Why 6,000+ Universities Abandoned Traditional Procurement for Cooperative Contracts
“Moody’s Ratings anticipates another tough year ahead financially for U.S. colleges as the sector navigates enrollment pressures, rising expenses and political headwinds under the Trump administration.” — Higher Ed Dive
It’s not just Moody’s. S&P forecasts a negative outlook for higher ed in 2026, saying they “expect colleges and universities will struggle to navigate mounting operating pressures.” Fitch Ratings calls it a deteriorating environment and that “revenue growth prospects remain strained.”
With academic institutions experiencing sustained financial pressure, procurement is undergoing a fundamental reassessment. Purchasing is no longer viewed as simply transactional, but more as a strategic lever for cost control and managing risk. While there is increased pressure to lower costs without lowering quality, procurement teams must still meet a complex mix of institutional priorities and compliance requirements.
Thousands of institutions are shifting away from relying exclusively on traditional RFP procurement models and toward adopting cooperative contracts.
The Limits of Traditional Procurement in Today’s Higher Education Environment
The traditional RFP-driven procurement model has served higher education well over the years, offering transparency, customization, and institutional control. However, the model was built for a different operating environment.
Today’s procurement teams often manage dozens of sourcing events with limited staff. RFP timelines can stretch for months. Legal review, coordination, and bid evaluations consume significant internal resources. Even when pricing outcomes are competitive, the administrative cost of the process may outweigh any savings.
Budget Pressure Is Forcing a Strategic Rethink
Procurement decisions increasingly reflect a broader financial strategy as institutions are asked to align spending more closely with mission-critical priorities while absorbing inflation and enrollment uncertainty.
“Adopting strategic budgeting practices in higher education can enable institutions to align scarce financial resources more effectively with their institutional priorities.” — Deloitte, 2025 Higher Education Trends
This shift toward strategic budgeting has direct implications for procurement teams. Sourcing models that require resource-intensive processes are under examination as institutions look for approaches that deliver predictable value with less internal strain. Cooperative contracts fit naturally into this framework by reducing duplication of effort and stabilizing costs across budget cycles.
What Cooperative Contracts Offer That Traditional Models Cannot
Cooperative contractsCooperative contracts change how procurement value is created. Rather than sourcing in isolation, institutions participate in competitively solicited agreements negotiated on behalf of thousands of institutions.
This aggregation creates pricing leverage that individual institutions simply can’t achieve on their own. Just as importantly, cooperative contracts reduce the need for repeated RFPs, allowing finance and procurement teams to focus more attention on high-risk or highly specialized sourcing needs.
A focus on educational and institutional cooperative contracts produces lower pricing and a more efficient procurement model.
The Role of Educational and Institutional Cooperatives
When you are looking for a group purchasing organization (GPO), you have multiple choices. However, by partnering with a cooperative that is focused exclusively on the needs of the education sector, you’re more likely to see contracts tailored to the unique needs of higher education.
Unlike commercial or multi-sector purchasing entities, these cooperatives align their governance, contract design, and compliance standards with the realities of higher education. For example, E&I Cooperative Services is the only member-owned nonprofit organization that focuses solely on education. The more than 6,200 members at E&I are active in guiding decisions and making sure member needs are met.
For universities navigating complex operational environments, this focus is a meaningful differentiator.
Adoption Has Accelerated Across Institutions of All Sizes
Cooperative contracts are no longer viewed as a solution just for smaller or resource-constrained institutions:
- Large research universities use cooperative agreements to drive consistency and manage sprawling spend portfolios.
- Mid-sized institutions rely on them to balance complexity with limited staffing.
- Smaller colleges gain access to pricing and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach.
Across all segments, the motivation is similar: reduce the administrative burden while maintaining compliance and financial discipline.
The widespread adoption of cooperative contracts reflects a broader willingness to reconsider legacy practices.
“To fulfill this mission today and in the future, institutions must be willing to challenge the status quo, take risks, and innovate.” — Deloitte, 2025 Higher Education Trends
While cooperative contracts do not eliminate governance or competitive sourcing, they restructure how these principles are applied, allowing institutions to operate more efficiently without compromising accountability.
Exploring Cooperative Procurement
For institutions evaluating cooperative contracts or reassessing traditional procurement models, E&I Cooperative Services offers hundreds of ready-to-use cooperative agreements. Membership is free, and there is no purchase obligation. Colleges and universities adopting cooperative contracts regularly report savings of 10% to 15%.See how E&I Cooperative Services can work for you with best-practice sourcing, strategy, and procurement solutions tailored to your needs.
