc., to support teaching, learning, and research needs. Also responsible for providing various student study spaces.

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): Responsible for project coordination and oversight of all systems and services designed to protect university systems from unauthorized access and ensure the University is secured from unauthorized disclosure.

Procedures

The following procedures will be used for all St. Mary’s University information resources purchases, leases, grant awards, or other acquisitions:

1. All information resource acquisitions, regardless of funding source (centrally funded by Information Services, department funded, or grant funded), must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate area (ATS, C&SSS, I&ES, LS, or CISO) prior to committing to a purchase.
2. The appropriate IS area will aid in making information resource acquisition decisions, considering:
   • Vendor/solution viability in the higher education marketplace
   • Initial and recurring costs
   • Maintenance and support requirements
   • Usability and continuity with existing and planned technologies
   • Overall utility to the University community

3. Recommendations on hardware/software support, maintenance/service agreements, or other vendor support agreements will be provided by the relevant group within Information Services. Such agreements will generally be required for “mission-critical” systems or any non-standard software/system for which in-house expertise is not available.
4. Not all software is compatible with all hardware and operating systems. The requestor is responsible for ensuring the software is compatible with the requested resources before submitting a request.

Requesting Information Resources Guidelines

1. ATS, C&SSS, I&ES, and CISO Information Resources:
   • Initiate the process by submitting an IRA (Information Resource Acquisition) requisition form through the Technical Support Center service desk resource acquisition form.
   • Do not email the TSC directly, as this will slow down the process.
   • The Technical Support Center (TSC) Director will ensure the request is documented, tracked, and assigned to the appropriate area for action.
   • A member of the appropriate team will contact the requestor to clarify needs (if required) and contact vendors for pricing, technical information, scope of work, etc.
   • An email quote will be sent to the requestor for approval.
   • Once approved, resources will be procured via a department-initiated Purchase Order, or one will be initiated by Information Services.
   • The requestor can track the status of the request through the TSC Service Desk.

2. LS Information Resources:
   • Contact the designated Librarian Liaison (list available at https://lib.stmarytx.edu/researchhelp).
   • The Library Liaison will document the request, clarify needs, and process it as appropriate.
   • The Library Liaison will provide an estimated time of receipt and notify the requestor when materials are available or if delays occur.
3. Information resources acquisitions should consider total life cycle costs, including but not limited:
   • Initial acquisition
   • Implementation costs
   • Training
   • Equipment refresh
   • Annual maintenance/support
   • Migration of data
   • Decommissioning and disposal

4. All information resources acquisitions will follow purchasing policies, procedures, and best practices.
5. The budget account of the requesting department will be expensed accordingly unless other funding arrangements are made in advance for all ATS, C&SSS, I&ES, CISO related acquisitions. Department funds will not be transferred into Information Services accounts.
6. If funds are not available in the appropriate account, it is the requestor’s responsibility to ensure funds are allocated from elsewhere in the department budget to fund the technology purchase. Some information resource acquisitions may be centrally funded.

Budget Accounts

The budget accounts covering information resources acquisitions may be in each departmental budget. It is the responsibility of the department budget manager to ensure appropriate funding is allocated. Use the following account numbers when purchasing information resources (partial listing):

• Software – Account number 71401, 79104, 79105 – Software purchased by department (departments do not have to pay for Microsoft 365/Windows/Office, SPSS, etc. as these are covered by Campus Agreements with software vendors).
• Computer Supplies – Account number 71544– Purchase of power supplies, docking stations, storage media, cables, etc.
• Computers – Account number 79103– Purchase of new computers, monitors, laptops, tablets, scanners, digital cameras, digital projectors, keyboards, mice, displays, media players, etc.
• Software Maintenance – Account number 79107– Purchase software maintenance and software upgrades.
• Networking – Account number 79109– Purchase of computer networking equipment such as switches, wireless access points, etc.

Note: The following accounts are for Library resources and are used exclusively by Library Services to procure items for academic departments.

