Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Tennessee Higher Education Purchasing Initiative?
The Tennessee Higher Education Purchasing Initiative was organized to affect
improvements in purchasing processes that would provide expedited, reasonably
priced sources for common goods/services required by member institutions.

What schools are involved in this project?
A list of all Tennessee schools involved in THEPI can be accessed here.

How do I search the contract database?
This site's search page allows you to search for contracts by the name of the school/institution, the contract vendor, or the type of commodity. Indicate the search criteria by which you wish to search and click the appropriate Submit key.

How do I add a contract to the database?
Only users with pre-authorized accounts will have access to upload new contracts to the database.

What format must my contract be in order to be uploaded?
In order to ensure document compatibility for a wide variety of users, all contracts in the THEPI database must be in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. PDF files can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader software, which in most cases is already installed on most State of Tennessee educational computer systems. This software can be downloaded here.

How do I get my file in PDF format?
Most word processing programs have an option within them to save a file in PDF format. If this option is not available, a hard copy contract may be scanned in using a flatbed scanner and saved in PDF format to be uploaded.

What if I need to archive or delete a contract?
Select the button on the left menu Archive a Contract and login with your school's username and password. All contracts for your institution will display along with an option to archive.