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Procedure for the Approval of Contractual Commitments

– May 25, 2020

Page 1 of 4

PROCEDURE FOR THE APPROVAL OF

CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS

Procedure
Type:

Management

Initially
Approved:

May 25,
2020

Procedure
Sponsor:

General Counsel
& University
Secretariat

Last Revised:

September
17, 2025

Administrative
Responsibility:

Associate
General Counsel

Review
Scheduled:

October
2030

Approver:

Executive Leadership Team

PROCEDURES

APPROVAL OF CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS

1.1

All Contractual Commitments made on behalf of the University must be made in
writing. Oral agreements are not permitted and will not be honored or recognized by
the University.

1.2

If an Employee is uncertain whether they have contractual signing authority over
certain Contractual Commitments, they will seek the advice of their supervisor prior
to Approval of the Contractual Commitments.

1.3

The Approval of any amendments to Contractual Commitments must be Approved
by the Authority who first Approved the Contractual Commitments or that Authority’s
supervisor.    Where  the  amended  Contractual  Commitments  exceed  the  original
Authority’s  contractual  signing  authority,  the  amendment  must  be  Approved  by  a
supervisor  of  the  Authority  who  has  contractual  signing  authority.  For  clarity,
amendments to Contractual Commitments do not include change orders approved
in accordance with processes established under the Contractual Commitments.

1.4

The Authority who Approves Contractual Commitments is responsible for ensuring
sufficient  documentation  is  kept  to  record  the  Approval  and  compliance  with  this
Policy.    This  includes  storing  a  copy  of  the  written  Contractual  Commitments,
compliance  with  any  applicable  Schedule  3

– Controls and any documents

supporting sub-

delegation of the Authority’s authorization to approve the Contractual

Commitments.

MULTIPLE SIGNATORIES

2.1

Where two or more Employees have contractual signing authority over Contractual
Commitments and only one signatory is required, the Employee whose Department
has the stronger connection to the Contractual Commitments will normally sign on
behalf of the University.

2.2

Where  a  third  party  to  a  Contractual  Commitment  requires  more  signatories  on
behalf of the University than is required under this Policy, the additional signatories
must  independently  have  contractual  signing  authority  over  the  Contractual
Commitments and will be:

Procedure for the Approval of Contractual Commitments

– May 25, 2020

Page 2 of 4

a. accountable for a Department who is connected to the Contractual

Commitments;

b. the supervisor of the Authority; or

c. where the Authority is a Vice-President or the President, another Vice-President

or the President.

2.3

Where multiple signatures are required for any Contractual Commitment, unique
Authorities must sign the Contractual Commitments, even if one Authority may have
contractual signing authority under multiple roles.

DEFINITIONS

(1)

Approve /
Approval:

refers to the act of the University entering into Contractual
Commitments in accordance with this Policy. Contractual
Commitments may receive approval in many ways, such as
by an Authority signing or executing a contract, submitting
a binding proposal, accepting or issuing a purchase order
or quotation, agreeing to terms of use, or accepting online
terms and conditions

(2)

Authority:

means the Board of Governors or an Employee who has
contractual

signing

authority

over

Contractual

Commitments on behalf of the University in accordance with
the Policy and Procedure

(3)

Board of
Governors:

means the Board of Governors of Mount Royal University

(4)

Contractual
Commitments:

means the binding legal commitments that are established
between the University and one or more third parties
through a contract. For clarity, Contractual Commitments
exclude any legal commitments that may arise through the
establishment of a trust or endowment

(5)

Contractual Risks:

means the risks that arise as a result of the University
entering into Contractual Commitments and includes, but is
not limited to, the inherent risks of the activities that will be
undertaken as a result of the Contractual Commitments, the
risks which arise from the contractual relationship itself and
the risks which may arise if the Contractual Commitments
are breached by either party

(6)

Department:

means a faculty within the Academic Division or a
department outside of the Academic Division

(7)

Division:

means a division of the University that is led by a Vice-
President or the President

(8)

Employees:

means individuals who are engaged to work for the
University under an employment contract, including but not
limited to faculty, staff, exempt, casual and management
employees

Procedure for the Approval of Contractual Commitments

– May 25, 2020

Page 3 of 4

(9)

Financial
Commitments:

means  the  total  value  of  all  payments,  taxes  or  any  other
fees paid by one party to another as a result of Contractual
Commitments.

Financial Commitments includes the value of all payments
made  over  the  full  term  of  the  Contractual  Commitments,
but  excludes  non-mandatory  renewals  or  optional
extensions.  For  clarity,  Financial  Commitments  do  not
include  flow-through  payments  made  between  the  parties
where funds are ultimately being collected from or paid to
end  users  (however  such  flow-through  payments  may
impact the Contractual Risks of the contract).

For  Contractual  Commitments  of  indefinite  duration,  the
value is calculated as the greater of either (i) the sum of the
estimated  payments  that  will  be  made  over  the  first  five
years  of  the  contract  or  (ii)  the  cost  of  terminating  the
contract on a without cause basis.

Where total payments are uncertain at the time of Approval
of  Contractual  Commitments,  Financial  Commitment  may
be  estimated  based  on  historical  use  or  other  reasonable
methods  of  estimating  the  payments,  taxes  or  other  fees
paid over the term of the Contractual Commitments.  When
Financial Commitments are estimated and  the estimate is
within  5%  of  the  Authority’s  threshold  for  Approval,  the
Contractual  Commitments  must  be  approved  by  another
Authority with a higher Financial Commitments threshold.

All Financial Commitments are stated in Canadian Dollars

(10)

Policy:

means the Contractual Signing Authority Policy

(11)

Procedure:

means this Procedure for the Approval of Contractual
Commitments of the Policy

(12)

PSLA:

means the Post-secondary Learning Act of Alberta, as
amended

(13)

Senior Leaders:

means either (i) any Employee who both reports to a Vice-
President or President and leads a Department and (ii) any
other person designated as a Senior Leader by the
Executive Leadership Team

(14)

University:

means the legal entity continued

under the PSLA as “The

Board of Governors of Mount Royal University” and which
operates under the name “Mount Royal University”

RELATED POLICIES

• Code of Conduct Policy – Board

• Code of Conduct Policy – Employees

Procedure for the Approval of Contractual Commitments

– May 25, 2020

Page 4 of 4

RELATED LEGISLATION

• Post-secondary Learning Act of Alberta

RELATED DOCUMENTS

• Contractual Signing Authority Policy

• Procedure for the Evaluation of Contractual Commitments

• Procedure for the Sub-Delegation of Contractual Signing Authority

• Schedule 1 – General Authorities

• Schedule 2 – Specific Authorities

• Schedule 3 – Controls

REVISION HISTORY

Date
(mm/dd/yyyy)

Description of
Change

Sections

Person who
Entered Revision
(Position Title)

Person who
Authorized Revision
(Position Title)

04/20/2023

Editorial

Definitions

Policy Advisor

General Counsel and
University Secretary

09/17/2025

Minor

All

Associate General
Counsel

Executive Leadership
Team