The spring 2025 recommendations from the Comprehensive Compensation Collaborative (CCC) initiative have been continuing with important implementation steps over the past several months. This project included a market analysis and resulted in updated salary ranges intended to better align with market pricing and the cost of labor in the Denver area. This initiative reflects CU Denver’s commitment to creating a competitive and sustainable compensation structure for our staff and faculty.
In addition to the market analysis, additional goals were 1) the support of employees in navigating career pathways and 2) the creation of a compensation philosophy that is aligned with CU Denver’s vision and strategic goals. As a direct result of the project, CU Denver now has a compensation philosophy, guidelines for pay adjustments, and an online job description library to effectuate consistency across the university.
A staff working group spent time in May and June looking at the benchmark data resulting from the study and made recommendations about how to best prioritize available funding. Unfortunately, there is insufficient revenue to update the salary ranges to those originally proposed. To align with current economic conditions and our campus budget realities, we are implementing a two-phased approach to market pay adjustments.
- Phase 1: Staff salary ranges were increased for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Approximately 81 staff employees whose salaries fall below the minimum of the updated salary range will receive salary increases before the end of December. These employees will remain eligible for merit pay.
- Phase 2: A second salary range adjustment may be possible in the 2026-27 fiscal year, based on the local economic conditions, CU Denver’s enrollment revenue, and available funding. Like phase 1, a staff employee whose salary then falls below the minimum will receive an increase in accordance with the new pay scale.
Classified staff are not eligible for these changes. Their salaries are directed by the state of Colorado.
Like the staff working group, a faculty working group began meeting in late October to consider the CCC data pertaining to faculty salaries. Recommendations are expected before the end of the spring semester.
Questions about the Comprehensive Compensation Collaborative project should be directed to peopleoperations@ucdenver.edu, with the subject line 3C.