Columbia requires that faculty, staff, researchers, students, or other individuals who plan for or purchase products, equipment, supplies, and services with University funds, base purchases on sound business practice, best value, accountability, and compliance with donor, sponsor and regulatory requirements. Individuals planning for or making purchases must follow this and other established Columbia policies and procedures.
Columbia is required to make payments only to suppliers who are in good standing with the federal government. As a result of this requirement, the University cannot procure or pay any supplier who is debarred from doing business with the Federal Government. The federal government classifies these suppliers as "debarred or excluded". This same requirement also prevents the University from reimbursing any individual for goods or services obtained from a debarred or excluded supplier.
This applies to all procurement and disbursement transactions including, but not limited to, payments to external consultants, independent contractors for professional services, entertainers and performers, one-time lecture fees and construction and renovation.
All suppliers listed in ARC have been pre-screened using Visual Compliance and are not in the federal "debarred and excluded" listings. Therefore, using one of these suppliers requires no additional work on the part of schools and departments.
If Vendor Management receives a supplier setup request for a "debarred or excluded" supplier the departmental contact will be notified.
Any suppliers of record that are flagged by Visual Compliance will be reviewed by Vendor Management to determine if the supplier qualifies as debarred or suspended. If they are identified as such, the supplier will be placed on hold pending further review and no payments will be disbursed.