Revised procurement process for UA employees seeking to purchase software
If you’ve purchased software recently, you’ve noticed significant changes to the procedure. This new process aims to simplify and streamline our former review methods while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Why is the process changing?
In order to comply with regulatory requirements, UA must review the data security practices of all software.
How does it work?
The current process contains the following steps:
When a university employee would like to purchase or renew software intended for use on UA-owned devices, a request will be made via a new form.
- This includes open source, freeware, SaaS, and bulk licensing
Once the form is submitted, it needs to be acknowledged by the following individuals at your university before it is reviewed for data security and other regulatory compliance:
- Department Approver
- Contract Administrator
The request is then reviewed for compliance with FERPA, foreign software restrictions, and data security practices, etc. Once the request is approved, the user (and designees) will receive an email that they can move forward with procurement or download.
How do I get started or learn more?
Visit the UA Software Request Process information page, where you’ll find detailed information on the process, as well as a link to the form. You’ll also find links to Contract Administrator guidance and the UA Software Catalog, where you can check to see if your software has already been evaluated. Requests for software currently in the catalog still need to go through an expedited review, and we hope to eliminate this step in the future.
If you’ve used this process already, we'd love to hear from you! Please share your thoughts on how we can make it better or easier for you by emailing us at ua-oit-iso@alaska.edu.