F16 – Signature Authority

Policy Reference No: F16
Date of Last Update: September 9, 2026 
Responsible Division: Finance

Purpose

All contracts and agreements entered into on behalf of Tompkins Cortland Community College require an authorized signatory. This policy identifies those College employees, by title, who are authorized by the Board of Trustees to execute College contracts and agreements and legally bind the College to obligations, including the commitment of financial or other College resources, contained within such contracts and agreements. Agreements executed by an individual without express permission by this policy or by written prior authorization by the President issued under the Delegation of Signature Authority provisions of this policy shall not be binding on Tompkins Cortland Community College.

Definitions

Agreement or Contract: any written instrument that creates, modifies, or terminates a legal obligation of the College, regardless of what it is titled. This includes contracts, purchase agreements, leases, licenses, subscriptions, memoranda of understanding, letters of intent, articulation and affiliation agreements, grant awards and subawards, settlement agreements, and any amendment, renewal, change order, or statement of work issued under any of them.

Execute: to sign, initial, or otherwise indicate the College’s assent to an agreement, including by electronic signature.

Total Contract Value: the aggregate value of an agreement over its entire term, including all renewal and extension options whether or not the College presently intends to exercise them, all anticipated amendments and change orders, and all reasonably foreseeable contingent amounts. Where an agreement provides for amounts payable to the College, Total Contract Value is the greater of the amounts payable by the College or the amounts receivable by the College.

Authorized Signatory: an individual authorized to execute an agreement by this policy, or by a written delegation issued under this policy.

Affiliated Organization: the Tompkins Cortland Community College Foundation, the Faculty Student Association, and any other entity related to the College by common control, shared personnel, or a support relationship.

References

Policy B4 – Grants

Policy E1 – Facility Use

Policy F2 – Competitive Bidding

New York Education Law, Article 126 – Community Colleges

New York General Municipal Law §§ 103 and 104-b – Competitive Bidding and Procurement Policies

New York State Technology Law, Article 3 – Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA)

NYS Archives Records Retention and Disposition Schedule LGS-1

TC3 Budget & Finance Manual

Policy B16 – Conflict of Interest

Contacts

Office of the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

Policy Statement

The President and the Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer are authorized to execute contracts and agreements that are financial in nature on behalf of Tompkins Cortland Community College. Signature authority for goods and services contracted on Purchase Orders is contained within the TC3 Budget & Finance Manual, which is subordinate to this policy and may not authorize any signature limit greater than the limits established here. Signature authority is conferred on the position, not on the individual holding it, and is held by any person formally appointed to serve in that position in an acting or interim capacity.

Determining Contract Value

The level of signature authority required is determined by Total Contract Value, and not by annual expenditure, invoice amount, or the value of an individual purchase order.

A requirement may not be divided, phased, or issued as separate agreements in order to bring any portion of it within a lower level of signature authority. Where the College enters into multiple agreements with the same vendor for the same or related goods or services within a single fiscal year, their values shall be aggregated for purposes of determining the required level of authority.

Where Total Contract Value cannot be determined at the time of execution, the agreement shall be treated as exceeding the highest applicable threshold unless the College’s maximum financial exposure is capped in writing within the agreement itself.

Contracts and Agreements with Financial Obligations

The Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer and the Finance/Purchasing Office will maintain the listing and copies of all executed financial contracts and agreements.

Agreements Reserved to the Board of Trustees Regardless of Value

The following require approval by the Board of Trustees regardless of Total Contract Value, after which the President is authorized to execute:

• Acquisition, sale, lease, or other disposition of real property, and any easement or license affecting real property;
• Capital construction projects and the related design, engineering, and construction management agreements;
• Borrowing of any kind, including notes, lines of credit, and guarantees; and banking, depository, and investment management agreements;
• Settlement of litigation or of any claim against the College, and any agreement containing an uncapped or unlimited indemnification obligation;
• Collective bargaining agreements;
• Agreements with a total term, including renewal options, exceeding five years;
• Agreements establishing, joining, or dissolving a legal entity, and affiliation or merger agreements;
• Any agreement that requires the approval of the State University of New York, the County sponsor, or the State Education Department. Such approval shall be obtained in writing before the agreement is executed.

Amendments, Renewals, and Change Orders

An amendment, change order, renewal, or statement of work shall be executed at the level of authority applicable to the Total Contract Value of the agreement as amended, and not the value of the amendment considered alone. Where cumulative amendments raise Total Contract Value above a threshold, the required approval shall be obtained before the amendment is executed.

An agreement containing an automatic renewal or evergreen provision shall be valued over its initial term plus all automatic renewal periods, up to a maximum of five years. The Finance/Purchasing Office shall calendar all non-renewal and termination notice deadlines.

Exercise of a renewal option that was included in the Total Contract Value previously approved does not require new approval, provided the terms are otherwise unchanged.

Contracts and Agreements without Financial Obligations

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs: Articulation Agreements, Internship Agreements, Clinical Agreements, Affiliation Agreements, Continuing Education/Workforce Training Agreements

Vice President of Administration: Hiring documents, MOUs related to collective bargaining agreements, Facility Use Agreements

President: All other non-financial contracts or agreements, including Collective Bargaining Agreements

An agreement that generates revenue for the College, or that commits College space, personnel, data, or intellectual property, or that obligates the College to provide goods or services at no charge, is not an agreement “without financial obligations” for purposes of this policy. Such agreements shall be valued under Determining Contract Value and executed at the corresponding level of authority.

