• 1. Signature Authority
  • UCONN’s Delegation of Signing Authority
• 2. Contract Submission Checklists
• 5. Contract Templates University/AG Approved
• 6. University Contracting Departments

1. Microsoft Word Uconn Student
2. Microsoft Word Uconn Address

1. What Is A University Contract?

UConn University of Connecticut school of University of Connecticut. Such as Adobe Acrobat Viewer or Microsoft Word. If a different plug-in is required, it will be. UCONN UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT. Export company reports and financials into software applications such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel or Adobe Acrobat Reader.

A university “contract” is any written agreement, which creates a University obligation, whether or not it is entitled “contract.” Contracts include, but are not limited to, Personal Services Agreements, lectures, consulting or performance agreements, licenses, memoranda of understanding or agreement, and real property related transactional documents. An agreement may be a binding contract even though one party provides something of value to the other party at no charge (i.e. a Deed of Gift to the University). Therefore, the University may have an interest even though there is no financial transaction.

The UConn Software Catalog website provides you with three ways to acquire university-licensed software: Download university-licensed software directly onto your computer. Visit a computer lab with the software installed. Access select university-licensed software online and stream it to your device on-demand.

All contracts to which UConn is a party must be reviewed and approved by appropriate University officials and in consultation with the Office of the General Counsel and/or Attorney General. Signing a contract on behalf of UConn may have legal implications for the individual signatory and for the University. Therefore, contracts signed without obtaining legal approval may, if the University chooses not to honor the contract, result in personal liability for the individual who signs the contract. University administrators, faculty, staff or students who enter into unauthorized agreements may also be subject to disciplinary action, including dismissal.

2. Preparation of University Contracts

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Departmental Responsibility. It is the responsibility of all University departments to negotiate the business concerns of their contracts with the contracting parties before submitting contracts for review and approval to the OGC/OAG. Also, contractors must be made aware that the State of Connecticut requires various contract provisions, affidavits and certifications depending on the type, term and amount of a contract.

Importance of Planning Ahead. Pursuant to University policy, all draft or final contracts should be submitted to your contract liaison, your contracting department, or the OGC as soon as possible, prior to the start of services. No services may begin until your contract is executed by the appropriate parties and approved by the University Board of Trustees (if required). Therefore, you need to build in sufficient time for your contract to be approved for signature by the University, for transmission to the contractor for review and execution and return to the University for final approval by the Office of the Attorney General if so required. Additionally, University contracts valued at $100,000 or more must be delivered to the Attorney General’s Office in Hartford for final review and approval. Given these steps, it is recommended that your contract be drafted three to four weeks before services are to begin. To summarize, University department should:

A. Prepare Draft Contract:

Department develops contract draft using the Submission Checklist as a guide to determine required and/or special provisions including state-mandated affidavits and certification forms. Note: Many pre-approved contract templates have been created by the University and may be obtained by contacting the OGC.

The correct legal name of the University must appear on all contracts as, “The University of Connecticut.” Share draft with pertinent departmental administrators to ensure all business terms are vetted and acceptable. Finally, be sure to state the maximum value of your contract for the complete term of agreement*, which amount determines (a) who at the University is authorized to sign it, and (b) what supplemental affidavits or certifications may be need to be executed.

*While the majority of University agreements involve an exchange of funds, some exchange only services or goods. Regardless, they may include impermissible language that should be reviewed.

To ensure correct form and legal sufficiency, all University contracts, agreements or documents may be submitted for pre-review to the OGC by you or your contract liaison via our online submission page See button above “Request Pre-Review.”

Required State Contract Provisionsmust be included in all University contracts, the deletion or revision of which require approval by the OAG. Note: These provisions are required terms regardless of type, term, cost or value (including income generating contracts). Any revisions [after contract is finalized] must be initialed by both parties at time of execution.

CT Required Contract Affidavits and Certifications. Unless exempted, the following affidavits and certifications are required by the State of Connecticut. Go to each link provided below for guidance or call your University contract specialist or the OGC for guidance. You may also visit the OGC webpage “Contract Forms & Documents” for instructions.

