FAQs on Compensation

GENERAL EPEWA BUDGET/FUNDING STAFF FACULTY GRADUATE STUDENT
GENERAL
听A campus employee compensation strategy is necessary to ensure consistency across campus that results in pay equity, promotes best practices for staff and faculty compensation, and enables 黑料社区网 to remain a competitive employer in the state and across higher education.
The campus compensation strategy committee鈥檚 work involved:听
  • Establishing a short-term and multi-year compensation strategy that advances the campus goal of recruiting, advancing, and retaining employees.听
  • Develop a compensation philosophy to guide and align the campus compensation strategy work.听
  • Devise a compensation analysis that incorporates employee benefits aligned with employee populations.听
  • Develop compensation expense projections
  • Establish a clear process to implement and communicate the compensation strategy.鈥
The compensation strategy work focused on high-level campus structural, process, and transparency improvements and NOT the following:听
  • Changing the campus budget model.听
  • Increasing or changing budget sources or funding streams used on campus.听
  • Changing the frequency, timing or amount of employee pay increases.听
  • Providing new pools of money to individual units for specific issues.听
  • Determining how to fund the campus compensation strategy.听
  • Initiating a review of compensation programs for research faculty, undergraduate students, or temporary faculty (this is future work).听
  • Employee populations governed by other entities, such as classified staff who are governed by the state of Colorado and its employee partnership agreement with COWINS.鈥
Please review the campus鈥檚 Compensation Philosophy 飞别产辫补驳别.鈥
No, these are goals the committee is recommending for the campus to consider and achieve going forward.鈥
Pay increases for tenured/tenure-track faculty, research faculty, and university staff will continue to have a merit component per CU Regent Policy.听 This means that employees will need to meet certain performance expectations to be eligible for an annual pay increase which may be linked to a specific performance score or may be an across-the-board or structural increase for employees meeting expectations and above. How annual pay increases are applied each year for employees meeting or exceeding expectations may differ depending on campus priorities and the current compensation needs for each population.听 Note that classified staff annual pay increases are determined by the state of Colorado and the employee partnership agreement with COWINS.听
The new campus compensation strategy involves reviewing available components of compensation along with the campus鈥檚 priorities and the most critical needs for each employee population.听 Not all needs for all populations may be met each year but will be reviewed by campus leadership as part of an annual employee compensation review process led by Human Resources, the Provost鈥檚 Office, and Finance & Business Strategy. Components included in the long-range compensation outlook include, but are not limited to:
  • 惭别谤颈迟听
  • Promotion & Tenure听
  • Critical Needs Hiring Program听
  • AAU Public Peers average adjustments听
  • Minimum wage adjustments听
  • Compression costs听
  • Market average adjustments听
  • Pay range progression听
  • Pay equity adjustments听
  • Performance differentials听
  • Market adjustment for high-priority job codes with recruitment/retention issues听
  • Rising benefits costs听
A campuswide review of temporary pay practices is planned in the near future.听
听The campus鈥檚 compensation strategy utilizes national, regional, and local market compensation data including AAU public peer institutions, CUPA-HR and other relevant salary surveys, and professional occupational data sources as appropriate for the recruitment market of each employee population, discipline or occupation.听听
  • For tenured/tenure-track faculty and graduate students, the 黑料社区网 campus market includes comparisons with the Association of American Universities (AAU) public peer institutions.听听
  • For teaching-track, clinical-track and lecturer positions, the 黑料社区网 campus market is generally regional.听
  • For university staff positions, the 黑料社区网 campus market is occupation and job level specific including regional and national salary survey sources, AAU public peer institution comparisons, and internal campus alignment.听
  • For classified staff positions, market comparisons are determined by the state of Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA) and may be governed by the employee partnership agreement with COWINS.听

Salary data sources may change at any time and include, but not limited to:听

National Sources (higher education specific):听

National sources (all industry types):

  • United States SIRES Benchmark High Technology salary survey听
  • salary database听
  • CompAnalyst tool听