• Books – Account number 79113 – Purchase of related Library materials.
• Media – Library Acquisitions – Account number 72704 –Purchase of related Library materials.
• Periodicals and Subscriptions – Account number 73801– Purchase of related Library materials.

Purchase Process

1. Department-initiated information resources purchases will be made by the requesting department, including determining appropriate account numbers and entering the purchase order, obtaining appropriate budgetary approvals, etc.
2. Library-related purchase actions will be performed by the Library Liaison or other LS personnel as required and are contingent on funding.
3. For ATS, C&SSS, and I&ES related acquisitions, once the purchase order has been created and approved, include the purchase order number in the IRA requisition form.
4. The appropriate Information Services staff member will review the purchase order documents received and, once reviewed and approved by the CIO and appropriate IS leadership team member, that staff member will initiate the purchase with the vendor.
5. All information resources purchases will be shipped to and received by the appropriate IS office unless other arrangements have been approved by IS personnel.
6. Once orders are received, inventoried, and prepared for use, the associated Service desk ticket will be updated to document that the information resources are available to the requesting office/area.
7. The requesting office will budget for annual recurring costs such as maintenance, licensing, training, and conferences as appropriate and will adjust for annual support increases from the vendor.

Definitions

Academic Technology Services (ATS): The IS department responsible for supporting enterprise academic software/service licenses, new classroom/learning space design, distance learning technologies, and resources for students’ creative digital and multimedia projects.

Budget Account: A specific financial account designated for particular types of expenses within the university’s accounting system.

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): The individual responsible for project coordination and oversight of all systems and services designed to protect university systems from unauthorized access and ensure the University is secured from unauthorized disclosure.

Client and Systems Support Services (C&SSS): The IS department responsible for supporting computer hardware and software typically used in office and classroom settings, including faculty, staff, and classroom technology refresh.

Cloud-based Services: Software and technology services that are delivered over the internet rather than locally on a computer or server.

Enterprise Software: Large-scale software applications designed to support and automate multiple functions across an organization.

Information Resources: Any equipment, software, or services related to the storage, processing, and transmission of information.

Information Services (IS): The collective departments responsible for managing and supporting the university’s information technology infrastructure and services.

Information Resource Acquisition (IRA): The process of requesting, evaluating, and purchasing information resources for use within the university.

Infrastructure and Enterprise Services (I&ES): The IS department responsible for supporting computer hardware, software, networking, infrastructure, cloud-based services, and ancillary components used by the University community at large.

Librarian Liaison: A librarian assigned to a specific academic department or subject area, responsible for assisting with resource acquisition and research support.

Library Services (LS): The department responsible for evaluating, acquiring, and making accessible books, eBooks, databases, audiovisual materials, and other resources to support teaching, learning, and research needs.

Life Cycle Costs: The total cost of ownership of an information resource over its entire life, including initial acquisition, implementation, training, maintenance, support, data migration, and eventual decommissioning.

Mission-critical Systems: Systems that are essential to the core operations of the university, where failure or disruption would result in severe negative consequences.

Mobile Device: A portable computing device such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone that can be used for work purposes outside of a traditional office setting.

Primary Computing Device: Employees are limited to one primary computing device provide by the university (typically a mobile device such as a Dell laptop or MacBook). This device is issued to the employee by the university to perform university tasks.  In some instances, a second device may be issued to an employee such as an iPad to perform specific tasks.  Grant-funded specialized computers used in research are typically not considered a primary computing device.

Purchase Order (PO): An official document issued by a buyer committing to pay the seller for the sale of specific products or services to be delivered in the future.

Technical Support Center (TSC): The central point of contact for IT support and service requests within the university.

TSC Service Desk: The ticketing system used for submitting and tracking Information Resource Acquisition (IRA) requests and other IT-related issues.

Vendor Support Agreement: A contract between the university and a vendor that outlines the terms of ongoing technical support and maintenance for purchased products or services.