Throughout 2021, members of the Provost’s Office, the Office of Data Analytics, the deans, Human Resources, and campus financial unitsworked together to identify gender and race and ethnicity salary inequities under the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act law’s provisions.

Regular Faculty

All regular faculty positions (i.e., tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, instructor-track faculty and clinical faculty) were reviewed and grouped into substantially similar job families by department, division or school/college. A statistical model was then used to determine predicted salaries using variables including years since highest degree, years in rank, discipline, and other inputs.For a detailed explanation of the assessment methodology and the review process, see Boulder CEPEWA Faculty Methodology and Appendix A and Appendix B.

Tenured and tenure-track faculty salary differences could typically be explained by one or more of the following reasons, all of which are allowed by law:

  • The faculty member’s academic department/program, which is a factor indicative of substantially similar work
  • Years since the faculty member obtained their highest degree, which is a factor indicative of job-related experience
  • The number of years the faculty member has been in their current rank (e.g., full, associate, or assistant professor), which is a factor indicative of job-related experience
  • The total number of years the faculty member has been employed in a tenured or tenure-track position at Boulder, which is a factor indicative of job-related experience
  • Whether the faculty member has received a retention offer, which is a factor indicative of job-related experience, quality and quantity of production, and exceptionally high merit
  • The number of additional appointments the faculty member has had (e.g., a chair or director appointment), which is a factor indicative of job-related experience and quality and quantity of production
  • The faculty member’s average merit score over the past five years in comparison to the average score of other faculty members in the same department, which is a factor indicative of pay differentiation on the basis of a merit system
  • Other factors similar to the above that are particular to a certain academic discipline (e.g., Law or Libraries), as detailed in the explanation of the process used to review faculty salaries

For instructor-track and clinical faculty, salary differences could typically be explained by one or more of the following reasons, all of which are allowed by law:

  • The faculty member’s academic department/program, which is a factor indicative of substantially similar work
  • Years since the faculty member obtained their highest degree, which is a factor indicative of job-related experience
  • The number of years the faculty member has been in their current rank (e.g., senior instructor v. instructor), which is a factor indicative of job-related experience
  • Total number of years serving as instructor and senior instructor or as a clinical faculty member at Boulder, which is a factor indicative of job-related experience
  • Total number of years serving as instructor and senior instructor or as a clinical faculty member at Boulder, which is a factor indicative of job-related experience
  • Whether the faculty member was hired within the 12 months previous to September 2021, which is a factor indicative of job-related experience
  • The number of additional appointments the faculty member has had (e.g., a director or associate director appointment), which is a factor indicative of job-related experience and quality and quantity of production
  • Other factors similar to the above that are particular to a certain academic discipline (e.g., Law or Libraries), as detailed in the explanation of the process used to review faculty salaries

In cases where a faculty member’s actual salary is below the salary predicted when using the criteria listed above and where a gender or race/ethnicity disparity exists, preliminary analysis flagged the faculty member’s salary for an increase to the predicted salary level. Deans and other school/college leaders then reviewed the preliminary analysis to correct errors and provide qualitative analysis. The goal was to ensure that faculty pay differences for substantially similar work within the home discipline/department are not discriminatory based on protected class gender or race/ethnicity. No salaries were decreased as a result of this analysis.

Research Faculty

Salaries for positions in the faculty series are being reviewed within each institute, school and college based on the type of work and the nature of the project and grant. Employees identified for adjustments will be notified directly on a rolling basis as each area completes its analysis. No salaries will be decreased as a result of this analysis.