Regional and local sources (all industry types):听

  • salary surveys
Several steps are being taken and will continue to be expanded upon going forward.听 First, the campus compensation strategy working group was established, and a campus compensation philosophy has been developed to provide consistency and transparency around employee compensation practices.听 Market comparators and compensation practices may differ across employee populations because the nature of work is different and aligns with different peer data sets.听 Review the Compensation Strategy website to learn more about the compensation work being done for each population.
听Each of these populations has different governing policies that apply to them based on the nature of the work.听 Faculty salary processes are governed by CU laws and policies specific to faculty promotion, tenure and other academic requirements.听 Classified staff employee processes are governed by an employee partnership agreement between the State of Colorado and the classified staff union, COWINS.听 The classified staff employee partnership agreement governs when classified staff pay increases occur and how.听 University staff are exempt from the state classified system and their processes are not governed by the state and COWINS employee partnership agreement.听 CU laws and policies for non-academic positions apply to university staff.听
听Opportunities for advancement differ by employee population because the nature of work is different.听 Please review the Compensation Strategy website鈥檚 employee population links to review compensation practices for each group.
听听
听Please refer to Compensation in the News (CUBT) for regular campus compensation updates.
听A department can ultimately pay more or less than what was posted if the range was posted in good faith and was what the department genuinely believed it would pay for the role. The department should make a good faith effort to post the compensation range they 鈥渁ctually believed they might pay鈥 and may then consider the final salary based on the education, skills, experience, and other qualifications of the final candidate.听 We also want to ensure that the lower posting range wouldn鈥檛 have dissuaded some candidates from applying if they had known the offer might be higher than what was posted. These exceptions should be used sparingly and applied consistently to similar situations.听听
The core of CEPEWA is the CRS 搂 8-5-102(1) prohibition against discrimination 鈥淥n the basis of sex, or on the basis of sex in combination with another protected status as described in section 24鈥34鈥402(1)(a), by paying an employee of one sex a wage rate less than the rate paid to an employee of a different sex for substantially similar work. . . .鈥澨

Section 2 of the Act is the 鈥淟egislative Declaration鈥 which states: 鈥淚t is the intent of the general assembly to pass legislation that helps to close the pay gap in Colorado and ensure that employees with similar job duties are paid the same wage rate regardless of sex, or sex plus another protected status.鈥澨

In Addition, the Act requires that:听

  • The employer鈥痥eeps records of job descriptions and wage rate history鈥痜or each employee for the duration of employment plus two years after the end of employment.听听
  • The employer provides鈥痭otice of job openings and promotional opportunities, including the hourly or salary rate or range, and a general description of all the benefits and other compensation offered to the hired applicant.听听
  • The employer does not seek the wage rate history, or rely on the wage rate history, of a prospective employee to determine a wage rate.鈥
  • The employer does not discriminate or retaliate against a prospective employee for failing to disclose wage rate history.听

听

听Salary compression refers to a situation where the salaries of experienced or long-term employees are less than, close to, or equal to the salaries of new hires or those with less experience. While not ideal, compression does occur on campus and is not illegal.听听A violation of the听Colorado鈥檚 Equal Pay for Equal Work Act occurs when the organization discriminates between employees based on sex, or based on sex in combination with another protected class by paying an employee of one sex a wage rate less than the rate paid to an employee of different sex for substantial similar work AND the wage rate differential cannot be justified using one of six specific factors including a seniority system; education, experience, licensure, and/or certification directly related to the job;鈥痑 merit system; travel or shift work requirements; geographic location where the work is performed; and quantity or quality of production if applicable.听
Internal equity is reviewed by the campus and hiring units at the time a position is filled or changed. Additionally, internal equity is reviewed on an annual basis during the employee compensation increase roster review process. Information is evaluated to ensure that any wage rate differential is not due to discrimination but can be justified using specific allowable factors.听
听The campus compensation strategy committee is recommending campus level review processes to inform decision makers about the compensation needs for each population each year.听 As part of this process, HR, the Provost鈥檚 Office, and Budget & Fiscal Planning will review compensation structures, employee compensation compared to their peer markets, recruitment and retention issues, and equity or compression needs.听 This annual analysis is used to advise campus leaders on employee compensation adjustments that may be needed each year for each population or job type. The timing and amount of increases is an annual decision (not automatic) made by campus executive leadership and dependent upon campus resources and available budget.听
The campus鈥檚 annual compensation pool is the amount of money allocated by the campus and approved by the Board of Regents for employee increases each year.听 The compensation pool may be used for one, or a combination, of employee pay actions, including but not limited to: merit, across-the-board, promotion & tenure, minimum wage, compression, pay range progression, equity, structural and/or market adjustments. The annual compensation pool may be applied differently across employee populations and differently, each year to best meet campus needs and priorities. An X% pool does not mean that all employees will receive that exact percentage as a pay increase.听
听Pay grades and ranges are currently used only for staff positions on campus.听Classified staff pay ranges are published annually effective July 1. University staff pay ranges will start being published for the campus community effective January 1, 2025.听听听
  • University staff pay ranges are built around a midpoint representing the market average or median for similar work for a fully independent employee with several years of experience in the current role.听 The range midpoint is not designed to be a new hire starting rate.听 The range consists of a minimum (which is the start of the 1st quartile), a 2nd quartile, a midpoint (which is the start of the 3rd quartile), a 4th quartile, and a range maximum. The range maximum and minimum values are typically 20% above and below the midpoint.听
  • University staff jobs are assigned to different pay ranges based on responsibilities reflecting a different type of work or level of assignment. Positions are allocated to a different pay range as determined through the campus position description review process. Pay ranges overlap such that an experienced employee in a lower pay range may have a higher salary than a new employee in a higher pay range.
  • 听University staff pay ranges will be published and communicated internally for the campus starting January 1, 2025.听 At that time, employees are to be paid within the pay range HR has assigned to their positions.听
听The campus鈥檚 compensation strategy utilizes national, regional, and local market compensation data including AAU public peer institutions, CUPA-HR and other relevant salary surveys, and professional occupational data sources as appropriate for the recruitment market of each employee population, discipline or occupation.听听
  • For university staff positions, the 黑料社区网 campus market is occupation and job level specific including regional and national salary survey sources, AAU public peer institution comparisons, and internal campus alignment.听
  • Salary data sources for university staff may change at any time and include, but are not limited to:听
  • National sources (higher education specific):听
    • salary surveys, including:听
      • Administrators听
      • Professionals听
      • 厂迟补蹿蹿听
  • EduComp salary survey
  • National Sources (all industry types):
    • United States SIRES Benchmark High Technology salary survey听
    • salary database听
    • CompAnalyst tool听
  • Regional and local sources (all industry types):听
    • salary surveys
听

