Faculty Salary Equity Policy

Effective: August 12, 2026 (interim)

Approved by: Justin Schwartz, Chancellor 

Policy Owner: Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs 

Policy Contact: Vice Provost for Academic Technology and Resource Management  

Applies to: Faculty 

I. Introduction

The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) is committed to providing fair and competitive compensation that will attract, retain, and reward a high-performing faculty with the requisite experience and skills to execute the university’s scholarly, creative work, and teaching mission. In accordance with state and federal law and University of Colorado (CU) Board of Regents policy, CU Boulder provides equal pay for substantially similar work and strives to ensure fair and competitive pay while ensuring good stewardship of public funds.  

The provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, as the chief academic officer of CU Boulder, is responsible for establishing and monitoring procedures that ensure fair compensation in Eligible Faculty salaries. If an inequity is identified, the primary responsibility for correcting the inequity rests with the Primary Unit. 

This policy does not constitute a contract, express or implied, between CU Boulder and any of its employees who are subject to its requirements. CU Boulder further reserves the right to modify this policy as necessary. 

II. Definitions

Annual Merit Evaluation: Review process by which Primary Units perform a yearly (e.g., calendar year) evaluation of merit for faculty, based on an assessment of performance in categories of teaching, scholarly and creative work, leadership and service, and, where applicable, other categories specific to the primary unit (e.g., clinical activity, librarianship), as appropriate to the discipline(s), field(s) and types of faculty positions within the Primary Unit. This process represents an assessment of the performance of a faculty member over the course of the previous year in each category included in the individual’s agreed-upon workload for the evaluation year. The overall Annual Merit Evaluation score for a faculty member is the weighted combination, based on workload, of the individual category scores and is assigned according to a CU Boulder mandated rating system, which is currently whole numbers between “1: Fails to Meet Expectations” and “5: Outstanding.” 

Annual Salary Equity Review: Review process by which Primary Units perform a yearly (e.g., calendar year) evaluation of Eligible Faculty base salaries to identify potential Salary Equity issues according to campus-level written procedures. 

Annual Salary Recommendation: Process by which Primary Units establish an annual salary increase for each faculty member that the Primary Unit then recommends to the dean, contingent on available funds. Annual Merit Evaluation scores are the primary basis for the subsequent Annual Salary Recommendation. 

Base Salary: For Eligible Faculty, the 9-month or 12-month contract base pay for the academic year. Base Salary does not include administrative, honorific or overload salary supplements or additional pay. 

Career Merit: In the context of this policy, the cumulative body of accomplishments and impact of an Eligible Faculty member during their academic career (including performance prior to the Eligible Faculty member’s employment at CU Boulder). Given the inherent diversity in Primary Units at CU Boulder, measures of Career Merit vary by Discipline or Field and therefore must be defined at the Primary Unit level. Career Merit must be defined in terms of scholarly and creative work, teaching, leadership and service, and other accomplishments and impact indicative of overall career performance (e.g., awards or other special accomplishments) as appropriate to the Eligible Faculty member’s discipline or field and type of faculty position. 

Discipline or Field: A recognized area of academic study or scholarly or creative specialization that is distinguished by its subject matter, methods of inquiry or artistic creation, professional standards or external labor market. For purposes of this policy, Discipline or Field may be used to distinguish different groups of Eligible Faculty within the same Primary Unit. 

Eligible Faculty: Tenure-track, tenured, teaching-track, clinical, and in residence faculty rostered at CU Boulder who are enfranchised members of the CU Faculty Senate. 

Market Value: Expectation of a salary based on comparison to external factors such as comparable positions at peer institutions and Discipline or Field.  

Primary Unit: Normally, a department or program where tenured, tenure-track, teaching-track and clinical faculty in teaching or librarian positions are rostered. However, some tenured and tenure-track faculty may be rostered in a research institute, department or program and have their tenure home in another unit, which may serve as the Primary Unit for purposes of tenure and promotion. In addition, some colleges and schools are divided into Primary Units that are not departments or programs, but that may have distinct needs and policies. For purposes of Salary Equity, the Primary Unit is where the Supervising Administrator is housed. 

