Report on unequal pay among faculty is accepted
A faculty-created report that identifies issues with salary inequity and presents recommendations for solutions was accepted by the University of Colorado Boulder on May 24.
Provost Russell Moore and Boulder Faculty Assembly Outgoing Chair Tiffany Beechy accepted the report, which was created by the Faculty Salary Procedures Working Group.
The FSPWG was appointed in May 2022 after a 2021 salary audit found CU Boulder faculty salaries to be inequitable. Salaries were then adjusted by an average of $6,593 to comply with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, and the FSPWG was appointed as a second phase to address causes of salary inequalities and methods for correcting it. The report is divided into sections covering hiring, retention, promotion, merit review practices, auditing practices and future work.
According to the report, the largest driver of salary inequity is not enough funding for faculty salary increases. First, it prevents faculty from getting competitive salaries and creates a separate system for selective raises to retain certain faculty that may job search elsewhere, according to the report. Additionally, the report said salary stagnation caused by lack of competitive pay causes new hires to make more than existing faculty in some cases.
The report said faculty raise pools approved by the Board of Regents have added about as much to the faculty salaries as inflation has subtracted from them.
“For most CU Boulder faculty, real salary growth has not been available through the limited salary resources that the university has been able to provide, resulting in stagnant and increasingly uncompetitive salaries for most faculty, with limited exceptions for those receiving significant
retention adjustments,” the report said.
The report recognized the budget constraints the university faces with giving significant raises, but reaffirmed its importance.
Increased transparency with salary processes across campus, including with assessments, evaluations, and the merit review process, was emphasized. It also made accountability recommendations through auditing policy.
Some limitations and areas for future work were outlined, including equity issues related to workload and salary inequities between different ranks of faculty. For example, between tenured and non tenure track faculty, or comparing salaries across CU campuses.
Feedback from faculty and various faculty stakeholder groups on the draft report published in March was incorporated into the final report.
Co-chairs of the FSPWG, Daria Kotys-schwartz, teaching professor in mechanical engineering, and Steve Vanderheiden professor of political science, said in a news release that they hope this report will contribute to improving equity on campus and they look forward to ongoing efforts in this area.
“Salary equity for our faculty must be an ongoing discussion, and I’m gratified that the provost and the BFA have committed to this effort,” Beechy said in a news release.
A phase two working group will be charged with implementing the FSPWG recommendations during the 2023-2024 school year. All items related to the report are posted on the Faculty Affairs website at and the material will be updated annually. For more information, visit colorado.edu/facultyaffairs/ faculty-salary-proceduresworking-group-fspwg.