Announcement of an Exempt Purchase

The procurement of high-quality, web-based preparatory and study materials from UWorld to support college entrance, undergraduate, graduate, and professional licensing examinations nationwide. The UWorld platform includes comprehensive question banks, detailed explanations, performance analytics, and practice assessments designed to improve learning outcomes and exam readiness for students and professionals.

This purchase is exempt from the usual selection processes of the Procurement Code because the procurement expenditure is for periodicals, books, subscriptions, database licenses, and other publications procured for use by a university library or academic department, except for expenditures related to procuring textbooks for student use or materials for resale or rental. (30 ILCS 500 / 1-13(b)(5)) If this is not approved, the State will face significant financial and operational impacts. Without access to the appropriate training materials, students will be inadequately prepared for their board examinations, increasing the likelihood of exam failures. A higher failure rate would result in fewer students obtaining licensure as pharmacists, leading to delays in entering the workforce and potential shortages in critical healthcare roles. This could ultimately impact the States ability to meet healthcare demands, reduce revenue from licensing fees, and increase administrative and educational costs associated with re-training or re-examination efforts.