Relevant Comparators: Eligible Faculty of the same rank within the same Primary Unit whose salaries are set by the Primary Unit (excluding faculty whose tenure home is in the Primary Unit but who are rostered in a different Primary Unit that sets their salaries) and who are performing Substantially Similar Work. 

Salary Compression: A limited difference in pay within a Primary Unit between Eligible Faculty with differences across rank or years of service, also referred to as wage compression or pay compression. Salary Compression may occur, for example, when the salaries for newly hired Eligible Faculty, which are set in response to Market Value, are at levels nearly equal to the salaries of Eligible Faculty members who have been in the Primary Unit for a longer time. 

Salary Equity: Expected similar level of Base Salary for doing Substantially Similar Work for Eligible Faculty with similar Career Merit within a Primary Unit (or within a single Discipline or Field within a Primary Unit).  

Salary Equity Exceptions: State and Federal law allows exceptions to the prohibition against a wage differential if the employer demonstrates that a wage differential is not based on wage rate history and is based upon one or more of the following factors, so long as the employer applies the factors reasonably and they account for the entire wage differential: a seniority system; a merit system (such as those factors described in the Career Merit definition above); a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; the geographic location where the work is performed; education, training or experience to the extent that they are reasonably related to the work in question; travel, if travel is a regular and necessary condition of the work performed; or academic Discipline or Field (for example, the School of Business may have higher starting salaries than the School of Education, and a faculty member initially hired into the School of Business who then transfers to another school or college may enter that school or college at a higher salary). 

Salary Equity Grievance: A formal, written complaint by an Eligible Faculty member that is initially directed to their Primary Unit. 

Substantially Similar Work: Work done by Eligible Faculty members that requires similar effort, skill, responsibility and working conditions. For purposes of this policy, Eligible Faculty members are engaged in Substantially Similar Work if they are of the same rank, in the same Primary Unit, have similar workload weightings and have similar leadership or service responsibilities.  

Supervising Administrator: The immediate supervising authority of the faculty member, typically a department chair or director or, depending on how a school or college is organized, a dean. In the event of the recusal of the Supervising Administrator, the administrator at the next higher level becomes the Supervising Administrator for purposes of this policy. If the faculty member has two supervisors, the Supervising Administrator is the supervisor who has authority over setting the faculty member’s salary. 

III. Roles and Responsibilities

Dean: Deans are responsible for reviewing and approving Annual Salary Recommendations and other salary actions proposed by Primary Units, in consultation with the provost. In organizational structures where the dean serves as the Primary Unit lead for purposes of faculty salary setting, the dean assumes the responsibilities otherwise assigned to the Primary Unit under this policy. In all cases, deans certify that salary-setting and Salary Equity review processes under their authority have been conducted in accordance with this policy and that Eligible Faculty performing Substantially Similar Work are compensated in a manner consistent with established equity standards.  

Eligible Faculty Member: Eligible Faculty members are subject to Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation, and Salary Equity review processes conducted within their Primary Units. Eligible Faculty members may raise concerns regarding Salary Equity through established review and grievance processes, including those outlined in the companion Faculty Salary Grievance Policy.   

Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance: The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance is responsible for receiving and addressing concerns related to protected class discrimination or retaliation that arise in the context of faculty salary setting or Salary Equity review processes.  

Office of the Provost: The office supports Salary Equity oversight by providing institutional data required for Annual Salary Equity reviews and by reviewing and approving Primary Unit findings and recommendations. The office is responsible for tracking and archiving Annual Salary Equity review submissions to ensure institutional compliance with review requirements. The Office of the Provost also consults with University Counsel and other campus offices, as appropriate, when salary adjustments or legal considerations arise.  

