Types of Contracts

Academic agreements are those agreements that UTA enters into with another educational institution or agency related to student credit, such as articulation agreements or dual credit course agreements. There are several State laws and UT System and UTA policy requirements with which these agreements must comply. All academic agreements must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Legal Affairs and the Provost’s Office. Academic agreements should be forwarded to the Office of Legal affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email address. Please provide all related documents, including prior agreements if available, information related to whether the Provost’s Office is aware of and has approved your plan, and any other helpful information related to your request.

Advertising Agreements are any agreement for the purchase or procurement of advertising on behalf of the university or a specific department or program. All Advertising Agreements must be reviewed by the Office of Legal Affairs. Many times these agreements involve the use of UTA marks and intellectual property and must be carefully reviewed before publication. The process is the same regardless of the form or media (print, television, radio, internet, social media, etc.) for the advertisement. Requests for Advertising Agreements should be sent to the Office of Legal Affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email inbox. Please provide all related documents, including prior agreements if available, and any other helpful information related to your request.

Affiliation agreements are those agreements UTA enters into with another entity in order to provide UTA students with field or clinical experience related to their area of study. There are often insurance requirements and other liability related requirements associated with these types of agreements that must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Legal Affairs. All Affiliation Agreements should be forwarded to the Office of Legal affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email address. Please provide all related documents, including prior agreements if available, and any other helpful information related to your request.

Affiliation Agreement Flow Chart Affiliation Agreement Helpful Hints

 

For allowable transactions of $4000 and under, you do not need to enter a requisition with Procurement for a purchase order. Instead, you may make the purchase using your department’s ProCard. A ProCard is issued in the name of the department’s purchaser and is a purchasing card, similar to a credit card, issued by Citibank. ProCards allow the University’s small purchasing needs to be met quicker and at a lower processing cost.

ProCard use is subject to UTA policy and procedure. See Procedure 4-11 for more information on ProCard purchases, including what you can and cannot purchase with a ProCard. If your purchase is $4000 or under, but it is a prohibited ProCard purchase, you must submit a requisition for a purchase order to Procurement through UT Share.

If your purchase is an allowable ProCard purchase, but it requires UTA agree to terms and conditions (a contract) and sign or click in agreement, please forward all information (documents, links, vendor contact information, purpose) you have about the purchase to the Office of Legal Affairs contracts email, contracts@uta.edu, for review and approval.

Coaching contracts are contracts of employment used for UTA Intercollegiate Athletics coaches. The contracts set forth the terms and conditions under which the coach is employed, including the length of employment, salary, rights and responsibilities. The UT System Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Athletics Counsel provides a short form and long form contract template options for use by UT System institutions. UTA uses the long form contract. Contracts are prepared by the Office of Legal Affairs and require signature of the UTA president. Depending on total compensation approval may also be required by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Athletics Counsel, the Executive Vice Chancellor, or the Board of Regents.

Event Agreements are those agreements UTA enters into with another entity for any type of on or off campus event for students or university employees. These can include retreats, catering, bounce houses, concerts, and many others. There are usually insurance and other liability requirements that must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Legal Affairs. All Event Agreements should be forwarded to the Office of Legal Affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email address. When submitting Event Agreement please provide all related documents, including prior agreements if available, and any other helpful information related to your request.

UTA frequently leases its facilities for outside use but must ensure the use is in accordance with applicable law, UT System Regents’ Rules and Regulations and UTA’s policies and procedures. In these cases, facility use agreements are required and must be submitted and approved through the Office of Legal Affairs. If you have a need for a facility use agreement for a use approved by UTA policy, please submit your request, and any documentation related to your request, to the Office of Legal Affairs for review at contracts@uta.edu. UTA’s Facilities Use Policy (CO-UF-P01) can be located through the Office of Legal Affairs’ Policies and Procedures webpage or here.

Gift agreements are generally handled by the Office of University Advancement using templates required by UT System. A gift agreement should be used any time an item of value is being donated/given to UTA to ensure UTA is able to classify the value of the item as a gift and provide the donor a tax deduction form. Only the UTA president and the vice president of University Advancement have authority to accept gifts on behalf of UTA. Questions regarding gift agreements should be addressed to University Advancement.

Hotel Agreements include any agreement with a hotel for sleeping rooms, banquet rooms, meeting space, catering, and any other related items or activities. Anytime a UTA department or organization reserves a room block for an overnight stay in another city or a reserves rooms for campus visitors the contract or invoice from the Hotel is a Hotel Agreement. These Agreements usually have provisions regarding acceptance of liability, fees, taxes and other issues that must be reviewed by the Office of Legal Affairs. Requests for Hotel Agreements should be sent to the Office of Legal Affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email inbox. Please provide all related documents, including prior agreements for the same hotel if available, and any other helpful information related to your request.

An independent contractor agreement is a contract for an individual or business to provide services for UTA. It is generally used when an individual or business is hired to complete a specific project or task on a short term basis. It’s an all-encompassing document that outlines the details of the work to be performed, terms of the agreement, deliverables, and compensation. All independent contractor agreements should be forwarded to the Office of Legal affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email address. Please provide all related documents, including prior agreements if available, and any other helpful information related to your request.