Copies of non-financial contracts and agreements will be maintained by the executing office, and a fully executed copy shall be forwarded to the Finance/Purchasing Office for the central contract repository within ten business days of execution.

Grants and Sponsored Programs

Grant applications, award documents, and subawards shall be executed by the President or the Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer, regardless of value, following review by the Finance Office of any cost-share, matching, indirect cost recovery, reporting, or audit obligations. Cost-share and matching commitments shall be treated as financial obligations and are subject to the thresholds above. This section is subject to Policy B4 – Grants.

Agreements with the Foundation and Other Affiliated Organizations

Any agreement between the College and an Affiliated Organization — including service, staffing, management, space use, cost allocation, and reimbursement agreements — shall be in writing and shall state the goods or services to be provided, the basis and frequency of cost allocation or reimbursement, the term, and the termination rights of each party.

Such agreements shall be executed by the President following review by the Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer, and shall be approved by the Board of Trustees where Total Contract Value exceeds $50,000 or the term exceeds one year. No individual may execute the same agreement on behalf of both the College and the Affiliated Organization, and any individual holding a position in both entities shall recuse themselves from approval on one side of the transaction.

Delegation of Signature Authority

The President may delegate signature authority in writing. A delegation shall be specific as to scope, shall state a dollar limit that does not exceed the delegating officer’s own authority, and shall state an expiration date. Delegated authority may not be further delegated.

All delegations shall be filed with the Finance Office, which shall maintain a current register of delegations in effect and provide that register to the Board of Trustees annually. A delegation terminates automatically on its stated expiration date, upon written revocation, or when the delegating officer ceases to hold the position.

If the office of President is vacant, signature authority is exercised by the individual designated in writing by the Chair of the Board of Trustees. If the office of Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer is vacant, signature authority is exercised by the individual designated in writing by the President. Any such designation shall be reported to the Board of Trustees at its next regular meeting.

Electronic Signatures

Agreements may be executed by electronic signature in accordance with Article 3 of the New York State Technology Law, provided the signature is applied through a platform approved by the Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer.

Relationship to Procurement and Bidding Requirements

Signature authority under this policy is separate from, and in addition to, the competitive bidding requirements of General Municipal Law § 103 and the College’s procurement policy adopted under General Municipal Law § 104-b and Policy F2. Authority to sign an agreement is not evidence that procurement requirements have been satisfied, and the dollar thresholds in this policy have no bearing on the bidding thresholds in law. Both sets of requirements shall be satisfied before an agreement is executed.

Emergency Execution

Where a delay in execution would endanger health or safety, threaten College property, or interrupt essential College operations, the President may execute an agreement regardless of Total Contract Value. The President shall promptly notify the Chair of the Board of Trustees, shall document the nature of the emergency in writing, and shall present the agreement to the Board of Trustees for ratification at its next regular meeting.

Unauthorized Signatures and Ratification

An agreement executed by an individual without authority under this policy is not binding on the College, and no College funds shall be disbursed against it. Such an agreement may be ratified only in writing by the officer or body that would have had authority to execute it originally.

An individual who executes an agreement without authority may be held personally responsible for the obligations incurred and may be subject to disciplinary action.

Contract Records and Retention

The Finance/Purchasing Office shall maintain a central contract repository containing a complete executed copy of every College agreement, together with the name and title of the signatory, the Total Contract Value, the term, and all renewal, non-renewal, and termination notice deadlines. Executing offices shall forward fully executed agreements to the Finance/Purchasing Office within ten business days.

Contract records shall be retained in accordance with the NYS Archives Records Retention and Disposition Schedule LGS-1. The Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer shall report annually to the Board of Trustees a summary of agreements executed with a Total Contract Value exceeding $50,000 and a list of all delegations of signature authority in effect.

Responsibilities

The individual who approves and exercises authority for contracts and agreements under this policy is responsible and accountable for ensuring that:

• They have the authority to approve the transaction or execute a contract;
• All institutional reviews and approvals required by this policy, including legal review where applicable, have occurred and are documented in writing before any commitment is made;
• The transaction, proposal or agreement includes the appropriate approved provisions as required by Finance, Purchasing, Legal or by policy of the College.
• Funds for the transaction have been allocated and are readily available within regularly approved budgets, special appropriations or designated accounts;
• There is no real or apparent conflict of interest on the part of the signatory or any other individual or organization involved in the transaction.
• Any real or apparent conflict of interest has been disclosed in writing to the President, or to the Chair of the Board of Trustees where the President is the signatory, before execution;
• A fully executed copy of the agreement is forwarded to the Finance/Purchasing Office for the central contract repository within ten business days of execution.

Policy Review

This policy shall be reviewed by the Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer annually, and additionally upon any change in the titles or reporting structure of the positions named in it. The review shall include an assessment of whether the dollar thresholds remain appropriate. Recommended revisions shall be presented to the President and the Board of Trustees for review and approval.

Resolution Number

2026-2027-5