�鶹ӰԺ

The FY 2026-27 budget includes: ��

• July 1, 2026: Effective 7/1/26, eligible classified staff will receive a step pay increase if applicable, in alignment with the State of Colorado. Eligibility for a step increase is determined by years of service in the same classified job series.��

• August 2026: A 2.5% across-the-board increase to the standard campus rate for graduate students on appointment is effective August 2026.��

• January 1, 2027: Effective 1/1/2027, a 1% meritorious salary pool and a $15.9 million (equal to 2%) adjustment pool, for an effective total salary pool of 3%.��

• This 3% salary pool is anticipated to be distributed as 2.5% across-the-board (ATB) for university staff and a 2.5% merit pool for faculty and research faculty (based on enrollment and revenue projections). Information regarding how the remaining .5% adjustment targeted pool will be distributed will be communicated later this summer.��

• January 1, 2027: Effective 1/1/2027, a 2.5% across-the-board increase for temporary faculty contract by course rates requiring adjustment. ��

We recognize that these compensation adjustments differ from what was first proposed to the regents by our campus in February.��

��CU �鶹ӰԺ and the other campuses typically present proposed budgets to the regents at their February meeting each year based on enrollment and tuition projections for the following academic year.����

��Following the February meeting this year, the Joint Budget Committee during its April session made last-minute changes to compensation, limiting classified staff changes to the step pay increases and capping our non-resident undergraduate tuition increase at 3%. This meant CU �鶹ӰԺ had to re-evaluate compensation increases to align with the state budget and to ensure a balanced budget on our campus.��

• The Regents approved the overall compensation framework for faculty and university staff, including a 1 percent meritorious salary pool and a $15.9 million (equal to 2 percent) compression, retention, and adjustment pool, for an effective total salary pool of 3 percent.��

• At this stage, those approvals establish the total funding available, but not how it will be distributed.��

• Campus leadership will determine how the funds in the adjustment pool are allocated across employee groups and priorities, and more detailed guidance will be shared.��

Addressing compensation to remain competitive in the market is a priority for our campus, and we are taking a holistic, strategic, multi-year approach to these needs across all employee types to address market volatility during the COVID years, during which we lost ground.������

As campus finance and HR leaders have analyzed different approaches to the 3% increase pool, applying one pool of 2.5% across the board for university staff has the greatest impact and is the best way to advance staff compensation via pay range progression.����

This approach:������

• Ensures eligible university staff employees benefit meaningfully from this year’s pool, as it results in a larger across-the-board increase for eligible university staff employees.��

• Strengthens market competitiveness and reduces the risk of falling behind external salary trends.����

• Supports movement through pay ranges for eligible university staff.������

To be eligible for the 2.5% ATB increase effective 1/1/2027, university staff employees must meet the following criteria:  ��

• Be in an active, regular (not temporary or working retiree) university staff appointment on the effective date (January 1)

•  ������ have a completed performance evaluation for the most recent performance cycle with a rating of meeting expectations or higher (3, 4, or 5)��

•  O�� new hires effective on or before September 1 who were not eligible to participate in the most recent performance evaluation cycle must be meeting expectations in the role as confirmed by the hiring unit during the HR roster review process ��

• AND  current employees with a transfer, promotion, or base pay increase effective on or before November 15 will remain eligible for an increase on January 1, if the above criteria are also met, unless specified otherwise in the terms of an offer letter, MOU, or addendum.��

• New employees hired after September 1 are not eligible. ��

• Current employees with a transfer, promotion, or base pay increase effective after November 15 will not be eligible for the January 1 increase. Hiring units should plan the new salary for these appointments accordingly. Units should work with their PMC consultant on the timing of any occupied staff position changes. ��

• Temporary appointments (including working retirees) and limited-term appointments of 12 months or less are not eligible. ��

• Employees with a performance rating below meeting expectations (1 or 2 rating) are not eligible for the January 1 increase.

