Information Technology Division
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Software Request Guidelines

How Do I Purchase Software (Individual, Department or Campus)

Before purchasing software all Faculty should involve their College/School’s Technology Coordinator to ensure that the software is compatible and not already owned by the University.

Things to Consider Before Purchasing

  • Already owned on Campus – A list of software can be found at https://www.montclair.edu/information-technology/faculty-related-applications
  • Operating System Compatibility – The campus has standardized on Windows 10 or Mac OS X 10.13 or higher
  • Costs Implication (annual maintenance cost vs. one-time) – Annual maintenance costs must be accounted for and added to operational costs
  • # of licenses required (stand-alone vs. multiple devices) – For multiple devices, the correct number of licenses must be procured to add it to multiple machines (i.e. computer or teaching labs, adjunct spaces, departmental machines.)
  • Accessibility – All new software on this campus has to be accessible.  To ensure that software is accessible, you must have a VPAT.  Additional information can be found at https://www.montclair.edu/digital-accessibility-initiative/information-for-vendors/

Specialty Considerations

  • Does this have a campus-wide impact and need to be a project?  Our Project Management Office will help you by filling out the Project Intake Form located at https://www.montclair.edu/program-management-office/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/2019/08/Project-Discovery-Initiation-Revised.doc
  • Login Integration (Tied to NetID) – For software applications that require integration for our NetID System, the scope of the project will need to be understood and scheduled.
  • Application Integration – For software applications that require integration into another system such as Canvas or Blackboard Transact, the scope of the project will need to be understood and scheduled.
  • On-Premise vs. Cloud Solution – If your software application is being hosted and managed outside of the University then you will be required to complete the Software As a Service (SaaS) checklist that can be found at https://www.montclair.edu/information-technology/security/hecvat/
  • Distribution of Software – Software installations would need to be scheduled and can take a longer period of time for multiple installations. Labs are imaged twice a year and each technology area has a deadline for software submissions.
  • Funding – How will the new software purchase be funded? This is key to moving forward and further detail can be found below.

Funding Avenues

Funding Through Your Department
Costs should be absorbed via departmental operational costs.

Funding Through the Provost’s Office
Submission to the Provost’s Office to request funding to procure new applications. Supported justification is required.


Funding Through the Computer Technology Request
Each March, during Budget Call, the Deans and Vice President’s are asked to submit computer and hardware requests via the Computer Technology Request form. The list prior to submission is prioritized for the next Budget Cycle and forwarded to Information Technology. All submissions require the exact cost, quantity, and justification. The list is then reviewed by Information Technology and approved based on justification and available funds.

Funding Through the Capital Budget Plan
This is for building/classroom renovations, large ‘one-off’ software expenses or programmatic changes. Planning begins in October and is finalized in January.

Procuring Software

  1. Once approval is received from your Department Head to purchase software, please reference the following Procurement Policies and Procedures which document the procurement process requirements:

  a. Procurement Policy #1 Procurement Methodology

  b. Procurement Policy #6 Information Technology

       Both can be found at Procurement Policies and Procedures page.

  1. The supplier must be in the Workday Finance System. If the supplier is not in Workday, a Supplier Create/Maintain Form along with a W9 must be sent to the Supplier Create Group. The instructions and forms are available at Procurement Forms page.
  2. When the procurement process is complete, a purchase requisition must be entered into the Workday Finance System with all the appropriate documents added as attachments, for example, quotes and/or contract. For details on entering a requisition, please reference the Procurement Lifecycle Job Aid on the Finance Job Aids page.
  3. Please contact the Procurement Services Department at 973-655- 4145 with questions. Also, direct Workday questions to the IT Support Group at 973-655 7971.

Once the software license and download is received, please contact your IT Support Team.