International Academic Agreements are agreements with international institutions of an academic nature. This may include student/faculty exchanges, articulations, joint degrees, research collaborations, etc. Generally UTA will enter into a general Agreement of Cooperation with the international institution, which provides the framework for a specific agreement(s) in one of more different areas. International Academic Agreements have an approval process, which can be located under the Policy tab on the Office of the Provost Website. International academic agreements should be forwarded to the Office of Legal affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email address. Please provide all related documents, including prior agreements if available, and any other helpful information related to your request.

Location and Filming agreements permit individuals to film on campus and set forth the terms and conditions under which they may do so. Filming requests should be routed through the Office of University Communications. UTA must charge for the use of its space unless there is an articulable benefit to UTA that will result from the filming. UTA has a template Release to Film on Campus agreement that should be used to permit filming on campus. UTA students desiring to film on campus as part of their academic work may be permitted to do so without charge after verification of the filming project and completing a Student Filming Agreement. Faculty and staff may film in public areas on campus without further permission if part of their job responsibilities.

A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), sometimes referred to as a Confidentiality Agreement, is a contract that requires its parties to keep certain information confidential. Vendors frequently require NDAs if it is necessary to reveal their companies’ proprietary information to UTA during the pre-purchase stage of a product or service and prior to the execution of the final agreement. Mutual NDAs should be used as they contain terms that obligate the vendor to protect UTA’s confidential information. The Office of Legal Affairs must review and approve any NDA to which UTA is a party. The NDA found here is approved by the Office of Legal Affairs and if used will expedite the legal review process. Please submit any request to review an NDA to contracts@uta.edu.

Performer Agreements are agreements for speakers, singers, entertainers, or performers of any type. UTA hosts a variety of speakers and presenters both on and off campus for entertainment (concerts, banquets, etc.), education (lectures, speaker series, etc.), and enrichment (conferences, trainings, etc.). Contracts related to all of these are Performer Agreements. These Agreements often raise questions of liability, content, representation and sometimes contain very specific requests on behalf of the artist that must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Legal Affairs. Requests for Performer Agreements should be sent to the Office of Legal Affairs through is contracts@uta.edu email inbox. Please provide all related documents, including prior agreements if available, and any other helpful information related to your request.

These require a purchase order. Please submit a requisition through UT Share or contact your department’s Buyer if you have questions. Involve Procurement early in the process! If you start the process without Procurement’s guidance and fail to comply with state laws and UTA and UT System policies and procedures, you will only delay the purchase. Please visit Procurement’s website for more information.

UTA’s Office of Grant and Contract Services manages research agreements on behalf of UTA. Please visit the Research Agreement page here for more information in this regard. UTA’s Office of Technology Management manages agreements related to the protection, marketing, and licensing of campus created inventions and intellectual property (e.g., patents, copyrights, know-how). Please visit the Technology Management page here for more information in this regard.

 

https://www.uta.edu/research/administration/grants-and-contract-services

Software includes not only downloadable desktop programs but also cloud-based applications accessed through a web browser ( i.e. logging into a website online). Software acquisitions must be pre-approved by UTA’s Offices of Information Technology and Information Security, regardless of cost (even free!) and funding source. UTA has developed a streamlined process for our software purchasers to gain these approvals, including an integrated process for legal review of contract terms if and when that is required. This process is not only easy, but it assists you in complying with UTA policies and procedures and ensures UTA’s compliance with state and federal laws governing our use and purchase of software.

STEP ONE:

• Submit your software purchase request to https://uta.service-now.com/selfservice/ (Save this link in your favorites bar for easy access!)
• Click on “Request Something” at the top of the page in the blue header.
• Scroll down to the section entitled “ Desktop or Lab Hardware & Software,” and click on “ Software Purchase Approval.”
• You will then be guided through the process.

STEP TWO:

• Wait for your approval message! This message will provide further guidance on how to proceed with your purchase either by purchasing with your PROCARD (if it is an eligible PROCARD purchase) or by submitting your requisition to Procurement.
• If there are concerns identified by OIT or ISO, you will receive notice that additional steps are required prior to approval. For example, this could include ISO discussions with the vendor about their security practices or perhaps a legal review of the terms of the agreement.

STEP THREE:

• Relax – knowing that you have followed all the required UTA policies and procedures and helped UTA comply with the laws governing your new software purchase!

Lease agreements for UTA’s use of off campus space must meet several state law requirements along with UT System and UTA policy requirements. All space lease agreements should be submitted for review by the Office of Legal affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email address. Please provide all related documents, including prior agreements if available, and any other helpful information related to your request.

Sponsorship agreements permit a third party to receive sponsorship recognition rights in exchange for a fee. Sponsorship rights may include a designation (e.g. Official Sponsor of Legal Affairs Career Day), the right to use UTA’s name and marks for promotional materials, recognition as a sponsor, tabling opportunities, providing materials to students and staff, etc. UTA is prohibited by Texas law from providing third parties commercial benefits without adequate compensation. Consequently, sponsorship agreements are carefully reviewed to ensure UTA is being compensated fairly for the sponsorship rights. Additionally, care must be taken to avoid any non-qualified sponsorships, which will result in Unrelated Business Taxable Income to UTA. The use of UTA’s marks and name on promotional materials may require approval of UT System Trademarks Office. Requests for sponsorship agreements should be made to the Office of Legal Affairs through its contracts@uta.edu email address. Please provide all related information, including the sponsorship assets UTA will be providing and an evaluation of how the market value was determined.