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New Curriculum Purchasing Procedure

New guidelines have changed how HCOS can process the purchasing of resources from companies that do not accept HCOS PO#s. Before filling out the order form, to check if a vendor accepts HCOS PO#s please go here.

Instructions

When you sign into Encom, you will see an option on the tool bar called Curriculum Resources. You will need to click this link to fill out an order form for curriculum purchases from vendors that do not accept your PO#.

Click on the Curriculum Order Form to start the curriculum purchase.

You will be able to order up to 10 items from a single vendor on the form. The template will not allow more. There is a note section on the order form where you can indicate if you are continuing the order on another form.

If you want to make purchases from a variety of vendors, each vendor will require a different order form.

When the I’m Done! box is clicked, you will be asked to fill in your teacher’s email address. If you have not been assigned a teacher, please use the email address of the Regional Administrator who accepted your student’s application to HCOS. A link to your order form will be sent to your teacher who will verify the order before purchases can be made.

Please do not enter a password. That field is for teacher use only.

Verification is required to ensure that the requested item/lesson are part of an active SLP, that there is sufficient funding for the purchase and that there is an equipment agreement, if necessary.

Once the order form has been verified by your teacher, your curriculum order will be submitted to the purchasing office for processing. You will receive an email letting you know that the purchasing department will make the purchase within 3 – 5 days. If there is a problem placing the order, we will contact you. Your teacher may ask that a form be deleted when requested items cannot be approved. An auto-generated email will inform you of the deletion.

The final piece in purchasing curriculum through the purchasing department is to check your funding in Encom to confirm that the order has gone through.

Important Dates

  • April 15th of each year: Current school year purchase order numbers are closed, no purchases (US or Canadian) can be made using these purchase order numbers.
  • Last week of April: Incoming school year’s purchase order numbers are released.
  • October 1st – April 15th: Lesson order forms are available.

Lesson Purchasing Procedures

As per HCOS policy, lessons and activities will not be available for purchase until October. Close to the time that funding is released for lesson and activity purchases, a link to the Recreational Program order form will be made available alongside the Curriculum order form in Encom.

New: Lessons through a City, District or Municipality recreation center MUST be purchased using the online recreational program order form.

Most of the other lesson/service providers WILL “invoice” (3rd party bill) HCOS for payment by cheque.

Some guidelines that may be helpful:

  1. Many sports clubs (hockey, soccer, gymnastics, dance, etc.) are also willing to 3rd party bill as long as they are informed that there is a 3rd party (HCOS) potentially paying even a portion of the fees.
  2. Regardless of whether paid by cheque or credit card the government requires that HCOS have criminal record check (CRC) confirmation/clearance before paying for any 3rd party lessons. It is recommended that parents call the HCOS Head Office to make a quick check in our database to make sure the lesson provider is approved or whether that process still needs to be completed.

All lesson providers must supply copies of their Criminal Record Check (CRC) policy before payment can be made. CRC policies need to be in compliance with Ministry guidelines.

The recreational program order form will only be for those vendors who will not third party invoice HCOS and require credit card payment (exception: City and Municipality Recreational Centers which must use the recreational program order form).

For further information, contact the purchasing office:

Albana Nicka, Lead Purchaser: albana.nicka@onlineschool.ca 

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