• Although different systems, classified staff and university staff jobs still have many similarities, more so than with faculty, and alignment between university staff and classified staff is desirable when possible. The state of Colorado is implementing an ATB increase for classified staff for the next two years. ��

• ��ǰ� Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, substantially similar positions need to be treated consistently with regard to pay.  For university staff, substantially similar jobs exist across campus departments, colleges and schools, so a campus-wide consistent approach is required.  For faculty, substantially similar work is discipline-based which tends to exist within a department or within a research project.  This allows pay practices for faculty to be managed at the unit level, which is not the case for university staff.  A consistent campus-wide approach for performance management for university staff is under review so that a performance-based process can be utilized more effectively again in the future once this work is completed. 

• Classified staff pay increases follow a different cycle that aligns with State of Colorado personnel system laws and rules and the State of Colorado with the employee organization. Classified staff typically receive pay increases on July 1 of each year (instead of January 1 for non-classified employees) when approved by the Colorado Legislature. ��

• Please review the Classified Staff Pay Increase FAQs. *

• Refer to the  to learn more about these two different staff personnel systems.

To be eligible for a faculty merit increase effective 1/1/2027, employees must meet the following criteria:  ��

• Be in an active, regular research faculty or regular faculty appointment on the effective date (January 1) ������ ��

• Have a completed performance evaluation for the most recent performance cycle with a rating of meeting expectations or higher (3, 4, or 5) O�� ��

• New hires effective on or before September 1 who were not eligible to participate in the most recent performance evaluation cycle must have a performance plan in place, if required by applicable campus guidelines, and will be assigned either a “Meeting Expectations” rating or NMS (No Merit Score) by the hiring unit on the merit roster. Assigning “Meeting Expectations” will allow the employee to receive a merit increase, and assigning NMS means the employee will be ineligible for a merit increase effective January 1. ��

• New employees hired after September 1 are not eligible.  ��

• Current employees with a transfer or base compensation increase effective after November 15 will not be eligible for the January 1 increase. Hiring units should plan the new salary for these appointments accordingly.  ��

• Employees transferring or receiving a base compensation increase effective on or before November 15 will remain eligible for a merit increase January 1, if all other eligibility criteria are also met.��

• Employees with a performance rating below meeting expectations (1 or 2 rating) are not eligible for the January 1 increase.  ��

• Temporary and working retiree employees, research affiliates, visiting researchers, and postdoctoral fellows are also not eligible. ��

The following faculty employees with an active appointment as of September 1 are eligible:  ��

• Tenured and Tenure-Track faculty  ��

• Teaching faculty on multi-year contracts��

• Institute Directors ��

• Scholars-in-Residence (appointment more than 12 months) ��

• Artists-in-Residence (appointment more than 12 months) ��

• Research faculty (PRAs, Research Associates, Postdoctoral Associates, and Research Professors) ��

• Faculty in administrative appointments (tied to base salary as outlined in a letter of offer) ��

• Temporary faculty (see temporary faculty section) ��

• Working retirees ��

• Temporary and visiting researchers ��

• Research affiliates ��

• Postdoctoral fellows (job codes 1438 and 3201) ��

• Graduate student faculty (see Graduate Assistantships section) ��

• ��ǰ� Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, substantially similar positions need to be treated consistently with regard to pay.  For university staff, substantially similar jobs exist across campus departments, colleges and schools, so a campus-wide consistent approach is required.  ��

• For faculty, substantially similar work is discipline-based, which tends to exist within a department or within a research project. This allows pay practices for faculty to be managed at the unit level, which is not the case for university staff.  A consistent campus-wide approach for performance management for university staff is under review so that a performance-based process can be utilized more effectively again in the future once this work is completed.��

• Classified staff and non-classified staff (university staff, faculty, students, etc.) are different personnel systems with different laws and policies that govern them.��

• Classified staff positions are part of the State of Colorado personnel system and governed by a negotiated between the State and the classified staff union, .��

• Requirements for setting pay for classified employees are set by the state legislature, the, and the Partnership Agreement.��

• University staff, faculty, and student positions meet the criteria under state law to be exempted from the Colorado personnel system. As such, these positions are not classified staff and are not subject to the state of Colorado rules, procedures or Partnership Agreements that govern classified positions.��

• Compensation for classified employees was approved by the Colorado Legislature in the 2026-27 Long Bill, and this does not apply to university staff, faculty, students, or other CU employee populations.