(1) Connecticut Nondiscrimination Certifications are required for ALL University contracts and their amendments (regardless of type, term, cost or value). This must be signed on or prior to the date Contractor executes the agreement; (http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=2982&q=390928&opmNav_GID=1806)

(2) Notarized State Ethics Affidavits and Certification are required for contracts with a value of $50,000 or more in a calendar or fiscal year and must be dated on the date of contract execution (http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=2982&q=386038&opmNav_GID=1806)

B. Submit for Pre-Review (if needed):

All University contracting departments, including the OGC, will pre-review your contract and route a final draft back to you for review before you forward it to the contractor for execution. Taking advantage of this step facilitates discussion and negotiation and saves time in the end and prevents rejection after execution by the parties. Be sure to use our website to submit a contract for pre-review.

Determining the need for OAG Approval: Before the contract is executed by the contractor and University, the department and/or the contracting department will determine whether approval by the OAG is required. Please contact the OGC for assistance if needed.

C. Obtain University Signature:

Only University administrators who are duly authorized to execute contracts by the Board of Trustees and President may sign contracts on behalf of the University. When a contract is executed by the contractor, please deliver the final contract to a duly authorized University official with delegated contract signing authority by the President. (http://uconncontracts.uconn.edu/uconn-delegation-of-signature-authority/)

D. Obtaining OAG approval:

Guidelines for Submitting Contracts for OGC or OAG Approval can be found at this link: http://uconncontracts.uconn.edu/2015/07/10/new-guidelines-regarding-submission-of-university-contracts/

When OAG approval is required, deliver your executed contract for approval to the OGC with a completed Submission Checklist including all completed certifications and affidavits for this office to coordinate approval by the OAG. (Documents found at: Contract Forms & Documents)

E. Distribute Completed Contract:

When the department receives the fully executed contract from the OGC, it is the department’s responsibility to (1) retain an original or copy of the contract and supporting documents and (2) return an executed original or copy to the contractor. Departments should also calendar the contract expiration date in an effort to anticipate deadlines for amendment or extension.

F. If You Need A Contract Amendment

Remember, your contract amendments must be executed prior to the end date of the existing agreement or a new contract must be drawn, so calendar your existing contracts for possible amendment 2-3 months ahead of the end date.

If you have questions regarding this procedure please contact the OGC at 860-486-5796 or e-mail us at UConncontracts@uconn.edu .

3. Contract Review and Approval Process

A. Time Frame: Once an executed University contract is submitted for approval, the legal review and approval timeframe is determined by whether the submitting University department has:

1. 1. anticipated the need to negotiate any impermissible contractor terms and sought advice* prior to execution;
   2. reviewed carefully to ensure the terms are consistent throughout, clear and concise;
   3. included all the required State contract provisions; and
   4. provided a completed Submission Checklist and appropriately executed contractor affidavits;

*In cases where it is anticipated your contract may require time consuming negotiation with the contractor, a new contract needs to be drafted, or there is an impending deadline, you are encouraged to invite your University contract liaison into the process as early as possible for pre-review of your draft contract before execution.

B. Pre-review by a University contract specialist, paralegal or attorney insures that:

1. 1. UConn ’s contracts abide by all State and Federal laws and regulations;
   2. UConn is operating in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Board of Trustees of the University;
   3. UConn does not agree to any impermissible contract provisions;
   4. risk management and liability insurance limits have been obtained;
   5. the contract is executed by the appropriate University official; and
   6. the contract has obtained approval by the Office of the Attorney General as to form, if necessary.

C. Departmental Approvals: It is important that the contract is appropriate from a business and administrative perspective. The final decision to enter into a contract is the responsibility of the UConn department initiating the contract, and should take place only after all applicable University/Board of Trustee approvals have been obtained.

4. University Contract Signature Authority

University contracts may only be executed by the President or University administrators with signature authority delegated by the President. The University of Connecticut, Board of Trustee Resolution dated February 18, 2010 grants the President signing authority for all University contracts for the Storrs and regional campuses, the Law School and the School of Social Work. It further authorizes the President to delegate such signing authority as appropriate. Therefore, all University contracts, deeds and other legal instruments made in the ordinary course of the business of the University must be executed by the President of the University or a designee, which may be found in the current President Contract Signing Authority Delegation document located at: http://uconncontracts.uconn.edu/uconn-delegation-of-signature-authority/

It is important to note that no University, college, school, department, center, institute, University recognized student organization, or other internal entity has authority to execute contracts on the University’s behalf unless they are specifically identified in the President’s delegation of signing authority as administrators who may execute contracts on behalf of the University or any of its colleges or departments.