The university staff compensation system is designed to gradually move employees closer to the range midpoint (experienced level) with progressive time in the role.听 Salary movement through the range is based on annual merit, across-the-board, and/or range progression structural targets, depending on available budget and campus priorities each year.听 Additional salary increases may occur when a position description is updated to reflect higher level job duties (job reclassification) or a transfer/promotion to a higher-level position with a higher pay range.听 Pay adjustments may also be made by the hiring department following campus guidelines for completion of hiring incentives, retention, or internal compression as situations arise.听 More information is available on the Staff Compensation website.听

Hiring managers are encouraged to consider promotional career path options when creating a position description and filling a position, such as planning for moving employees from entry to professional, to senior if the work supports it. The hiring manager should budget for the highest career track level available. The hiring manager can work with a Position Management/Compensation Consultant to develop position description templates for each career track level that include the job duties, competencies, and qualifications needed.听 The hiring manager can use this information to communicate promotional expectations and timelines to their employees. The availability of career paths is dependent on the nature of the job and the size and role of the work unit.听 Not all jobs have internal career path options. Please see the HR Promotions & Transfers webpage for additional information.听

听
听

Each university staff position is assigned by HR to a payroll job code and a compensation code, which in turn is assigned a pay range based on HR鈥檚 annual analysis of competitive market salary data and internal alignment factors.听 All university staff positions at the time they are created, updated, or filled, are assigned a compensation code by HR based on the job duties (and other related factors) as outlined by the hiring department in the position description in comparison to similar positions across campus. This ensures that positions performing substantially similar work are categorized into a single code for salary setting and pay alignment.听听听听

When there is a staff vacancy, a promotion, or a position description update is needed, HR reviews the position description provided by the hiring department and classifies the position with the appropriate CU payroll title, compensation code, and associated pay range.听听 HR notifies the hiring manager and the division, college/school, or department HR liaison of the approved pay range/range. HR Talent Acquisition (TA) and Position Management/Compensation (PMC) will advise campus departments on an appropriate salary range to publish in the job posting (which is often the first quartile or the first two quartiles depending on the hiring department鈥檚 budget and any pay equity considerations for similar work) and to offer a final candidate.听

听

Human Resources is implementing a staff leveling framework and compensation structure for the campus.听 Information, training, tools, and resources will be communicated to the campus this summer (2024).听 Information will be available on the Staff Compensation website.听

The framework is based around the concept of job families which are used to group substantially similar jobs based on the nature of the work. Positions are leveled within job families based on the position description鈥檚 assigned duties, the complexity of the work performed, level of independence, supervision exercised, oversight received, proficiency required, campus impact, and minimum education, experience, or job-related requirements. Each position鈥檚 job family, level, title, and pay range are documented on the position description reviewed by HR in the 听听

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听No, each of the CU campuses has its own distinct pay market used to price jobs.听 黑料社区网鈥檚 primary pay market includes AAU public peer institutions, Denver/Boulder front range organizations of similar size, and occupational specific sources when applicable.听 Other CU campuses have different affiliations and peer groups.听 They are not AAU members nor flagship campuses.听 For example, the CU Anschutz campus utilizes peer hospital/medical school information that doesn鈥檛 apply to 黑料社区网.听
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听Hiring Incentive Guidelines for Staff Positions have been developed and will be communicated on the HR website this summer.听
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听Payroll job codes/titles are very broad and do not reflect the specific 鈥渢ype鈥 of work that drives the pay range.听 Additionally, there are multiple factors beyond just the payroll title that determine an individual employee鈥檚 pay within the pay range.听 These include the level of the position (entry through expert), whether or not the position supervises, and the size, scope, and impact of the supervision.听 The specific type of work, along with the level of the job, the size of the operation, the scope of the role, the complexity of the function, and the impact of the position, all make a difference in compensation and cannot be determined from the payroll job title alone.听

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Coming Soon!

