Colorado State University
PA-11: Employee Compensation

Colorado State's lowest regular pay grade (excluding temporary and probationary positions of six months or less) is Dining Services II. The CSU HR office confirmed that all regular (i.e. permanent) positions on campus, including Dining Services II, receive benefits. Our methodology for this credit was using the lowest pay grade's median salary of $22,452 and adding the dollar value of university benefits. Wherever possible, benefits were specifically calculated for a Dining Services II pay grade (see attached document for specific details). The University’s State Classified employees are eligible for a wide array of benefits including the following: • Medical Insurance (Vision and Rx) • Dental Insurance • Medicare • Life Insurance • Short-Term Disability Insurance • Worker's Compensation • Unemployment Insurance • Leave Sharing • Flexible Spending Accounts (medical and dependent care) • Mandatory and voluntary retirement plans (PERA and the University’s 403b vendors) • Health Fairs and Wellness Programs • Tuition Scholarship Program • Employee Study Privilege • Commuter Transit Benefit • Parking Discount • Childcare Discounts Details on benefits can be found at http://www.hrs.colostate.edu/benefits/. In addition, CSU also provides an Employee Assistance Program (http://ombudsandeap.colostate.edu) and Commitment to Campus (http://facultyandstaff.colostate.edu/commitment-to-campus.aspx) program to assist all staff, but particularly our lowest paid staff, with valuable resources, discounts, and benefits that range from family counseling to legal assistance to tickets to athletic and cultural events. Only benefits directly related to health, education, retirement savings, and family care were calculated for this credit. Other benefits including athletic tickets, cultural tickets, and discounts for services and optional programs were not included in this credit.

The CSU Faculty Council, Classified Personnel Council, and Administration Professional Councils as well as a Housing Solutions Task Force are actively researching options to ensure our lowest paid employees can work and live in Northern Colorado. With the support of the employee Councils, the Housing Solutions Task Force has submitted proposals to campus administration supporting an increased base pay and several housing considerations for review.

During the 2016 election, voters in the state of Colorado passed Amendment 70, which will increase the minimum wage in the state to $12 per hour by 2020. The increase began January 1, 2017 by raising the minimum wage in the state from $8.31 to $9.30. The rate will continue to increase 90 cents per year until it reaches $12 per hour in 2020.

We recognize that it may appear to be a data outlier for a university as large as CSU to not report contractors as part of regular campus operations. All of our dining services, cleaning/custodial, maintenance, groundskeeping, snow removal, parking/bike operations, trash/recycling/composting, bookstore operations, etc. are self-operated and we do not have contractors on campus as part of regular operations. This is a point of pride for CSU and while it pose challenges for this credit to directly employ our lowest paid staff, we believe that the benefits package (including study privilege and tuition discount) is the best way to support and foster growth for our lowest paid staff members. It is also worth noting that while CSU has many temporary staff that are not considered regular (i.e. permanent) employees, many still receive benefits. All State Classified hourly staff receive benefits by virtue of being employed and any State Classified employee who works 8 hours or more per month also receives the State's contribution toward their benefits. Administrative Professional hourly employees who work 50% time or greater are eligible for benefits. In addition, any staff member (student, non-student hourly, or graduate assistant) who works for 30 or more hours per week is eligible for Affordable Care Act health insurance and CSU requires supervisors to flag those staff members when they fill out the new employee form in the HR system so benefits can be offered. When reporting compensation for Colorado State University it is important to note that CSU is a state employer bound by the state classified rules of classification and selection for state classified employees. Information about the compensation system and pay structure can be found on the State of Colorado's Division of Human Resources' Department of Personnel & Administration website at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/compensation. The State of Colorado produces annually a compensation report working with a consultant that included a market analysis of state classified salaries ranges.