In response to a number of questions from Schools who are in the process of evaluating their existing OPM contract, Stuart Harris Consulting has developed a check list of terms and concepts that should be included. School’s examining contracts may be doing so for various reasons, including
- They are happy with the current OPM partnership but/and are looking to renew/extend in the near/medium term. As part of any extension strategy the contract needs to be brought up to date and gaps in risk and compliance closed, not to mention maybe sharpening up some business deal components.
- The existing OPM contract still has multiple years to run but as part of an organizational risk assessment strategy the contract needs to be re-opened to close gaps. Potential issues to address might be FERPA, WCAG Compliance, US Data Privacy, GDPR, to name just a few
The SHC list can be applied quickly as part of a contract assessment to help Schools map out what types of contract changes, they should at least be considering. The list can equally be applied to Schools considering new OPM arrangements to ensure that any ultimate contract is comprehensive and entered into thoughtfully.
Supplier ‘Standard’ terms are seldom client friendly, and/or comprehensive. Such terms can leave Schools very exposed, not just around compliance but also around quality of services, ability to terminate, ‘lock in’ provisions, etc.