Slippery Rock University has presented reasonable arguments for why it opted for the so-called best-value system for awarding construction contracts for its $43 million student union project.

The best-value system was used in place of awarding contracts solely on the basis of low bids meeting project specifications.

The university said it decided on best-value, which is not based strictly on the lowest bids submitted, with the hope that it would keep lower the eventual final cost of the project. Best-value is viewed by the university as a way to minimize change orders and ensure higher-quality work, but there is a possible downside for future projects that SRU might undertake.

In the future, this best-value exercise might discourage some qualified potential bidders from submitting proposals, and that might adversely impact the price that the university will have to pay.

The preparation of bids is a time-consuming process for contractors. If some feel that the univesity might be using best-value as a vehicle for giving work to preferred contractors, many companies might decide not to waste their time — regardless of the value and top-quality work they might be ready to offer.

And, the minimizing-of-change-orders argument that the university has put forth is not strictly a contractor issue. Change orders sometimes result from design flaws or decisions to make some facet of a project better — or possibly less costly — than originally planned.

Probably the most unsavory part of the best-value system SRU has employed regarding the student union project was the decision to not even open some contractors' bids. All contractors who submitted bids were entitled to that consideration.

That alone makes it understandable why some of the contractors who submitted bids for the project are angry, with some even considering filing formal appeals with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which oversees SRU and 13 other state-owned universities.

At the same time, some of the contractors can be faulted for not regarding seriously the university's intent to use best-value, or for perhaps not fully understanding what the best-value option entails.

Time will tell what effect, if any, the student union bidding will have on the university as it pursues future building endeavors.

— J.R.K.