Doing Business with the University

About the University of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico is the largest of New Mexico's six four-year public universities and has the state's only schools of law, medicine, architecture and planning, and pharmacy. Located on 769 acres in the heart of Albuquerque, UNM has 25,000 students on the main campus and 5,000 students at branch campuses in Los Alamos, Gallup and Valencia County and two graduate centers in Santa Fe and Los Alamos. UNM's 11 degree-granting schools and colleges are: Anderson Schools of Management, Architecture and Planning, Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and University College.

The UNM Medical Center is a community of 5,000 students, faculty and staff and consists of 12 components: UNM School of Medicine; University Hospital; the Cancer Center; the Children's Hospital of New Mexico; Carrie Tingley Hospital; the Mental Health Center; the Children's Psychiatric Hospital; the Center for Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions; the Center for Non-Invasive Diagnosis; the Office of the Medical Investigator; the Emergency Medical Services Academy; and the Medical Center Library.

UNM is funded by a variety of sources with 24% coming from state taxes and bonds, 28% from sales and services, 14% from government grants and contracts, 11% from private sources, 7% from tuition and fees, 4% from local government and local bonds, 4% from net balances/transfers, 2% from state land/permanent fund and 6% from other services.

Basic UNM Purchasing Policy

The University of New Mexico is excluded from the State requirement that all purchasing for State Agencies shall be performed by the State purchasing agent. All other requirements of the State Procurement Code apply to the University. The University Policy on Purchasing governs all purchases of supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services for the University and clearly stipulates that such purchases will be made only by the UNM Purchasing Department.

All funds received by the University, regardless of their source, are considered to be University funds and are expected to be expended for purchases only as described above.

Trained and authorized personnel in departments are generally allowed to make purchases of goods not exceeding $10,000.00 and services not exceeding $10,00.00 using the UNM Purchasing Card. The card is accepted by any business that accepts Visa.

The UNM Purchasing Department makes all other purchases for the University schools, colleges, branch campuses, graduate centers and the Medical Center with the exception of the University Hospital and Children's Hospital of New Mexico.

All purchases must be authorized by a Purchase Order. All purchase orders have an eight digit number beginning with the letter "P". Only the buyers in the Purchasing Department have the authority to issue Purchase Orders. Invoices for payment for tangible goods and services must reference a valid purchase order number for payment to be made.

General Purchasing Procedures

For goods and services not purchased using the P-Card, University departments complete Purchase Requisitions in LoboMart which are then forwarded to Banner for approval. General Accounting Department where checks for availability of funds. Requisitions with indices that involve federal funds are forwarded to the Contracts and Grants Department to check for availability of funds. Once funding is verified, the requisition is forwarded to the Purchasing Department. Based on the dollar value and type of purchase, the following general guidelines are followed:

Purchases Less Than $10,000.00

The buyer is responsible for obtaining verification that the cost of the goods or services are reasonable, either through verbal quotes or comparison with recent orders, or through the informal request for quotation.

Purchases Over $60,000.00

Prices for goods and non-professional services are solicited through the formal Invitation for Bid or the Request for Proposal in accordance with the New Mexico State Procurement Code. The IFB's and RFP's are mailed to vendors for the appropriate goods or services. All non-construction bids and proposals are posted on the Purchasing web site in Adobe Acrobat format, and may be printed from the web. Small construction and remodeling jobs are also available on the web. Construction bids with project manuals and drawings are not available for download on our web site, but the information in the advertisement for bids is posted on our web site. Non-registered vendors may pickup IFBs and RFPs at the Purchasing Department for a per page charge. All formal solicitations are advertised in the newspaper.

Residential Preference

Under the New Mexico State Procurement Code, the University applies residential preference in the evaluation of Invitations for Bid for those New Mexico businesses that have a residential preference number. If two bids are received, one from a supplier with a residential preference number and one from a supplier without a residential preference number, the buyer would multiply the bid from the supplier with residential preference by .95 and use the result for the evaluation. Residential preference numbers are issued by the state, and can be obtained from the State Purchasing Agent in Santa Fe. UNM does not issue or regulate residential preference numbers. Residential preference does not apply to procurement made with federal funds.

Open Campus

The University has an open campus and vendors may visit individual departments without registering at the Purchasing Department. The University's PCard program allows most departments to place orders for goods under $10,00.00. Please note that the New Mexico State Law 10-16-13 states: "No state agency shall accept any bid from a person who directly or indirectly participated in the preparation of specifications on which the competitive biddings was held." Guidelines for vendor visits can be found here.

Code of Ethics

The Purchasing Department supports the University Code of Ethics as well as the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Purchasing Management and the National Association of Educational Buyers. These policies prohibit the acceptance of kickbacks, bribes, gratuities, or other gifts or entertainment that might affect or give the appearance of affecting a buyers judgment. Vendors are asked to respect this policy.

Minority/Woman Owned Business Program

This program, administered by the Purchasing Department, is dedicated to providing the small, disadvantaged, and/or woman owned business the maximum opportunity to do business with the University. Our primary goal is to maximize opportunities for participation in contracts for goods and services provided to the University. The University uses the federal definitions of minority and woman owned businesses, and does not have a set aside program nor do we give percent preferences to minority or woman owned businesses. To reach this goal, the program has the following functions:

• Encourage the various departments to purchase from small minority and woman owned business concerns.
• Identify small minority and woman owned businesses for the University.
• Interface with other affirmative action programs at the University and in the community.
• Interface with the Buyers and University departments regarding goals and opportunities, and problem resolution related to minority and woman owned businesses.
• Serve as a liaison between the minority and woman owned businesses and the University.
• Develop and provide educational programs and presentations that further the University goals.

More detailed information is available in the minority section.