Systems and Procedures
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
It is the policy of the University to utilize Consultants in a legitimate and economical way in order to obtain specialized expert and professional opinion or advice in the course of attempting to improve the quality of services and operations of the University, fulfilling its mission of teaching, research, and service. Such external opinion or advice is to be sought and procured only when an individual with the proper knowledge and skills cannot be located internally to provide this service as part of their normal job responsibility, or as a Collaborator.
The Consulting Justification form, along with the review of the other forms and documents listed below, is necessary for a business area/unit/department to initiate the procurement of a consultant.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PROCURE A CONSULTANT BEFORE READING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CONTENTS OF THE FORMS AND DOCUMENTS LISTED BELOW.
To procure a consultant, the following information must be reviewed:
Once the user has reviewed the policy and procedure, only the Employee or Independent Contractor Identification Form and the Consulting Justification Form are needed to procure a consultant. Because of the length, detailed instructions for the use of the Consulting Justification Form can be found in Procedure PC2008 Instructions for the Procurement and Payment of a Consultant.
For step-by-step instructions for completing the form, see the Consulting Justification Exhibit.
No form may be used that substitutes for an approved official University form without prior review and approval by the steward of the form/central office, as facilitated by the Office of Systems and Procedures (designated representative of the Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance). See Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility (GURU) and Procedure FN2017 Use of Approved Form Templates Appearing on the GURU Website for full details.
| Document | Ultimate Distribution | Retention Periods | Disposition Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | Uploaded to PSUbuy (formerly Shop OnLion) shopping cart | General Funds - End of fiscal year +7 years Contracts or Grants - Close Date of the contract/grant +7 years | Paper document - Secure Bin disposal or shred beyond recovery Electronic documents and data - delete from computer system and empty computer recycle bin. |
| Transitory Copy* | Copy created during the signature process | Upon verification of successful upload to PSUbuy shopping cart - immediate disposal | Paper document - Secure Bin disposal or shred beyond recovery Electronic documents and data - delete from computer system and empty computer recycle bin. |
*Transitory copies are University Records that have temporary value and, as a result, may be destroyed after they are no longer needed. In no event shall be retained longer than the official copy of the University Records as delineated on the Records Retention Schedule.
For the Applied Research Lab and Hershey Medical Center attach the approved Consulting Justification Form to the Purchase Order Requisition and submit for normal approval and processing through the respective purchasing departments.
For PSUbuy (formerly Shop OnLion) requisitions, upload the approved Consulting Justification Form to the Shopping Cart.
For questions or additional details, please submit a Procurement Assistant Request.
To request changes to this form, please contact the Office of Systems & Procedures by submitting a GURU Technical Support Request form.