FAR 9.110—Reserve Officer Training Corps and military recruiting on campus.

Definitions.

FAR 9.110-1 is a definitions section that establishes the scope of two key terms used in this subpart: “covered agency” and “institution of higher education.” It identifies exactly which federal agencies are treated as covered agencies for purposes of the rule, including the Department of Defense, certain agencies funded through the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations act, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Transportation, and the Central Intelligence Agency. It also defines “institution of higher education” by cross-referencing 20 U.S.C. 1001 and clarifies that the term includes all sub-elements of such an institution. In practice, these definitions matter because they determine when the requirements and restrictions in this FAR subpart apply, especially in procurements involving educational institutions and the listed agencies. Contractors, contracting officers, and agency personnel must use these definitions to decide whether a transaction falls within the rule’s coverage and whether an entity qualifies as an institution of higher education for compliance purposes.

Authority

FAR 9.110-2 is an authority statement, not a substantive procedural rule. It tells readers that the policy in this subpart is issued to implement 10 U.S.C. 983, the statutory restriction on using certain Department of Defense funds for contracts with institutions of higher education that maintain or operate a campus on which military recruiting or Reserve Officer Training Corps access is denied. In practical terms, this section establishes the legal basis for the rest of the subpart and signals that the rules that follow are mandatory because they are grounded in statute. It does not itself create a separate test, approval process, or exception; instead, it anchors the subpart’s coverage, scope, and enforcement to the underlying law. For contracting officers and contractors, the significance is that any action under this subpart must be read as a statutory compliance requirement, not merely a discretionary policy choice.

Policy.

FAR 9.110-3 states the policy implementing 10 U.S.C. 983, which restricts the covered agency from providing contract funds to an institution of higher education when the Secretary of Defense determines that the institution has a policy or practice that blocks or effectively prevents certain military access. The section covers four specific areas of prohibited interference: establishing, maintaining, or operating a Senior ROTC unit on campus; allowing a student to enroll in Senior ROTC at another institution; providing military recruiters access to campuses and to students age 17 or older on terms at least equal in quality and scope to access given to other employers; and providing military recruiters access to specified student information, including name, address, telephone listings, date and place of birth, educational level, academic major, degrees received, and most recent educational institution attended. It also explains the two exceptions to the funding prohibition: when the Secretary of Defense determines the institution has stopped the offending policy or practice, or when the institution has a long-standing policy of pacifism based on historical religious affiliation. In practice, this section matters because it can make an institution ineligible for covered federal contract funding if it restricts military recruiting or ROTC access in the prohibited ways. Contracting officers and agencies must be alert to eligibility issues before awarding covered funds, and institutions of higher education must understand that campus access and student information policies can directly affect federal contracting eligibility.

Procedures.

FAR 9.110-4 explains the procedures that follow when the Secretary of Defense determines, under 32 CFR part 216, that an institution of higher education is ineligible to receive funds from a covered agency because of a policy or practice described in FAR 9.110-3. The section covers two main actions: first, the Department of Defense must create an active exclusion record for the institution in the System for Award Management (SAM); second, covered agencies are prohibited from soliciting offers from, awarding contracts to, or consenting to subcontracts with that institution. The rule is designed to operationalize the ineligibility determination so agencies can identify and avoid doing business with affected institutions. It also includes important exceptions to the prohibition for acquisitions at or below the simplified acquisition threshold and for acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services, including commercially available off-the-shelf items. In practice, this section matters because it turns a policy-based ineligibility finding into a procurement restriction that contracting officers must check before taking award or subcontract consent actions.

Contract clause.

FAR 9.110-5 tells contracting officers when they must include the clause at 52.209-14, Reserve Officer Training Corps and Military Recruiting on Campus, in solicitations and contracts. The section applies only when the procurement is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, the award is with an institution of higher education, and the agency is using funds from a covered agency. It also makes clear that this clause is not prescribed when the acquisition is conducted under FAR part 12 for commercial products or commercial services. In practice, this provision implements statutory campus access requirements tied to ROTC and military recruiting, so it is a compliance checkpoint for higher-education awards rather than a general clause for all contracts. Contracting officers must screen for the type of institution, funding source, dollar threshold, and acquisition method before deciding whether the clause belongs in the solicitation and resulting contract.