I-003 Procedure for Procurement of Outside, Online Academic Materials
Outside Academic Resources
Those resources not supported, managed or contracted by the System Office or SMSU ITS are defined as ‘Outside Academic Resources’.
Example of current resources not considered ‘Outside’ are those resources managed, or contracted for, by the System Office include: a) D2L Brightspace, b) Kaltura or Mediaspace, c) Zoom, d) Microsoft 365 services including Teams, and e) Tutor.com. Examples of other resources not considered ‘Outside’ for this definition are those that are managed by or contracted by the University (through ITS) or otherwise made available to the entire University include: a) TurnItIn, b) Respondus Lockdown Browser, c) ReadSpeaker, d) Qualtrics, and e) Hypothesis.
Examples of resources considered to be Outside Academic Resources can include services or software adopted for use in an individual course(s) or program(s) such as E-textbooks and specialized software or services.
Upon identification of an outside technology application, SMSU Information Technology Services (SMSU ITS) shall be contacted to conduct an initial review. This review will involve such items as a) the classification of data to be utilized within the application, b) fit with SMSU’s technology environment, including whether or not the application integrates with the University’s existing learning management system, c) application compliance with ADA standards, and d) ability to utilize the Minnesota State System’s single sign-on service in order to support student identity verification requirements, and e) congruence with existing SMSU tools and resources that may address the identified need. In general, SMSU ITS should be engaged six (6) months before the start of the academic term for which the application is desired to be used. Otherwise, the application may not be vetted, approved, and procured in time to be used for the desired academic term.
Given SMSU ITS’s approval to proceed, a requisition may need to be initiated within Workday. Documentation shall include a “terms of service” from the vendor related to product use, any vendor “privacy policy” related to product use, cost information, and vendor contact information. Business Services will create a purchase order number and initiate a review process.
Product implementation begins after the procurement process is completed. Implementation should involve SMSU ITS when necessary (e.g. configuration of ‘single sign-on’, data integration, and installation on computers).
Related Documents
Board Policy 5.23, “Security and Privacy of Information Resources”
SMSU Policy I-001, “Information Security Policy”
SMSU Policy I-002, “Computer Network System Use and Security Policy”
Policy History
Date of Adoption: January 22, 2026
Date of Last Review:
Date and Subject of Amendments
1/22/2026 – Creation of policy