Technology Solution Evaluation Request (New or Renewal Contracts)

Overview

• Any employee of Metropolitan State University may request an IT Contract Review. 
• All contracts that are technology related must be reviewed and approved by Institutional Effectiveness and Technology (IET) Services.  
• There are Minnesota State legal requirements for all IT contracts which IET will review and assist with vetting and negotiation between the vendor and System Office Legal for any changes in terms and conditions.  
• Information Security requirements must also be reviewed to protect Metropolitan State data on behalf of students, faculty and staff. 
• It is encouraged to submit IT Contract Review requests allowing as much time as possible for the review process to take place.   

Please note that the legal review of contracts by the Office of the General Counsel may take several weeks. The Office of the General Counsel will begin and complete the legal review of a contract as soon as possible. Be mindful that there are generally many contracts in the queue for legal review at any given time. If there are legal or insurance recommendations, the negotiation could take longer depending on the complexity of the contract and the responsiveness of the vendor. 

Background

• As part of the state system, Metropolitan State University is subject to certain legal requirements and restrictions that affect its ability to accept certain contract terms. Therefore, the review and execution of all university agreements must follow the appropriate university, Minnesota State, legal and purchasing requirements and procedures. 
• A contract is any document that legally binds the university to another party. Contracts can take many forms, including affiliation agreements, memorandum of understanding (MOUs), terms and conditions (T&C’s), letters of agreement, online click-through agreements and a variety of other labels. Not all contracts involve the payment of money. 
• All contracts that bind the university to terms and conditions must go through the Contract Review Process. All technology related contracts or contracts with technology components must go through IT contract review.  
• All Contracts are open for negotiation until the Contract receives final approval from the General Counsel. In addition, other authorizations may be required based on the contract criteria.  

Benefits

• Ensure the legal and information security requirements for all IT contracts are met and attain sign off by IET Services which is required for purchasing purposes.   
• If the technology contract involves implementation of new hardware or software, an upgrade or renewal, IET will have the opportunity to proactively plan accordingly and assign project request resources as necessary to allow for successful implementation or upgrades following Minnesota State requirements.

Resources

• Student Data Privacy 
• Alumni Information and Data 
• Policy 1040: FERPA  
• Examples of Data Classifications (public, private/nonpublic, confidential) 
• Minnesota State Security Classification (highly restricted, restricted, low) 
• Minnesota State ITS Contracts 
• Minnesota State Contracts