Contracts

The Office of General Counsel assists and advises the system office and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities campuses on various transactional matters including professional/technical/consultant contracts, construction and procurement contracts. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities enters into a high volume of contracts each year and contracts which provide sound legal protection are essential to the contracting and procurement system.

You can find additional information, instructions and forms on the Minnesota State Procurement page. The Minnesota State approved contract forms should be used in preparing contracts and complying with Minnesota State policies and procedures as well as public contracting laws.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities contract forms have been approved by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office and any modifications to the contract form require additional legal review and approval. If you have any questions about a contract, please call the Office of General Counsel.

View Board Policy 5.14 relating to contracts and procurement.

The next Office of General Counsel Contracts Team “Office Hours” is TBD.

Submit your question(s) in advance.

Office of General Counsel Contracts Training Series January 25, 2025- February 18, 2025

January 28 – Procurement
Presented by System Director of Procurement and Contract Management Tim Anderson and Assistant General Counsel Melitta Drechsler
January 30 – Contract Drafting After a Public Competitive Solicitation Process
Presented by Assistant General Counsel Mary Al Balber
February 4 – Contract Drafting (No Public Competitive Solicitation Process- Under $100,000)
Presented by Assistant General Counsel Daniel McCabe
February 6 - Working With Legal Counsel for Contract Legal Review
Assistant General Counsel Melitta Drechsler and Paralegals Heidi Slegers and Amanda Bohnhoff
February 11- Software Contracts
Presented by Assistant General Counsels Daniel McCabe and Melitta Drechsler
February 13- Insurance and Risk Management
Presented by Director of Risk Management Keswic Joiner
February 18- Tax
Presented by System Director of Tax & Financial Services Steve Gednalske

FAQ Regarding Contract Cancellation
Minnesota State Software Contract Addendum
The Minnesota State Software Addendum can only be used if all four conditions are met:
1. IT Security and the person with delegation of authority determined low risk regarding private data;
2. the purchase is for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Service, or On-Premise software or solution that does not require customization or integration with ISRS;
3. the purchase is not for hardware, credit card or payment card processing services (PCI), or if purchasing software through a reseller, and
4. the contract value is less than $10,000.
A Guide to Selecting Intellectual Property (IP) Clauses in Marketplace