An accessible PDF requires an accessible foundation document. Please visit the Documents page to learn about creating accessible documents.

Once you have an accessible base for your PDF, there are a few steps you can take to keep your document accessible after the PDF conversion.

1. PDF accessibility depends greatly on the accessibility of the source document

   1. Both Microsoft Word and PowerPoint have accessibility checkers

2. When saving as a PDF from Microsoft Word:

   1. Click 'Save As' and change the document type to PDF
   2. In the dialog box, click Options
   3. In Options, ensure that 'Create bookmarks using: Headings' is checked
      1. This option will not be available if there are no headings in the Word document

3. When exporting to PDF from InDesign, click to include bookmarks

   1. Similarly to Microsoft Word, InDesign has heading styles that can be made into bookmarks in a PDF

4. If you use a unique font, you can embed the font into the document

   1. Click on the Optimize PDF tool
   2. In the toolbar, click on Advanced Optimization
   3. In the dialog box, click on Fonts
   4. Choose fonts to retain or unembed

5. To maximize editing ease, scan your document at as high a resolution as possible

6. Enhancing scans a few times will result in a better scanned document, which is likely to be more accessible

   1. Note: This is not necessary for documents that are saved from Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, etc.
   2. Click on the Enhance Scans tool
   3. Click Enhance in the toolbar
   4. Choose Scanned Document from the drop down

7. Use Export to PDF or Save As PDF, not Print to PDF

   1. Print to PDF removes much of the document's accessibility information, including information about headings and alternate text for images

Under Action Wizard, select Make Accessible and follow prompts to add accessibility elements to your PDF. Then edit the Tag Tree to finish making your document accessible. For more information on the Tag Tree, open 'Manually Making a PDF Accessible' and see step 11.

If not using Action Wizard, use the following steps to make your PDF accessible.

1. Under Accessibility, choose Autotag Document

   1. If the document is already tagged, choose to either overwrite tags or skip this step

2. Set hyperlinks in your text

   1. Select Edit PDF
   2. Choose Link > Add/Edit Web or Document Link
   3. Draw a box around text or image for link
   4. Enter URL

3. Set ALTs (alternate text) for all images

   1. Open the Tag Tree: View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags
   2. Right-click on Figure tags to open Properties
   3. Edit Alternate Text

4. Set decorative or background images as Artifacts

   1. Open the Tag Tree: View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags
   2. For Figures that should be decorative or background images, change the tag to read <Artifact>

5. Include transcripts or textual descriptions for all purely audio or purely visual media

6. Use only captioned multimedia

7. Check the document for color dependence

   1. Ask if the document uses color only to convey meaning
   2. Example of color dependence: 'All red items are required'
   3. Example of no color dependence: 'All red, bold items are required'

8. Check the document's color contrast using Color Contrast Analyser or Color Contrast Pal

   4. Contrast should meet a ratio of 4.5:1 (foreground: background colors)
   5. Adjust colors as necessary in original document

9. Ensure that the document has a title

   1. Under File, choose Properties
   2. Enter a Title for the document
   3. A title might be the first heading or name of the document

10. Set the document's language

    1. Under File, choose Properties
    2. Choose Advanced properties
    3. Under Reading Options, set the document's language

11. Check Tag order

    1. This is what a screen reader uses to determine how a document is read out
    2. Check that the tag order matches the logical reading order
       1. Rule of thumb for reading order: It should follow the order in which information appears visually
       2. If the tag order does not match the logical reading order, click and drag on tags to reorder
       3. For complex documents, you may have to add additional tags or delete tags
          1. Add a tag by clicking on the tag above where you want the new tag to appear
          2. Highlight information to be tagged
          3. Right click on the tag above where you want the new tag to appear
          4. Select Create Tag from Selection
          5. For images, you may need to create a new tag via the Reading Order panel
             1. Open the Reading Order panel: View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Order
             2. Right click on any item and open Show reading order panel
             3. Use the tool to draw a box around the area to be tagged and select the type of element
             4. Right click on the new item and select Tag as… with the appropriate tag

12. Ensure that headings are correctly set in the initial document and are tagged appropriately

    1. Open the Tag Tree: View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags
    2. In Tags, move through heading tags (i.e. H1, H2, etc.) and paragraph tags
       1. Are any tags that should be paragraphs labeled as headings?
       2. Are any tags that should be headings labeled as paragraphs?
       3. Are any headings the wrong heading level? (i.e. a heading level 1 is labeled as an H2)
       4. Rule of thumb for headings: Typically, the bigger and bolder the heading is, the higher the heading level