Primary Unit: Primary units bear the primary responsibility for setting initial Base Salaries at the time of hire and for maintaining Salary Equity through the Annual Salary Recommendation process. Each Primary Unit must conduct an Annual Salary Equity review of Eligible Faculty Base Salaries in accordance with campus-level written procedures and must document and report any identified equity concerns to the dean and the Office of the Provost. Primary units are also responsible for establishing, circulating, and periodically reviewing written procedures governing Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation, and Annual Salary Equity review.  

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs: The provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, as the chief academic officer of CU Boulder, is responsible for establishing and overseeing institutional procedures that ensure fair and equitable compensation for Eligible Faculty. The provost holds ultimate approval authority for Eligible Faculty salaries and is responsible for approving Primary Unit procedures related to Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation, and Annual Salary Equity review. The provost also ensures institutional oversight by conducting a campus-level Salary Equity review at least once every three years and communicating the results of that review to the deans.  

Supervising Administrator: Supervising administrators are responsible for faculty salary oversight within the Primary Unit. When Salary Equity reviews identify discrepancies exceeding established thresholds, the Supervising Administrator is responsible for providing a justification based on Career Merit or other allowable factors for Salary Equity Exceptions, or for initiating consultation with the dean and the Office of the Provost. Supervising administrators also participate in the development of plans to address salary adjustments when equity concerns are confirmed.  

University Counsel: University Counsel provides legal guidance related to faculty Salary Equity matters, including review of proposed salary adjustments, to ensure compliance with applicable state and federal law, Regent law and policy, and university administrative policies.   

