Contracts and Agreements Process

Only the president, executive vice president and the chief financial officer have the authority to sign a contract or agreement binding the college. 

No individual(s) can begin working for the college as an independent contractor without a fully executed contract in place unless such work is authorized directly by the Office of the General Counsel.

• Every contract/agreement must be approved and signed off by the Senior Vice President (SVP) responsible for the department submitting the document before being submitted for legal review to the Office of the General Counsel.
• Every contract/agreement must be submitted to the Office of the General Counsel along with a completed cover sheet. If the cover sheet is incomplete, it will be returned to the sender.
  1. Any contract/agreement for more than one (1) year and/or in the amount of $500,000 or higher must be signed by the president and should be designated as such on the cover sheet.
  2. Any contract/agreement for more than $5,000 must be signed by the CFO before being submitted for legal review.
  3. Any contract/agreement pertaining to an employment position must be signed by the Director of HR before being submitted for legal review.
  4. Any contract/agreement pertaining to or affecting academics must be signed by the Provost before being submitted for legal review.
• The SVP should designate the document’s priority level on the cover sheet.
  1. For any document that is not indicated as high priority, please allow a minimum of two (2) weeks for initial review and comment by the Office of the General Counsel.
  2. For any document that is indicated as high priority, the Office of the General Counsel will make every effort to review and provide comment as soon as possible.
• Every contract/agreement must be submitted to the Office of the General Counsel electronically to the following email address: officeofthegeneralcounsel@merrimack.edu
• The Office of the General Counsel will provide electronic confirmation of receipt and will utilize this address for all ongoing communications regarding the submittal and approval process.
• Once the Office of the General Counsel provides electronic edits or concerns, the SVP (or his/her designee) should coordinate with the outside vendor to address the concerns/edits and re-submit back to the Office of the General Counsel a revised version. This process continues, with the SVP responsible for coordination, until an acceptable document is submitted to the Office of the General Counsel.
• Once acceptable, the Office of the General Counsel will ensure the document is executed by the president, EVP or CFO, and the Office of the General Counsel will return the executed document back to the SVP and requestor.
• The SVP is responsible for ensuring that once a contract is executed by a vendor/contracting party it is forwarded to the Office of the General Counsel.