听A campus employee compensation strategy is necessary to ensure consistency across campus that results in pay equity, promotes best practices for staff and faculty compensation, and enables 黑料社区网 to remain a competitive employer in the state and across higher education.
The campus compensation strategy committee鈥檚 work involved:听
  • Establishing a short-term and multi-year compensation strategy that advances the campus goal of recruiting, advancing, and retaining employees.听
  • Develop a compensation philosophy to guide and align the campus compensation strategy work.听
  • Devise a compensation analysis that incorporates employee benefits aligned with employee populations.听
  • Develop compensation expense projections
  • Establish a clear process to implement and communicate the compensation strategy.鈥
The compensation strategy work focused on high-level campus structural, process, and transparency improvements and NOT the following:听
  • Changing the campus budget model.听
  • Increasing or changing budget sources or funding streams used on campus.听
  • Changing the frequency, timing or amount of employee pay increases.听
  • Providing new pools of money to individual units for specific issues.听
  • Determining how to fund the campus compensation strategy.听
  • Initiating a review of compensation programs for research faculty, undergraduate students, or temporary faculty (this is future work).听
  • Employee populations governed by other entities, such as classified staff who are governed by the state of Colorado and its employee partnership agreement with COWINS.鈥
Please review the campus鈥檚 Compensation Philosophy 飞别产辫补驳别.鈥
The new campus compensation strategy involves reviewing available components of compensation along with the campus鈥檚 priorities and the most critical needs for each employee population.听 Not all needs for all populations may be met each year but will be reviewed by campus leadership as part of an annual employee compensation review process led by Human Resources, the Provost鈥檚 Office, and Finance & Business Strategy. Components included in the long-range compensation outlook include, but are not limited to:
  • 惭别谤颈迟听
  • Promotion & Tenure听
  • Critical Needs Hiring Program听
  • AAU Public Peers average adjustments听
  • Minimum wage adjustments听
  • Compression costs听
  • Market average adjustments听
  • Pay range progression听
  • Pay equity adjustments听
  • Performance differentials听
  • Market adjustment for high-priority job codes with recruitment/retention issues听
  • Rising benefits costs听
听The campus鈥檚 compensation strategy utilizes national, regional, and local market compensation data including AAU public peer institutions, CUPA-HR and other relevant salary surveys, and professional occupational data sources as appropriate for the recruitment market of each employee population, discipline or occupation.听听
  • For tenured/tenure-track faculty and graduate students, the 黑料社区网 campus market includes comparisons with the Association of American Universities (AAU) public peer institutions.听听
  • For teaching-track, clinical-track and lecturer positions, the 黑料社区网 campus market is generally regional.听
  • For university staff positions, the 黑料社区网 campus market is occupation and job level specific including regional and national salary survey sources, AAU public peer institution comparisons, and internal campus alignment.听
  • For classified staff positions, market comparisons are determined by the state of Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA) and may be governed by the employee partnership agreement with COWINS.听

Salary data sources may change at any time and include, but not limited to:听

National Sources (higher education specific):听

National sources (all industry types):

  • United States SIRES Benchmark High Technology salary survey听
  • salary database听
  • CompAnalyst tool听

Regional and local sources (all industry types):听

  • salary surveys
Several steps are being taken and will continue to be expanded upon going forward.听 First, the campus compensation strategy working group was established, and a campus compensation philosophy has been developed to provide consistency and transparency around employee compensation practices.听 Market comparators and compensation practices may differ across employee populations because the nature of work is different and aligns with different peer data sets.听 Review the Compensation Strategy website to learn more about the compensation work being done for each population.
Information on upcoming increases is available after the Regents approve the annual budget, usually in April each year.
Different departments have varying revenue sources due to project funds and therefore some departments have more resources to pay their students at a higher rate of pay. Additionally, some departments have more competition/need to pay more due to the competitive job market in specific fields. Some departments pay more advanced students at a slightly higher rate once they have passed their comprehensive exam or equivalent.听

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听