Effective August 13, 2017, CU Boulder is implementing a new, simplified on-campus student hourly pay plan. Here are some frequently asked questions to help you with this change.

Does the new plan apply to both work-study & hourly student employees?

Yes, the new student assistant pay plan applies to both work-study and hourly student employees in job codes 4101 through 4106.

What level should I transfer my Student Assistant to in the new pay plan?

We strongly encourage you to read the job descriptions to determine which level Student Assistant you have or want. However, when creating the new structure, participants felt the transition would work similar to this:

Before After
Student Assistant I Student Assistant I
Student Assistant II Student Assistant I
Student Assistant III Student Assistant II
Student Assistant IV Student Assistant III
Student Assistant V Student Assistant III
Student Assistant VI Student Assistant IV

Student Assistant levels V and VI will cease to be used on the Boulder campus.

 

When do I have to transition my current student employees to the new structure?

Departments will have one year (until August 2018) to transition current, existing student employee positions and job records to the appropriate new job codes and pay rates to be in compliance with the new student assistant pay plan.

Will Student Employment assist in moving my current student employee job records to the new structure?

For departments who are partnered with the CU Boulder HR Service Center (HRSC) for HCM and payroll services, the HRSC will be responsible for transitioning their student employees’ positions and job records. Otherwise, Employee Services may have automated tools to simplify the task. If interested, please contact Student Employment (studentemployment@colorado.edu). The tools will be available beginning in late July 2017.

Departments do have one year (until August 2018) to complete the transition so we believe that you can accomplish the task within this timeframe.

Will Student Employment update current job postings on the Student Employment web site to the new structure?

Yes, Student Employment will update all active job postings to align with the new student assistant levels.

Student employees in the current SA II through SA VI levels will be in a lower job code after the transition; How do we explain that it's not a demotion?

Although the previous plan and the new plan will utilize some of the same job codes in HCM, that’s where the similarity ends. We are introducing a whole new simplified structure intended to streamline position management and the definitions of the student assistant levels are not comparable between the old plan and the new one. Additionally, departments are encouraged to utilize a working title for their student employees which may more accurately reflect the work that the students perform, rather than the general student assistant job code titles. The working title can be beneficial for students to use on their resumes as well.

What job codes does the new pay plan cover?

The new student assistant pay plan applies to student hourly job codes 4101 through 4106.

If my current student employee is paid at the minimum of the old Student Assistant IV level ($12.85), do I need to give him/her an increase to raise his/her hourly rate to the minimum of the new Student Assistant III level ($12.95)?

In setting the rates of the new pay ranges, we paid very close attention to the pay rates of our existing student employee population. There are only a handful of existing student employees whose current pay rates fall below the minimum of the new pay range to which they will be transitioned. For those employees, departments may choose to keep their pay rates at the existing minimum ($12.85) of the previous pay range for the duration of the one year transition period or they may choose to raise their pay rates to the minimum ($12.95) of the new pay range to which they are being transitioned.

Will department budgets for student hourly positions be increased to cover the increase in minimum wage?

There is no automatic increase to department budgets specifically to cover student hourly wages due to the increase in minimum wage because hourly wages tend to be variable across departments.  However, departments’ FY18 general fund budgets will include an increase for hourly workers (temps and students) equal to the University’s merit increase (2.5 percent).  That increase will follow where the current hourly budget resides.  If you are anticipating a significant financial impact because of the hourly wage increase, please contact the Office of Budget & Fiscal Planning.

The Office of Budget & Fiscal Planning helps coordinate campus-wide budget planning and allocate resources for the CU Boulder campus. You may contact that office for additional assistance or questions on your departmental budget.

Will work-study awards be increasing as a result of the increase in minimum wage?

The Office of Financial Aid will be analyzing the award amount for new work-study recipients for the 2018-19 academic year and it is likely to increase. For 2017-18, if you are interested in putting your student employee on the request list to receive an increase in the work-study award they have been granted, refer to the Work-Study Increase Request Form on the On-Campus Employer Forms section of our web site.