About the Bulletin

What Is the Illinois Public Higher Education Procurement Bulletin?

The Bulletin is a free online resource for vendors wishing to do business with the public universities in Illinois. Participating universities post notices for upcoming bids, requests for proposal, requests for information, solicitation documents, and awards.

Vendors can search for notices that may be of interest to them, download bid documents, and return to check the status of a bid.

Publication Policy

The Office of the Higher Education Chief Procurement Officer publishes Bulletin notices based on information provided by each of the State Universities. Each State University independently determines which notices are submitted to the Bulletin for publication based on the requirements.

See the Publication Schedule to find out when and for how long advertisements are posted and a listing of Bulletin holidays. Anticipated downtimes for the Bulletin, for service or upgrades, are noted on the homepage under Announcements.

How to use the Bulletin

Looking for Notices

• Browse - Select the "Browse" tab on the homepage to see a listing of categories/keywords, types of notices, or geographical regions for which notices may appear. The expandable/contractible listing allows you to view all available notices in a larger grouping, or narrow it down to a more specific selection. The Browse feature is recommended if you are unsure of what search terms to use or are new to the Bulletin.
• Search - The Search feature on the homepage of the Bulletin helps you to quickly locate notices either by entering a known procurement number (or partial) or a search term of your choice. The search will comb through all current notices to find the requested number or words, including a list of related categories, keywords, and synonyms.
• Advanced Search - Advanced Search is available to visitors who register for the My Bulletin feature. This search allows you to specify criteria such as category/keyword, date range, region, university, or type --and to save those criteria for later--so individuals get results tailored to their needs.
• Document Downloads - Some notices will have bid documents, such as descriptions and amendments, associated with them. To download the documents, you must log on and verify your contact information so that you can receive subsequent updates to the documents. If you have never logged on to the Bulletin before, you will be given the opportunity to set up an account. When requesting the documents, you will have the option of selecting the means of delivery (e.g. electronic download, e-mail, etc.)

Navigating the Site

• Links to the key information for vendors are available from the Bulletin's homepage as well as from a menu bar at the top of each informational page.
  
  
  
  
• The "Related Info" area signals helpful information or links associated with the information on that page.
  
  
  
  
• The "Contact Us" link at the bottom of each page accesses a list of university and Bulletin contact information.
  
  
  
  
• Once you have logged on to My Bulletin, you will remain logged on for the duration of your visit, until you log off. This means you can access download information from notices without having to log on again during the same session.

Vendor Services

My Bulletin

Register for My Bulletin to take advantage of these perks:

• Download bid documents - To download bid documents, you must register with the Bulletin. This allows us to send follow-up notices/amendments related to the items you have requested. You will be signed up automatically for My Bulletin and can take advantage of its other features, such as saved searches.
• Perform advanced searches - Choose additional categories and keywords; specify region, school, type, or date ranges.
• Save custom searches - Choose additional categories and keywords; specify region, school, type, or date ranges.
• Receive E-mail notifications - Sign up to receive e-mail notifications of new solicitations matching your chosen criteria.