Student Affairs Buying 101

1. Student Affairs Buying 101 Topic 8 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Purchases Students First 8-01

2. Student Affairs Buying 101 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Purchases Topic Objectives • Understand our Minority Business Enterprise goal percentage • Understand how to find the department’s MBE (goal) status Students First 8-02

3. Student Affairs Buying 101 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Purchases In 1981, State of Ohio Appropriations Bill 694 set the stage for the university to structure its approach to bring more minority suppliers to the OSU marketplace. It is the university’s goal to procure approximately 15% of its goods and services from State-certified minority vendors (CMV). There are various reports provided to the Board of Trustees, and State on our university MBE percentage. One primary report is generally from the external auditors on compliance to State laws/guidelines. Additionally, MBE percentage by department is reported by the departments in their annual diversity plan. The State and University understand that we may pay a little more for the goods and services by purchasing from a CMV. However, our units are requested to included this consideration in with their budget requests. * OSU only recognizes State CMVs. Students First 8-03

4. Student Affairs Buying 101 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Purchases Frequently Asked Questions: • What purchases are included in the MBE purchase percentages? The University only reports Purchase Order amounts. Note that purchases through Stores or by using procurement cards are not included in the official University minority business reports. Purchasing provides a percentage that we can internally calculate and use within Student Affairs to reflect Stores purchases (for FY06 – 13%), and procurement card purchases at 3%. However, these are not the official reports that are reported to the Board of Trustees or to the State of Ohio. The actual Stores-reported MBE amount and percentage is rolled into the University’s Business and Finance operations. See Appendix I for example Student Affairs MBE reports. Students First 8-04

5. Student Affairs Buying 101 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Purchases Frequently Asked Questions: • Why aren’t procurement card uses considered in the MBE percent? Primarily because there is no way to track the vendor use for the Procurement cards. Additionally, the percentage that would apply would take you much further away from the 15%. Here, the cost of developing a tracking and reporting system would not be cost effective. Students First 8-05

6. Student Affairs Buying 101 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Purchases Frequently Asked Questions: • I know that the vendor I’m working with is a minority. Why can’t they be • considered a CMV? The State runs the MBE certification process. If a vendor doesn’t apply or is not qualified, we cannot use the vendor as a CMV. CMVs must be recertified periodically. It is possible that the company was a CMV last year, but is not this year. It is critical to recheck when entering the requisition or purchase order. For information about the University’s and State’s MBE programs and certification Process, please see the University’s Purchasing’s web page at www.osupurchasing.com. Students First 8-06

7. Student Affairs Buying 101 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Purchases Frequently Asked Questions: • What do we need to do to reach our 15% MBE goal? • Plan your purchases. Know what items you can and cannot buy through MBEs. • Then, as usual, do your research and get quotes to select the most appropriate vendor. It is possible to be creative in working with vendors such that a majority • vendor may partner with a CMV. • Use purchase orders to get 100% MBE participation with a purchase. • To obtain the current MBE vendor information, go to the Purchasing web site at http://www.osupurchasing.com/ and follow the links to the desired information or reports. (The reports are available through the BRIO/Hyperion e-reports – under Financials, then General Procurement Reports, then Minority Vendor Reports.) Students First 8-07