Skip to main content

Tier 2 License: Step by Step

Tier 2 acquisitions are those initiated and negotiated by campus subject selectors in which four or more UC campuses participate. 

1. Inquiry, Negotiation, and Start-up Stages

Sponsoring Campus Responsibilities

  • Survey interest among other campuses through Common Knowledge Groups (CKGs) and verify current holdings.
  • Notify Li Ma, Assistant Director of Systemwide Licensing at the CDL that you are pursuing a Tier 2 negotiation. (important)
  • Negotiate with vendor on the following; consult with Li Ma at CDL if needed.
    • Content
    • Contract Term (time period, or effective date plus duration)
    • Access Conditions, e.g. unlimited simultaneous user access
    • How and whether perpetual access comes with your resource
    • Authentication, e.g. IP authentication
    • Fee, e.g. license fee (per year), ongoing fee, one-time fee
    • Price caps for multi-year contracts
    • Payment terms, e.g. a single invoice for annual subscription fee
    • APC discounts if applicable
    • MARC records for large collections of monographic titles?
    • Review CDL Standard License for other key terms, e.g. linking, ILL, usage statistics, training, etc. and incorporate as appropriate. See the Licensing Toolkit for links to the Standard License.
    • An option for including additional campuses in the future.
  • Work out a co-investment model among participating campuses. For example, dividing the costs based on an FTE model, or using the vendor’s pricing.
  • Obtain approval of each participating campus SCLG member (critical). The SCLG member of the sponsoring campus should send a proposal to the SCLG Proposals listserv in order to facilitate the formal approval process.
  • Work on the license (the Tier 2 Coordinator coordinates with the licensing staff at the sponsoring campus)
    • Use the CDL Standard License Agreement (CDL/internal version) as a guideline. Use the Standard License Agreement (public version) for vendor communication. See the Licensing Toolkit for links to the Standard License.
    • For Licensee, use “the Regents of the University of California for [campus and campus address]…” For example, “the Regents of the University of California for the University of California, Berkeley, a non-profit academic institution, with its principal offices at…”.
    • For licensing contact, use campus contact and address. For invoicing and technical contacts, use the CDL contacts as listed in the CDL model license.
    • For authorized sites, list all authorized sites and include “University of California, Office of the President” for administrative purposes.
    • If UCB is included as a participating campus in the Tier 2, coordinate with UCB to verify the current protocols for Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBL) inclusion. The best practice is to include LBL in the license by default along with UCB in the site list of authorized users: “University of California Berkeley (including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory).”
    • Obtain authorized campus signatory.
  • Fill out the Tier 2 New Resource Form and send it to CDL Acquisitions. Contact Laura Fouladi at UCSD for assistance.
  • Request CDL to send current IP addresses to vendor (via cdlsupport-l@ucop.edu).
  • Send URL for access and vendor technical contact information to CDL Support.
  • Prepare an announcement for CDLINFO; including content description and campus availability and send it to CDL Support. (CDL may also sometimes write the initial draft and work with the Tier 2 Coordinator to finalize).
  • Forward a counter-signed license to Laura Fouladi at UCSD and Li Ma, the Assistant Director of Systemwide Licensing at CDL.
  • Send the invoice to CDL or supply CDL with the vendor’s contact information to request the invoice.
  • In summary, this information will be sent to CDL:
    • The CDO Approvals (copies of the emails forwarded)
    • The completed Tier 2 New Resource Form, including the campus cost shares
    • The fully executed license
    • Highlight any additional details about the deal or resource that are not already included elsewhere
    • Invoice or instructions for requesting the invoice from the vendor
  • If this is a continuing resource, go to Step 2: Maintaining a Tier 2: Annual Renewals

CDL Responsibilities:

  • Provide guidance on vendor negotiation and licensing terms as needed.
  • Maintain final copies of business terms and license agreements.
  • Provide IP Addresses directly to vendor and update as needed.
  • Work with the vendor to set up access.
  • Set up and catalog resources in Alma.
  • Add redacted license to the CDL license web site.
  • Provide technical support via CDL Helpline.
  • Process invoices for payment.
  • Recharge campuses.
  • Create official order record in Alma & CDL records.

2. Maintaining a Tier 2: Annual Renewals (License in place)

Sponsoring Campus Responsibilities:

  • Renegotiate the pricing or license as needed.
  • Obtain confirmation from each participating campus that they want to renew. If there is a significant price increase, changes to the package, or business terms, then obtain SCLG approval. These approvals should be forwarded to CDL during the renewal process.
  • If a campus does not want to renew, confirm the number of remaining campuses still meets the minimum of four to qualify as a Tier 2,  and communicate the change in participants to the vendor.
  • After pricing has been negotiated and approvals have been obtained, send the following to Laura Fouladi at CDL:
    • Any fully executed new license or amendment for the renewal
    • Any updates to the list of participating campuses
    • Any changes to the renewal cost shares
    • Approvals from each participating campus
    • Renewal invoice or the vendor’s contact information to request the invoice

CDL Responsibilities

  • Maintain current IP addresses with vendors; update annually or as needed.
  • Resolve access problems via CDL Helpline.
  • Maintain repository of business and license terms.
  • Verify accuracy of invoice and approve for payment.
  • Process renewal invoices for payment.
  • Recharge campuses.
  • Record any changes in status (e.g., cancellation or addition of a campus).

 

3. Dissolving a Tier 2

Sometimes it is necessary to discontinue a Tier 2 agreement if some or all of the participating campuses are no longer able to support ongoing participation. At least four continuing campuses are required to sustain a Tier 2 with CDL’s centralized invoice processing and access maintenance. If the number of participants drops below four, then any remaining campuses will need to work with the vendor individually for licensing and payment if they wish to continue their local access. They will also need to begin managing the resource in their campus ILS.

CDL will manage content that was perpetually entitled to all participating campuses during the duration of the agreement if the Tier 2 completely dissolves. If only some campuses are dropping out or if some campuses are continuing access under Tier 3s, then CDL will work closely with those campuses to determine what makes the most sense for managing access to content with perpetual rights.

Sponsoring Campus Responsibilities: 

  • Notify CDL about the pending cancellation before contacting the vendor
  • Obtain confirmations from each participating campus that they approve or acknowledge the cancellation decision
  • Notify the vendor about the cancellation, adhering to any advance notification requirements in the license, and request a written confirmation and any information they can provide about perpetual entitlements if applicable
  • Contact Laura Fouladi, the CDL Acquisitions Coordinator, and Li Ma, the Assistant Director of Systemwide Licensing at CDL, and include:
      • Confirmations of cancellation from each participating campus
      • If applicable, information received from the vendor about perpetual rights

CDL Responsibilities:

  • Update acquisitions records so that any projected cost shares are removed from cancelling campuses recharge totals
  • Update ILS records to close out access when the cancellation takes effect
  • Work with the participating campuses and the vendor to determine perpetual entitlements, and how to manage those going forward
  • Provide technical support via CDL Helpline