One of the oldest community colleges in California, MJC has two main campuses in the city of Modesto and serves more than 18,000 day and evening students each semester.
Located near the city of Sonora in the wooded Sierra Nevada foothills, Columbia College is a primary resource of adult learning for residents throughout the Mother Lode region.
The purpose for a Purchasing Department is to assist everyone in the District to obtain
high quality
goods and services at the best price possible to accomplish our educational mission.
To this end, State
and Federal laws/codes and Board policy apply which must be followed.
If you know what you are wanting to order and you have already chosen a vendor then
you are ready to
have the responsible person in your department prepare a requisition. These are done
in Colleague.
Enter all appropriate information, i.e.; vendor information, the detailed description
of the item being
ordered along with item or catalog numbers. The “comments” field is where you would
put the
information for your department, any specific details such as fax or e-mail information
for the vendor
and any special needs you want fulfilled at the purchasing level. Keep in mind the
“printed comments”
field is for anything other than the actual item descriptions and WILL show on the
purchase order. It is
extremely important that you remember to add the approvers’ names in order for the
approval process
before a purchase order can be issued. Make sure the approvers are aware that they
have something
waiting to be approved and that the next approvers name is also in place so it continues
through the
process, eventually ending up with the final approval of the District Controller.
If these approvals are
not done properly your requisition will be stuck in a “not approved” status and purchasing
will not be
aware that it even exists.
If you have an idea of what you want, but not a vendor or source of supply you can
contact the
purchasing department. Often, we can do the research and help you narrow down what
works best
for your needs at the best available price.
Exceptions to this rule are for District approved computers (Vendors being used have
CMAS numbers),
printers, or specialty, one-of-a-kind items. Another exception is purchasing additional
items that match
existing items. When this is done, and there are not two or more vendors that can
provide pricing, a
signed memo by the department chair must accompany the requisition. If in doubt, call
our office.
By law, bids are required any time the total of a single Purchase Order exceeds $114,800.00
for
the remainder of the 2025 calendar year. This amount changes in January each year.
When a formal bid is required, plan on a minimum of 30 days for the legal advertising,
opening and
awarding of a bid. Lead times from suppliers vary widely. If an item is available
in stock, it normally
ships within two or three days after receipt of order. If time is important, it is
best to check with the
supplier to see what their policy may be.
If an unforeseen circumstance arises that requires fast ordering, departments should
coordinate with
their approving official(s) and call purchasing as soon as the electronic approvals
have been completed.
We will either, process your request on the spot, if it is that urgent, or input it
that day for printing and
transmission to the vendor the next morning. Please remember: If everything becomes
a priority, then
every priority becomes routine. We need your assistance in keeping urgent requests
to a minimum!
Whenever you are in doubt, or have questions concerning something you want
to order, please call Purchasing: (209)575-6522; Receiving/Delivery; (209)575-6910.
We are
here to help. Your call could easily save you time, effort and money!