IV. Policy Statement

  1. Principles for Eligible Faculty Salaries
    1. Salaries for Eligible Faculty members at CU Boulder are set in accordance with state and federal law and with CU Board of Regents policy (Regent Policy 11, Compensation).
    2. Career Merit must be the primary basis for overall faculty compensation and may, in some cases, explain pay differences between Eligible Faculty members doing Substantially Similar Work. Every Primary Unit must have a definition of Career Merit and must review this definition at least once every seven years.
    3. Base salary at the time an Eligible Faculty member is hired is based on Career Merit and Market Value.
  2. Responsibilities for Eligible Faculty Salaries
    1. The primary responsibility for setting Base Salary at the time an Eligible Faculty member is hired and for maintaining Salary Equity in the Annual Salary Recommendation process rests with the Primary Unit, which is expected to ensure similar compensation for Substantially Similar Work.
    2. In consultation with the provost, deans are responsible for reviewing and approving Annual Salary Recommendations and any other salary recommendations for Eligible Faculty members made by Primary Units and for certifying that Primary Units have adequately carried out their primary responsibility for ensuring similar compensation (within 5%) for Eligible Faculty doing Substantially Similar Work.
    3. The ultimate approval of Eligible Faculty salaries rests with the provost.
    4. When setting or conducting any review of Eligible Faculty members’ salaries, the Primary Unit, dean (or Office of the Dean) or provost (or Office of the Provost) must refer any concerns related to protected class discrimination or retaliation to the CU Boulder Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance and may also raise such concerns to the Office of the Provost or University Counsel.
  3. Annual Salary Equity Review
    1. Primary Units must conduct an Annual Salary Equity review of Base Salaries of Eligible Faculty within the Primary Unit to identify potential Salary Equity issues according to the campus-level written procedures. This review must identify whether any significant differences (>5%) exist between Eligible Faculty members as evaluated against Relevant Comparators. Potential Salary Equity discrepancies identified by the Primary Unit as part of its Annual Salary Equity review must be presented, in writing, to the dean and the Office of the Provost. If differences are observed, these differences must be explained by differences in Career Merit or allowable factors for Salary Equity Exceptions. At the conclusion of the Annual Salary Equity review, the Primary Unit must supply each Eligible Faculty member whose salary has been identified as significantly lower (>5%) as evaluated against Relevant Comparators with the written explanation of that difference stated in the Annual Salary Equity review. If the Annual Salary Equity Review has confirmed the need to adjust an Eligible Faculty member’s Base Salary, this explanation will also include a plan to make the salary adjustment. At the written request of an Eligible Faculty member who has received a written explanation of salary difference from Relevant Comparators as stated in the Annual Salary Equity review, the Eligible Faculty member’s dean (or designee) must also supply that explanation to the Boulder Faculty Assembly.
    2. As part of the Annual Salary Recommendation process, the Primary Unit must verify in writing to the Office of the Provost that the Annual Salary Equity review has been conducted.
    3. The Office of the Provost must conduct a campus-level review of Salary Equity at least every 3 years and must communicate the findings of that review to the deans.
  4. Salary Equity Review at Times Other than Annual Salary Equity Review
    1. The Supervising Administrator, the dean, or the provost may direct a Primary Unit to undertake a Salary Equity review process in addition to and at a time other than the Annual Salary Equity review, for example, in the case of a Salary Equity grievance by an Eligible Faculty member. This review must identify whether any significant differences (>5%) exist between Eligible Faculty members of the same rank doing Substantially Similar Work. Potential Salary Equity discrepancies identified by the Primary Unit as part of its review must be presented, in writing, to the dean and the Office of the Provost.
    2. Any Salary Equity review process within a Primary Unit must follow the Primary Unit’s written procedures for Annual Salary Equity review.
  5. Adjustments to Salary Based on Primary Unit Salary Equity Review
    1. Primary responsibility for adjustment of any Eligible Faculty member’s salary based on Salary Equity rests with the Primary Unit. Primary units must use a portion of their annual merit pool to address any adjustment based on Salary Equity (up to 50%).
    2. Any adjustment to an Eligible Faculty member’s salary based on Salary Equity may be made only after consultation with the Office of the Provost and with University Counsel.
    3. Any adjustment to an Eligible Faculty member’s salary based on Primary Unit Salary Equity review will not include back pay.
  6. Establishment, Circulation, Review and Retention of Primary Unit Procedures
    1. Each Primary Unit must establish written procedures for Eligible Faculty Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation and Annual Salary Equity review. These procedures must include a description of the measures that define Career Merit within the Primary Unit.
    2. In accordance with CU Board of Regents Policy 11, it is understood that activities and expectations for teaching, scholarly and creative work, leadership and service and, where applicable, other categories specific to the unit (e.g., clinical activity, librarianship) vary widely across and within Primary Units. For this reason, the Primary Unit Annual Merit Evaluation procedures must reasonably include both objective and subjective professional judgments. Reducing the inherent complexity of faculty activities to a strict formula for the purposes of Annual Merit Evaluation is discouraged.
    3. The Primary Unit’s Annual Salary Recommendation procedures must describe how salary increase recommendations based on Annual Merit Evaluation are calculated and how and under what circumstances the Primary Unit may reserve a portion of its Annual Salary Recommendation allocation (a “skim”) for compensation adjustments of specific faculty members or groups.
    4. Procedures for Eligible Faculty Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation and Annual Salary Equity review must be circulated to each Eligible Faculty member in the Primary Unit on an annual basis.
    5. Each Primary Unit must review its procedures for Eligible Faculty Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation and Annual Salary Equity review at least once every seven years to ensure that salary concerns for all Eligible Faculty members are addressed as a normal part of these annual processes. This review of procedures normally takes place concurrently with the Academic Review and Planning Advisory Committee (ARPAC) review of the Primary Unit.
    6. Procedures for Eligible Faculty Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation and Annual Salary Equity review, and any revisions of these procedures that result from Primary Unit review, must be approved by the Primary Unit according to normal procedures established in the Primary Unit bylaws and must also be approved by the dean and the provost (or designee).  
    7. The dean’s office must retain a file of Annual Merit Evaluation Annual Salary Recommendation and Annual Salary Equity review procedures for all Primary Units that report to the dean.
    8. The Office of the Provost must retain a file of all Primary Unit Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation and Annual Salary Equity review procedures. 

