University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 19, Feb. 13, 1997
Pilot program begins for new purchasing cards

     Five University offices are now putting the new VISA
Purchasing Card to the test as part of a six-month pilot program.
     Offices in Biology, Agricultural Sciences, Chemistry and
Biochemistry, Athletics and Facilities are testing out the new
system, which soon will eliminate requisitions and POWCs
(purchase order with checks) for purchases under $5,000 across
the campus. Instead, selected employees in each office will be
issued VISA Purchasing Cards through CoreStates Bank of Delaware,
enabling them to charge purchases with a value of $5,000 or less.
     Gale Bragg, Facilities Management, put the plastic to the
test last month, when she initiated the first charge under the
new system to make a department purchase at Grainger Inc. in New
Castle in January.
     "I think it's great," Bragg said. "It makes my job a lot
easier. The card really cuts down a lot on the paperwork, and
it's much more convenient than using the POWCs."
     Since that first purchase, selected employees in all five
pilot offices have been trying out their purchasing cards.
     Other selected units are expected to be phased into the
pilot program starting in April. Each will receive special
training before being issued purchasing cards.
     Campuswide implementation of the program is scheduled for
July 1.
     While the Purchasing Department oversees the entire
Purchasing Card program, each academic and administrative
department will be responsible for managing its own cardholder
accounts, including determining who receives the card, for what
purposes it will be used and how much may be charged on it. The
cardholder will be authorized to use the card to buy any
merchandise or services required by his or her duties at the
University, with the exception of those items listed in the
Policies and Procedures as unauthorized.
     The Policies and Procedures established specifically for the
Purchasing Card Program are now available on the Purchasing
Department's home page on the World Wide Web: www:udel.edu/purch/