CHAPTER 4: Organization and Resources

Human Resources

The University of Colorado at Boulder is able to accomplish its goals with the help of a skilled, professional cadre of faculty, staff, and student employees. Within the campus are dedicated people who excel in their work, who serve their communities, and who contribute daily to the university’s mission.

Faculty. To support its academic mission, the University of Colorado at Boulder employs about 1,200 full-time and about 800 temporary/part-time instructional faculty members, in addition to many adjunct and other faculty.

1. Quality. Among the faculty are many nationally and internationally recognized scholars who have received prestigious academic honors and awards. For example, 16 of the faculty are members of the National Academy of Sciences, eight are members of the National Academy of Engineering, and 12 are included in the membership of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Fifteen Boulder campus faculty members have been named CU Distinguished Professors. Also, many have received prestigious fellowships, such as Guggenheim, Fulbright, and Packard. In addition, the Boulder campus is ranked second in the nation in federal dollars awarded per faculty member, second only to the University of California at San Diego.

   CU-Boulder faculty members are recognized for their teaching skills, their international publications and achievements, and their leadership in professional organizations. Most faculty members, including full professors, teach both undergraduate and graduate classes, incorporating their research and creative activities directly into instructional programs.

   The Boulder faculty possess strong professional credentials that bring an international scope of training and experience to the campus. Approximately 94 percent of the full-time faculty hold terminal degrees in their disciplines, and many of the others have equivalent professional experience and recognition. Faculty performance is reviewed annually and faculty salary increases are merit-based. The faculty has become increasingly diverse, active, and competitive during the past 10 years. Every school and college has cited a significant increase in both the quantity and quality of faculty productivity.

2. Accountability measures. CU-Boulder has implemented several tools for measuring and rewarding the effectiveness of individual faculty members. Each faculty member prepares an annual Faculty Report of Professional Activities (FRPA) that summarizes his/her scholarly, professional, and teaching activities for the preceding twelve months. These reports, which become part of the faculty personnel records, are used by faculty committees, chairs, and deans in preparation for annual merit recommendations. For more information on FRPA, see www.colorado.edu/AcademicAffairs
   /Forms/frpa/frpa.html.

   Every five years, each tenured faculty member takes part in post-tenure review, a process in which faculty members work with their primary units on career-long professional development. The goal is to allow each faculty member to remain productive, to be promoted to full professor in a timely manner, and to continue working effectively until retirement. The process recently was enhanced by the addition of five-year performance plans for each faculty member. Post-tenure reviews often provide the opportunity for modest special resource allocations to support individual success.

3. Faculty development. Many CU-Boulder faculty members have participated in the Faculty Teaching Excellence Program (FTEP), which offers an array of programs designed to improve teaching and learning. For faculty members who wish to enhance their teaching, the program offers symposia and consultations on teaching. FTEP is one of the few faculty development programs nationwide to utilize the expertise of its own faculty as teaching consultants. The program includes classroom videotaping followed by one-on-one consultations with trained and experienced faculty consultants, workshops dedicated to a variety of classroom teaching issues, and the distribution of pedagogical literature.

   FTEP also provides expertise to faculty on the effective use of technology in teaching situations. An instructional technology specialist in FTEP works with faculty to help them explore the uses of computer technology and networked resources in sound, discipline-based teaching. The program also works with the ATLAS initiative to facilitate new pedagogies in technology, scholarship, and new media. Further information may be obtained at www.colorado.edu/UCB/
   AcademicAffairs/ftep.

   After six years of service to the university on a regular full-time appointment, tenured faculty members are eligible for sabbatical leave to enhance their teaching and scholarly competence and potential for service to the university. They may receive full pay for one semester or half pay for two semesters of leave. In addition, fellowships, development awards, and research grants are available to faculty through the Council on Research and Creative Work (CRCW) and the Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities, which are administered by the associate vice chancellor for research.

   Numerous resources are available for the orientation and establishment of appropriate direction in the teaching and research activities of junior faculty. Each new faculty member is assigned to one of seven Area Teaching Scholars for mentoring during his/her first year, in a program sponsored by FTEP. These mentoring groups meet monthly during the faculty member’s first year. Faculty members also may be assigned formal mentors from within their home departments. In addition, development grants designated specifically for junior faculty are available from the university. A Reference Guide for New Faculty, produced and distributed by the Office of Faculty Affairs, helps recently hired faculty become oriented to the campus culture. The Reference Guide is available in the Resource Room. More information on the Office of Faculty Affairs is available at http://www.colorado.edu/facultyaffairs.

4. Recruitment and retention. Over the past several years, the Boulder campus has attracted a number of outstanding scholars/teachers to join the faculty. The College of Arts and Sciences, for example, has been able to hire its top one or two faculty choices in 90 percent of the college's regular searches over the past three years. Many of these faculty continue to be recruited heavily by peer institutions offering very attractive compensation packages. Individual departments sometimes are hit hard by losses to other universities. These losses tend to be concentrated in certain departments, which vary from year to year.