13. Create and edit any tables

    1. Using the Tag Tree
       1. Open the Tag Tree and find the <Table> tag
       2. Nest Table Row <TR> tags under the <Table> tag. If <TR> tags are already nested under the <Table> tag, skip this step.
          1. First, create a new tag by right clicking on an existing tag.
       3. Your <Table> should now look like this:
       4. Nest Table Header Cells <TH> or Table Data Cells <TD> under the <TR> tags. If <TH> and/or <TD> tags are already nested under the <TR> tags, skip this step.
          1. Your <Table> should now look like this:
       5. Highlight text, right click on the <TH> or <TD> tag, and choose Create New Tag from Selection.
       6. Continue until the <Table> is complete
       7. Proceed to Section 3: Setting Cell Type and Scope
    2. Using the Order Tool
       1. Open the Order tool
       2. Right click on any element in the Order tool to open the Reading Order Panel
       3. Draw a box around the table. This will cause all cells to be highlighted.
       4. Choose “Table” from the Reading Order Panel
    3. Setting Cell Type and Scope
       1. With the Reading Order Panel open, click on the newly created table
       2. “Table Editor” will appear as an option in the Reading Order Panel. Select it to edit the table
       3. The table will now appear as cell types
       4. Right click on a cell to open Table Cell Properties
       5. Set the cell type (header or data cell) and, if the cell is a header cell, set the scope
          1. Hint: The cell’s scope will be what the header is describing. If it is describing a column, then the scope will be column.
       6. If the header cell is spanning multiple rows or columns, set the Row Span or Column Span under Attributes
       7. Click OK to close the Cell Property Editor

14. Run a full accessibility check via the Accessibility tool

    1. Fix any remaining problems
    2. In the full check, Reading Order and Color Contrast will ALWAYS come up as requiring manual review. This is because a machine cannot determine if reading order is accurate or if color contrast is compliant

1. Select the Form tool

   1. Choose Prepare Form
   2. Choose the document from which to begin
   3. Use the Prepare Form toolbar to create form fields
   4. Double click on a form field to edit properties

2. Use special formats for form fields: Adobe provides specific preset form fields for information like zip codes, phone numbers, and social security numbers

   1. Create a text field
   2. Double click on the text field to open Text Field Properties dialog box
   3. Click on Format
   4. Select the Special format category

3. Fill out a form field's name and Tooltip: Both are essential for accessibility

   1. If a form field is a checkbox or radio button, the name should include both a summary of the question and the option
   2. Example: A question may read 'What is your ethnicity?'. The response may include 'Caucasian'. The option 'Caucasian' would have a name property of 'Ethnicity: Caucasian' and a Tooltip of 'Caucasian'

4. Autotag form fields by selecting the Accessibility tool

   1. Choose Autotag Form Fields to automatically add identified form fields to the tag tree

To learn more about creating accessible PDF forms, read this article from WebAIM or follow UConn's guide. Adobe also has a user guide for creating automatically-recognized form fields.

PDFs are a useful tool and often used to share information with students and colleagues. If we’re not careful, however, we can unintentionally exclude members of our community by creating inaccessible PDFs. For users with disabilities, elements such as images and static text can be barriers to getting the information they need.

To facilitate the accessibility process, ITS offers a service to take PDFs and make them accessible for users with disabilities and for assistive technology users. The service is $15/hour. For more information, contact itaccessibility@uconn.edu.

When do my PDFs need to be accessible?

• No due date
• Thoughtful, good faith effort: Progress, not perfection

Does my department have to purchase Adobe Acrobat for everyone?

• No! We recommend purchasing one license for your department and putting it on a central computer
• Alternatively, the library has Adobe Acrobat on its computers

There are so many PDFs! Where do I start?

• Do some housekeeping: Take down outdated and unnecessary PDFs
• Focus on public facing, highly trafficked PDFs
• Prepare new PDFs accessibly

Microsoft Word Uconn Address

How can I learn more about PDF accessibility?

• One-on-One training: Email Kathryn@uconn.edu

I don’t have time to do this. What are my options?

• PDF accessibility service through ITS: Email ITAccessibility@uconn.edu
• Hire and train a student worker