A contract is a written agreement between two or more competent parties requiring that either party do (or not do) certain acts specific to the agreement. A formal contract is needed for any agreement with a non-CSULB entity.

The Chancellor’s office defines a contract as “Contracts, agreements, interagency agreements, the memorandum’s of agreements, the memorandum’s of understandings, partnerships, alliances, collaborative agreements, or any relationships where the CSU is both acquiring goods or services or supplying (or exchanging) supplies goods, services, facilities, expertise, or other CSU assets and resources...” (ICSUAM 1101 ).

Even agreements where no money is changing hands must be signed by a person with authority if the agreement, binds or obligates the university to perform an act, or causes the university to incur liability for the acts of others. The university may choose to disclaim responsibility for unauthorized contracts or purchases, making the payment or performance obligations the personal responsibility of the person who improperly approved or signed an agreement.

If you are unsure whether a document you were asked to sign is a contract, the safest action is to contact Contract Services.

The authority to purchase goods, services or to enter into contracts is delegated by state law to the Board of Trustees of the CSU (Education Code § 89036, Public Contract Code § 10430(a), 12100.5, and 12120). The Board of Trustees delegated that authority to the Chancellor of the CSU (ICSUAM 5101) who in turn delegated the same authority to the campus Presidents (Executive Order 775 & ICSUAM 5102).

Hiring someone (individual, contractor, corporation, etc.) to perform a service for CSULB involves risks.  The type and level of risk will vary depending on the services to be performed.  The CSU requires contracts contain certain minimum insurance coverages and limits in order to mitigate those risks.  Inclusion of the insurance requirements for any particular purchase, activity or contract will be reviewed in conjunction with CSULB’s Risk Management department.

Contracts are required for any purchase, transaction, or relationship in which the University takes part in any capacity that may require expenditure of funds or expose it to risk.  

Only Departments taking responsibility for the relationship may submit a Contract Review request. 

Please do not direct students to this form. California State University operational policy requires that certain preliminary matters must be addressed prior to entering into any contract with a third party. By submitting a contract for review, you are representing that these matters have been adequately addressed and approved by authorities within your department. 

Contracts can be submitted for review, negotiation, or execution by CSULB personnel authorized to act on behalf of their departments through the Contract Review form.

No Cost and Revenue Producing Agreement Request Form (DocuSign)

All other review requests should be submitted using this form. Common transaction types include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Revenue Sharing  
• Sponsorship 
• Other Revenue Generation 
• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (between CSU entities)
• Facility/Land Use
• Donation of Goods/Services
• Non-Disclosure Agreement (if not tied to an expenditure of University funds)
• Software Purchases (zero dollars)
• Loan Agreements of Equipment or Other 
• All Other Agreement/Transaction Types 

CSU as a Service Provider Form (DocuSign)

The use of this form should be limited to transactions where the University will be providing a service or use of University property to a third party, regardless of whether or not the University will receive revenue. This includes services performed by employees if done on behalf of the University.

Academic programs that manage an academic internship are responsible for assessing the site prior to student placement. The academic programs are encouraged to review the following policies in order to receive guidance on-site assessment:

• Executive Order 1064 – Internships
• Managing Risk in Service Learning (PDF)

In order to place students in the field for any fieldwork experience with which the University is involved, the CSULB academic program must first determine whether a site is appropriate and meets CSU requirements for such placement. In order to understand your department’s preliminary responsibilities, please consult with the University’s Center for Community Engagement. 

Once your department is satisfied that its preliminary responsibilities are met, authorized department personnel can send the CSULB approved template directly to the internship site for review and approval. Please see the Student Fieldwork Placement Agreement Instructions for completing the form.

The CSULB approved template for internship placements is available on the CSULB Forms page. Submit the name of the internship site representative and their e-mail, and the form will automatically route through DocuSign for signatures. The initiator will receive a final copy of the agreement when it is complete.

If an internship site requests to use its own template for an Affiliation Agreement, please forward this agreement to Contract Services for review and potential negotiation of terms through the Affiliation Agreement Review form. We strongly recommend using the pre-approved template linked above versus the site’s agreement as that pre-approved template will meet our minimum obligations under CSU policy, appropriately allocate responsibility for each party’s actions, and greatly reduce the time necessary for approval to get your students placed more quickly.

In order to minimize risk and comply with the requirements of CSU insurance programs, internships should take place within the State of California. If a department desires to place a student in an internship located outside of the State of California, Risk Management approval is required BEFORE the placement is made. Contract Services will provide the internship coordinator with questions that must be answered in order to submit a risk evaluation to Risk Management.

If an academic program arranges an internship at another CSU campus, do not utilize the standard template agreement. Advise Contract Services of the placement so that we can contact the receiving CSU campus’s contracting department to coordinate an agreement. In some instances, the Office of General Counsel will need to review and approve the agreement, which will be coordinated by Contract Services.

Please contact Contract Services for more information at; FM-ContractServices@csulb.edu