   In response, the Boulder campus has sought to implement innovative faculty retention activities, such as interviewing exiting faculty, addressing housing costs in partnership with the private sector, examining the dependent tuition program for possible enhancement, and renewing attention to needs of dual academic career couples. Also, in 1999, the Boulder chancellor announced plans to form a special task force charged with identifying new ways to help recruit and retain outstanding faculty.

5. Instructor Bill of Rights. Many instructors at CU-Boulder now are reaping benefits previously unobtainable — across-the-the board minimum salaries, a level of job security, and retirement benefits—thanks to a new "instructor bill of rights" instituted in March 1999. The policy, known officially as the "Boulder Campus Guidelines for the Appointment, Evaluation, and Promotion of Lecturer Rank Faculty," offers instructors who have taught at CU-Boulder at a 50 percent or greater level for at least three years a contract of at least one year, health and retirement benefits, and a minimum full-time salary of $30,000.

   Lecturers, who are paid on a course-by-course or semester-by-semester basis, also benefit from the bill. They can expect a minimum of $4,000 per course, as well as the same health care benefit options available to other faculty ranks once they teach for a semester at 50 percent or more time.

Staff. Staff members of the University of Colorado at Boulder bring strong skills, commitment, and creativity to the operation of the campus. Positions cover a wide range of employment opportunities, from clerical support staff to supervisors to groundskeepers. CU-Boulder employs approximately 2,300 full- and part-time staff members, including about 1,900 covered by the state personnel system. CU-Boulder’s Department of Human Resources is responsible for administering the Colorado Classified Staff Personnel System, as well as providing services to faculty, professional-exempt employees, and student workers.

About 400 of the CU-Boulder staff members are professional-exempt employees outside of the state personnel system. These employees are appointed and serve at the pleasure of the hiring authority. Most of these positions are middle-level management with salary and job descriptions negotiated individually within university guidelines.

Classified staff members are part of the state’s civil service system, managed by the Colorado Department of Personnel. Regulations specify minimum qualifications for various classes of jobs as well as a system for recruiting, hiring, and promoting employees. In the past, remuneration was determined by a grade and step system, based on prevailing wages as determined by a salary survey. Raises were predicated on longevity and satisfactory job performance.

Recent legislation has mandated that performance-based pay be implemented by July 1, 2000, utilizing a management tool called Colorado Peak Performance that will provide management expectations and performance measures for individual employees. The planning tools will be used annually to evaluate employee performance. The program is designed to offer flexibility in the overall compensation program to reward "peak performers." Salary base-building and non-base-building awards will be available upon full implementation in July 2001.

An array of programs is available to employees for the improvement of management and professional skills, for personal development, and for assessment of managerial and organizational effectiveness. The Employee Development office within human resources provides opportunities for professional and personal growth through courses, seminars, and workshops.

One serious impediment for providing professional development for staff is a university policy prohibiting certain employees from pursuing advanced degrees offered through the CU-Boulder Graduate School. This policy most clearly affects professional research assistants (PRAs), who usually are employed as research support personnel. Many of these employees would like the opportunity to obtain a master's or doctoral degree while continuing their employment. Although these staff members may enroll in classes, they are not allowed to pursue advanced degrees without forfeiting their jobs. A campuswide committee addressed this issue in 1996, but its recommendations have not been implemented to date.

Student Employees. Student employees play an important role in the human resources of the Boulder campus. Through positions as teaching assistants and graduate part-time instructors, approximately 1,200 graduate students teach undergraduate classes, assist faculty members in the classroom or as graders, and conduct laboratory or recitation sessions.

The Graduate School has responsibility for advocacy and stewardship of graduate student teaching appointments in the departments and interdisciplinary areas. The school determines the pay scale and raises for student appointments and upholds a rigorous set of policies for graduate teachers. These policies define the duties and time commitment for teaching assistants and graduate part-time instructors. Also, the Graduate Teacher Program provides opportunities for teaching assistants to improve their teaching skills and to become informed about issues in college teaching through instruction, training, evaluations, and information sharing.

The Boulder campus is currently exploring a proposal for establishing a special tuition rate for all graduate students, whether resident or nonresident, who hold an academic appointment. The proposal is discussed further in this chapter under "Financial Resources."

Undergraduate students are an important resource for helping campus departments reach their goals. More than 1,600 students participate in the Work-Study Program on and off campus each year, and about 3,500 serve as hourly employees. Duties cover a wide range of activities, from clerical assistance to technical support to special events work.

Big 12 Faculty Program Focuses on Collaboration

The Big 12 Faculty Fellowship Program provides funds for up to six faculty to spend two weeks in residence at another Big 12 school. During this time, faculty conduct research or creative work, collaborate on curriculum development or other educational projects, consult with colleagues and students, offer lectures, or engage in other professional activities.