Doing Business with 
Portland Community College

The Purchasing Department is located within Portland Community College (PCC) Financial Services, at the Washington County Workforce Training Center, CAPITAL Center, Room 1513, 18624 NW Walker Road, Beaverton, OR 97006. [See Map] The mailing address is PO Box 6119, Aloha, OR  97007-0119. 

This guide has been prepared to familiarize you with the policies and procedures in doing business with PCC. The principle objective of the Purchasing Department is to acquire quality goods and services from the lowest responsive and responsible bidders who comply with the required specifications, terms and conditions and have the capacity to deliver. In an effort to stimulate competition, we want to provide all interested vendors an opportunity to offer their products and services to PCC.

This guide is designed solely to provide general summary information to those wishing to do procurement business with PCC. The procurement activity of PCC is performed in accordance with all of the State of Oregon statutes and adopted PCC Purchasing rules, Regulations and Policies. We also want to emphasize that Purchasing staff members do not accept personal gifts from suppliers nor conduct purchasing transactions for personal benefit.

1) Purchases under $1000:

The College typically uses the Purchasing Card process to acquire goods or supplies that are low dollar value, non-capital, non-service related type of expense items. Examples of the types of purchases that the Purchasing Card can be used for are parts, shop supplies, office supplies, lab supplies and any other supply purchase, not to exceed a total of $1,000 per transaction and, not to exceed, $10,000 per month. The concept of this card was designed to delegate the spending authority of these low dollar value purchases to user departments. Purchasing Card users authorized by the College are able to make purchases much easier, faster and more economically. Paperwork and processing times in the purchasing, receiving and accounts payable are reduced. The card users must go through training and follow established guidelines.  User Departments submit an online requisition for purchases that cannot be processed through the Purchasing Card.

2) Purchases under $5,000:

User Departments have been given authority to purchase goods and services valued under $5,000 from their chosen vendors. When the total amount is under $5,000, the College encourages user departments to obtain, when feasible, competitive quotes. User Departments must complete and submit an online Requisition to order goods and/or services. The Purchasing Department reviews the requisitions to ensure compliance with all other PCC purchasing regulations and policies before converting the requisition to a Purchase Order.

3) Purchases $5,000 and less than $100,000:

Requires a minimum of three (3) informally solicited competitive quotes (Request for Quotation) process. At least one of the three quotes should be obtained from a Minority/Women-Owned/Small Emerging Business firm. It is required to keep a written record of the vendors contacted and the quotes received. The contract is awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible vendor. The Purchasing Department reviews the requisitions to ensure compliance with PCC procurement rules and regulations before converting the requisition to a Purchase Order.

4) Purchases $100,000 and over:

If more than one supplier may be available and the total purchase is estimated to exceed $100,000, the College shall select a Vendor through a formal competitive process.  The Purchasing Department uses two methods:

• Invitation to Bid (ITB) - is a formal competitive offer in which price, delivery (or project completion) and conformance to the specifications will be the predominant award criteria.
• Request for Proposal (RFP) - is another formal competitive method, used primarily when factors, other than price, must be considered in selecting a vendor. Awards are based on the evaluation of a selection committee, which rates each proposal against the published selection criteria.

A listing of all Solicitation Opportunities with PCC are available and accessible through the PCC solicitation website. Interested vendors must submit a completed registration form to be able to download solicitation documents.

Contacts

Purchasing Staff
PCC Departments - See Department Directory on the PCC Contacts page

For more information about the Purchasing Department's policies and procedures, call us at (503) 533-2801 or fax the Purchasing Department at (503) 533-2901. We will get back to you with a reply as soon as possible.