Since starting at Colorado College, concerns about compensation have been one of the key items I have heard about from the community. While people understand that all organizations have limited resources, there have been concerns about the increasing cost of living in Colorado Springs, as well as questions about how we make compensation decisions as an organization. 

At In the Loop and the Compensation Road Show, I shared that we have taken several sources of feedback, including from the staff compensation subcommittee, past surveys, and one-on-one discussions, to help prioritize our investment in pay this year. In general, a significant concern has been about the ability to attract and retain people. Hiring has been challenging and we all recognize the burden it puts on our teams when someone leaves CC for another organization. As a result, a key commitment we are working towards is making it more likely that if someone were to leave CC for a similar job in a similar organization, they would receive similar pay.

An additional concern has been the increased cost of living and the impact on our lowest paid employees. With this year’s increase, we will be ensuring that the practical minimum for all employees will meet the Glasmeier MIT livable wage for a single adult. 

To accomplish these goals, we are prioritizing increases for people who are lower in their band. People often start below the midpoint of their band, which makes sense when they are new to CC. If they stay in the lower part of the band for too long, they would be more likely to be able to leave for higher pay at other organizations.

Increases this year will be delivered to staff so that staff in the first and second quarter of their bands receive a higher rate to accelerate their progress to the midpoint of their band. For all eligible staff, our base increase this year will be 3.5% of their salary. In total, employees in the first quartile will receive 2x that amount and employees in the second quartile will receive 1.5x that amount. 

You are eligible for this increase if you:

You will receive a letter to your home address on or near July 1 with your specific information. To ensure you receive this letter, please check your address on Self-service Banner and update it with HR if it isn’t correct.

In addition to this work, we are in the process of reviewing our overall compensation structure with Segal, an external compensation firm. We expect to update our structure with additional bands. This will allow us to match jobs to bands that more precisely match the market for that job. This information will be provided to the compensation and budget committees in the fall to inform their recommendations for potential increases in July of 2024.

We are also reviewing our compensation processes and documenting them to be able to provide more transparency about compensation decisions and to enhance these processes when appropriate. We will share this ongoing work as it becomes available.

If you have any questions, please email us at HR@ColoradoCollege.edu.

Thank you,