V. Procedures

  1. Establishment of Salary Ranges for Eligible Faculty Position Postings
    1. When creating an Eligible Faculty position posting, the hiring Primary Unit will work with the dean and their school, college, or institute human resources office to develop an initial Base Salary range and a transparent compensation framework.
    2. Before an Eligible Faculty position may be posted and advertised, the school, college or institute human resources office for the hiring Primary Unit will provide a Base Salary range for the position to the CU Boulder Division of Human Resources and the Office of the Provost to ensure that the Base Salary has been established in accordance with state and federal law and Regent and CU law and policy.
  2. Salary Setting for New Faculty Members
    1. The hiring Primary Unit will set the initial Base Salary for a new Eligible Faculty member in consultation with the dean and the office of the provost, within the compensation framework included in the position posting. Factors influencing initial Base Salary may include the new Eligible Faculty member’s originating Discipline or Field, anticipated rank, Career Merit, and other allowable factors for Salary Equity Exceptions. Additional factors may include current Market Value. In the case of Primary Units that include more than one Discipline or Field, variation within the Primary Unit related to Discipline or Field and relevant discipline-specific or field-specific Market Value may be considered.
    2. In cases where an Eligible Faculty member moves between Primary Units, the new Primary Unit will set the Eligible Faculty member’s Base Salary in relation to the distribution of Eligible Faculty Base Salaries within the new Primary Unit, and any Relevant Comparators will be selected from the new Primary Unit.
  3. Annual Salary Equity Review
    1. The Annual Salary Equity review process will be led by the Primary Unit in collaboration with the dean and the Office of the Provost.
    2. Salary equity reviews will be completed on a yearly basis by April 1 of each year. Note that this Salary Equity review process is different from the yearly salary recommendation process, though it may make sense to conduct the reviews at the same time.
    3. Annual Salary Equity reviews will be based on the Base Salaries of Eligible Faculty members rostered within each Primary Unit. For units that roster Eligible Faculty members from more than one Discipline or Field, Eligible Faculty members from the same Discipline or field should be considered the most relevant set of comparators.
    4. The Office of the Provost will provide data to support the Annual Salary Equity review required for Primary Units.
      1. The Office of the Provost will distribute to the dean’s office a data file containing their rostered faculty, in addition to variables that may be relevant for the compensation of each Eligible Faculty member including years since highest degree, years in a CU Boulder faculty position, rank, years in current rank, most recent merit score, five-year average merit score, and any retention salary adjustments over the previous five years.
      2. The data file will be distributed each year no later than October 15 for the purposes of the Annual Salary Equity review to be completed by April 1 of the following year. Because the Annual Salary Equity review conducted by April 1 must be based on salaries effective January 1 of each year, the review by Primary Units must take into account any adjustments to salaries effective January 1.
    5. The Primary Unit will conduct its Annual Salary Equity review as follows:
      1. The Primary Unit will assign the work of Annual Salary Equity review to a faculty committee, typically the standing committee that normally handles the work of Annual Salary Recommendation or a subset of that committee. This faculty committee could include human resources representation or staff support representation if designated in the Primary Unit procedures for Annual Salary Equity review.
      2. The Primary Unit committee will identify and group Eligible Faculty members who are in the same faculty title series (e.g., tenured and tenure-track faculty series; instructional series—teaching professor track; clinical series—clinical teaching track; etc.) and rank within that series (e.g., assistant, associate, full) as defined by University of Colorado Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 5060. Within each of these groupings, faculty with similar years in rank become Relevant Comparators for the purpose of equity evaluation. The Primary Unit will define the parameters for “similar years in rank,” typically not to exceed four years of difference.
      3. The Primary Unit committee will review salaries for Relevant Comparators and identify cases where differences exist between Relevant Comparators of >5% of base pay.
