Pre-approval to spend money ensures organization funds are used to pay for the desired items or service, and ensures university and state financial guidelines are met. Orders and purchases may not be made without pre-approval; doing so makes the person who made the purchase or order directly responsible for payment, and not the university. To get pre-approval, an officer of the student organization must submit a Purchase Request on Engage to Student Involvement with an appropriate amount of time in advance of the time purchases are needed.
Rush handling and express shipping fees are not allowed for any purchase and a minimum of two weeks (10 business days) is required for standard purchases. Some purchases require extended time for approval. For example, food, gifts/awards/prizes, promotional items, clothing (of any type), and/or purchases that involve contracts must be submitted for review at least four (4) weeks in advance; domestic travel must be submitted for review at least six (6) weeks in advance; travel that involves contracts and/or international travel must be submitted for review at least eight (8) weeks in advance. The following section outlines the submission timeline for non-standard purchases. Ask your Student Organizations Coordinator or a Student Life Finance staff member if you have questions about purchasing pre-approval timelines.