As campus previously reported, this year, the Board of Regents have approved a base building 3% merit pool for eligible faculty and university staff employed as of Sept. 1, 2022, effective Jan. 1, 2023. A merit increase is tied to performance from this past performance cycle, July 1 – June 30, 2022. Pay increases for purposes other than merit (e.g. equity, compression, retention) should be addressed outside of the annual merit increase process throughout the year as they arise.
The campus has not had a merit process since 2019, but this year will look similar to past years for research and tenure-track faculty. CIRES HR will distribute its roster of merit-eligible employees to designated leadership within each unit/lab/center who then work internally to establish recommended performance based increases for each of its employees. Because each unit operates somewhat differently with respect to performance ratings and expectations, it’s important that these merit increase designations are determined by internal personnel who understand the expectations for their groups. Those recommended increases are then returned to CIRES HR for final review and approval prior to submission to central HR.
For university staff – a smaller group of employees largely housed in our administrative units- there is a change in protocol from the last merit cycle. This year, CU HR is instituting a standardized merit allocation process for university staff. This means that the merit allocation for university staff receiving ratings of 3 (Meets Expectations), 4 (Exceeds Expectations), and 5 (Outstanding) will be determined centrally and not by CIRES leadership. Campus will soon announce what the merit allocations will be for this employee group and HR will update this post accordingly.
CIRES GRAs will receive a 3% rate increase in January 2023 as well.
Please note that a 3% merit pool does not mean all employees will receive the same percentage of salary increase or that an individual is guaranteed to receive a 3% increase. The 3% refers to the budget allotment that is given to CIRES for distribution, based on the number of eligible employees and their percentage of appointment. It should then be distributed based on performance from the past year.
Eligible employees will see their new salary in the January 2023 paychecks. Merit increases will be supported by the employee’s current funding source.
