Compensation Philosophy
Colorado College provides a high-quality liberal arts education to a talented and diverse community of students. To achieve our mission, we must attract and retain equally diverse and talented employees.
Therefore, Colorado College commits to a compensation program based on the following principles:
- We pay our benefits-eligible employees a living wage and work to get all others as close as possible.
- We provide compensation (pay plus benefits) that is internally and externally equitable.
- We provide varied benefits to support our employees’ well-being and diverse needs.
- We provide professional development and career advancement opportunities.
- We reward campus engagement, community engagement, and work that makes a difference.
- We administer compensation in a fair and flexible manner.
- We comply with all applicable legal requirements.
Philosophy in Action
Our compensation philosophy is the source of decisions we make about pay and benefits at CC. Below are some of the considerations we take into account when applying the philosophy.
CC uses the Glasmeier MIT index to set a target minimum wage that we pay for benefits eligible employees. We use the 1 adult, O children as the target pay rate. As of 2023, this target has been achieved at CC. While this number will rise and fall over time, we will strive to stay aligned with this target.
Benefits eligible employees may be full time or part time (employees who work more than 1,000 hours a year). The hourly rate is such that, if the employee would work 2080 hours a year, they would receive the annual minimum wage.
Occasional employees are not currently included in this commitment, but we will work over time to enhance their compensation in accordance with living wage principles. Student employees are compensated in accordance with federal guidelines.
Colorado College is not able to set the wages for contract workers such as Sodexo and Bon Appétit, but we will emphasize this commitment with any organization with which we partner.
When making pay decisions, we consider the pay of employees in similar roles to work to create internal equity. We strive to ensure equity of pay regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or other identity or protected classes.
We also strive to make our total compensation (pay and benefits) externally equitable by assessing whether pay is in alignment with people in similar roles in similar organizations.
Our benefits at CC are particularly strong. We offer significant leave for all employees to help them thrive in their lives outside CC. We also offer benefits that consider the different needs of different people at CC. While employees may not take advantage of all our benefits, we strive to design benefits to provide comprehensive support for the different stages of life and to meet the needs of our diverse community.
Professional Development and Career Opportunities
We work to help our employees grow in their careers at CC through opportunities like Excel at CC. Opportunities include deepening their skills in their current roles or being considered for lateral or promotional opportunities. Our education benefits can help employees to develop through formal academic routes.
Our compensation program rewards applied experience over time through movement in the bands.
Campus engagement, community engagement, and work that makes a difference
We work hard together to help each other and make an impact at CC. The interpersonal impact (how we work together) is an important part of how we assess performance. The results of the employee's work also matter. We recognize how people affect others at CC and how their work supports the mission and values of the College.
Compensation is an art and a science. When possible, we use data and consistent processes to make decisions that positively affect our community. Compensation decisions require trade-offs and some of the principles in our philosophy may be in tension with one another. There are times when adapting to unique situations require flexibility. When these situations occur, we actively consider equity in our decision making and consider whether our processes need to be changed.
We comply with all legal requirements
This might sound obvious, but it’s an important part of the work we do. Most laws were written to protect our employees, and we strive to honor the spirit and the letter of these laws.