Eligible employees include temporary faculty who have an active appointment for the spring 2027 semester in the following jobs: ��

• ���𳦳ٳܰ���� ��

• Teaching faculty (on a less than one-year, 12-month appointment) ��

• Scholars-in-Residence (on a less than one-year, 12-month appointment) ��

• Artists-in-Residence (on a less than one-year, 12-month appointment) ��

• Visiting faculty (on a less than one-year, 12-month appointment) ��

• Faculty Fellow (excluding administrative appointments) ��

• The 2.5% across-the-board compensation update will go into effect with the start of the academic year 26-27. Graduate students on appointment will not be receiving a 2.5% increase in January 2027. ��

• For information regarding graduate students on assistantship appointments, please see the Graduate School website for more details.

Each department shall communicate the new temporary faculty contract rates and graduate student compensation directly with eligible employees in their respective areas following their usual notification processes. ��

��

Effective 1/1/2027, the starting rate at CU �鶹ӰԺ will increase from $16.82 per hour to $18.17 per hour for student assistants. This move will allow the campus to make a vital investment in the stability of our workforce - stability that results in a more enriched and impactful student experience and that makes CU �鶹ӰԺ a more competitive employer.��

��

The campus minimum wage for staff is currently $18.90/hour. Leadership will determine if this will change in 2027, and more information will be shared as decisions are made.��

��

The City of �鶹ӰԺ minimum wage is increasing to $18.17/hour effective 1/1/27. CU �鶹ӰԺ must pay at least the City of �鶹ӰԺ minimum wage.��

The new campus starting rate applies to student assistant employees of the campus.��

��

Campus funds will be allocated to budget model support units for general fund regular salaried staff and general fund students paid hourly. Schools and colleges receive the estimated general fund starting rate in July with their initial continuing budget. Other categories of employees will be funded by the hiring unit. ��

��

• By the end of January 2027, regular staff employees will receive notifications outlining their final January pay rate and how it was determined.��

• Department HR Liaisons are responsible for notifying temporary and student employees of their new pay rates.��

• No, as with other starting rate increases, Employee Services will automatically increase the pay rate in HCM for any positions below the new starting rate.��

• Additionally, campus HR will partner with Employee Services to upload all campus-wide pay increases effective January 1. Departments do not need to make these entries.��

• For student assistants, if departments wish to increase the pay above the new starting rate, they will be responsible for making those adjustments. ��

• No, pay rates for new or active job postings in Avature (CU �鶹ӰԺ Jobs) will be updated as needed by the Human Resources (HR) Talent Acquisition (TA) team.��

• Job postings maintained on sites outside of Avature (CU �鶹ӰԺ Jobs) will need to be updated by the hiring unit unless you are already working with the HR TA team.��

• Budget and Fiscal Planning, Human Resources and the Provost’s Office will coordinate these compensation increases and will work with System Employee Services to upload the new pay rates to HCM. HR Liaisons will be able to review compensation and confirm payroll after updates are entered into HCM. ��

• HR Liaisons should avoid making personnel actions effective or entering pay rate changes in HCM during the salary upload review and entry process.��

Under the budget model, funding has already been allocated to schools/colleges for their merit pool. Merit and other general compensation changes will be funded by unit funds, as all tuition revenue is distributed in the model. Summaries will be provided by BFP to each school/college to show the calculated merit increases for the General Fund. ��

��

• Faculty: The merit pool will be calculated based on ending FY26 GF continuing budget for faculty. This pool will be allocated to the unit for faculty merit allocations.  ��

• University Staff: The HR university staff roster will be used to determine the funding source(s) for each staff position in a support unit. Departments will review their roster utilizing the campus budget tool to determine whether General Fund funding is from the continuing budget or temporary budget. The final General Fund continuing budget will be applied to the merit increase amount provided by HR. ��

• Classified Staff: General fund classified salary and benefit budget is allocated on August business per the amount prepared by HR.   ��

• Calculation: General Fund FTE per rosters * HR provided merit amount = General Fund Budget University Staff Salary Allocation. ��

• The associated general fund benefits will be allocated at the corresponding fringe benefit rate to the benefit budget account code. ��

No, the department will need to identify funding for the merit increases for those employees not funded from continuing General Fund budget.��

��