      4. In cases where differences exist between Relevant Comparators of >5% of base pay, the Supervising Administrator will provide an explanation for the discrepancy in salaries based on Career Merit or allowable factors for Salary Equity Exceptions. If necessary, the Supervising Administrator will work with the dean and the Office of the Provost to assess whether the discrepancy is permissible based on relevant law and policy.
      5. Primary units may address issues with Salary Compression in conjunction with their Annual Salary Equity review, according to written Primary Unit procedures for Salary Compression review. However, the findings of any Salary Compression review are not included as part of the findings of the Annual Salary Equity review.
    6. The Primary Unit will work with the dean and the Office of the Provost before finalizing its Salary Equity review.
      1. The Primary Unit’s recommendation will be submitted for approval to the relevant dean and to the provost.
      2. In cases where the finalized Annual Salary Equity review identifies a difference between Relevant Comparators of >5% of base pay, the Supervising Administrator will provide the explanation for the discrepancy as stated in the Annual Salary Equity review to the Eligible Faculty members who comprise the set of Relevant Comparators, excepting the highest-paid Eligible Faculty member in that set of Relevant Comparators.
      3. The Office of the Provost may work with other campus offices such as Human Resources or University Counsel to assist the Primary Unit in finalizing its Annual Salary Equity review.
    7. The Office of the Provost will track and archive Annual Salary Equity review submissions to ensure Primary Unit compliance with the requirement for Annual Salary Equity review.
    8. Faculty who are rostered in a Primary Unit (school, college, department, program or institute) and whose tenure home is in a different Primary Unit will be notated as TBE (tenure budgeted elsewhere) in the data file shared with the tenure home Primary Unit. These faculty will not be part of the tenure home Primary Unit’s Salary Equity review. Instead, these faculty will be evaluated by the rostering Primary Unit.
  4. Adjustments to Base Salary Based on Primary Unit Salary Equity Review
    1. If a Primary Unit Salary Equity review process confirms the need to adjust an Eligible Faculty member’s Base Salary, the Supervising Administrator will work with the dean and the Office of the Provost to create a plan to make the salary adjustment. The primary responsibility for salary adjustment lies with the Primary Unit, which must use up to 50% of their annual merit pool to address salary adjustments.
    2. The Office of the Provost will consult with University Counsel before approving the plan for salary adjustment.
    3. Ordinarily, the salary adjustment will be made by July 1 following the completion of the Annual Salary Equity review process that identified the need for the adjustment.
    4. If the salary adjustment cannot be made by July 1, a plan must be developed to make the adjustment within three years of the completion of the Annual Salary Equity review process that identified the need for adjustment.
  5. Establishment, Circulation and Review of Primary Unit Written Procedures
    1. The Primary Unit’s written procedures for Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendations, and Annual Salary Equity review may be part of the Primary Unit bylaws or may exist as separate Primary Unit policies.
    2. Revisions to Primary Unit written procedures for Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation, and Annual Salary Equity review may not be made more often than once per year.
    3. Revisions to Primary Unit written procedures for Annual Merit Evaluation, Annual Salary Recommendation, and Annual Salary Equity review must be clearly communicated to Primary Unit faculty after they have been approved by the Primary Unit, dean, and provost.
    4. Revisions to Primary Unit written procedures for Annual Merit Evaluation will ordinarily not take effect until after the next Annual Merit Evaluation process subsequent to the date of the revisions’ approval by the provost has been completed, so that expectations for faculty performance are not changed mid-review cycle. Exceptions that create an earlier effective date must be approved by the dean and the provost.
    5. Revisions to Primary Unit written procedures for Annual Salary Recommendation or Annual Salary Equity review will ordinarily take effect at the beginning of the next academic year after the date of the revisions’ approval by the provost. Exceptions that create an earlier effective date must be approved by the dean and the provost.

VI. Related Policies, Forms, Guidelines and other Resources