Budget Office Announcements

November 14, 2022 – Salary Increases

We are pleased to share that CU Denver will be implementing salary increases effective January 1, 2023. In the April 7, 2022 meeting, the CU Board of Regents approved a compensation plan that includes a 3% merit pool for faculty and non-classified staff.

For additional information on the January 2023 Compensation please visit the FAQ webpage here.

October 3, 2022 – One-time payments

Dear Faculty and Staff,

During this unprecedented period of inflation in our country, the University of Colorado system is planning to provide one-time payments to eligible CU Denver employees (and other campuses as well) as a goodwill gesture to help offset rising costs. At CU Denver, eligible employees will receive one-time, non-base-building payments, outlined below, in their Oct. 31 checks. This payment is in addition to the 3% merit pool, available Jan. 1, 2023, for eligible employees as part of the 2021-2022 evaluation cycle.

At CU Denver, where one of the strategic goals is to become a people-centered best place to work, we decided to stretch the onetime funding provided by the CU system so that as many people as possible would be eligible to receive a payment.

To qualify, an individual must have been actively employed at CU Denver as of Sept. 1, 2022, and the payment is taxable just like regular pay.

The following will receive a $1,000 payment:

• Regular faculty (including instructional faculty)
• Research faculty
• Clinical faculty
• Instructors
• University staff
• Classified staff

In addition, we recognize the value that lecturers bring to the CU Denver campus. We have opted to extend a $500 payment to actively employed lecturers as well.

Unfortunately, because of the limited funding, graduate students, hourly employees, student hourly employees, and temporary staff are not eligible.

Dual-campus employees should follow their reporting structure and speak to their supervisors to determine if they are eligible for CU Denver’s payment.

We are appreciative of the CU system’s ability to provide this additional funding for our faculty and staff, especially during this current economic climate. In the months ahead, we will share information about our broader compensation strategy/review and look forward to our community’s engagement in this process. If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to your department’s HR business partner.


Best,  

teri engelke
Assistant Vice Chancellor of Human Resources

May 1, 2022 - New Hire

Please let’s welcome the new Budget Analyst Cybelle Richeson. Cybelle has been a part of the Budget Office for the past two years and has worked as student employee. We believe that Cybelle would be an indispensable addition to the Denver Budget team.

November 5, 2021 - Compensation Increases Approved

Per the email communications from President Saliman and Chancellor Marks, we are pleased to share that CU Denver will be implementing salary increases beginning in January 2022. The CU Board of Regents has approved a compensation plan that includes an across-the-board 3% base-building salary increase and a one-time payment equal to 1% of an employee’s annual salary for all eligible faculty and university staff.

The 3% base-building salary increase will be applied across the board effective Jan. 1, 2022. The 1% one-time payment will be made in the January 2021 paychecks. More details regarding eligibility and parameters can be found on our FAQ page. Some additional actions we will take include:

• Providing a 3% increase for lecturers, along with additional investment in graduate student support.
• Increasing our hourly market minimum wage to $15.87, effective on Jan. 1, 2022

September 17, 2021 – Budget Office Changes and Welcomes

The Denver Budget Office has some staffing changes and new hires!

Cipriana Patterson has been hired as CU Denver’s new Senior Budget Director. Cipriana joins us from MSU-Denver, where she spent the last 12 years, most recently as their Budget Director. She will be overseeing the operational side of the Denver campus budget, helping with Regent deliverables, working with the budget model, and overall helping keep us on track. Susan and her team of analysts will be reporting to Cipriana. We are so excited to have her join our team and bring her wealth of experience!

Susan Nasher has been promoted to Budget Manager. In addition to leading our analysts and student workers in the daily budget functions, she is our campus lead for all things Axiom. She has done an amazing job of getting this software operational for our complex organization, and I am sure that you all can attest to the quality of the training that she has provided across the campus. 

Gantulga (Tuga) Sumiya joined the team as a Senior Budget Analyst back in August.  He joined us from the department of anesthesiology in the School of Medicine at CU Anschutz.  He has strong experience in data, queries, optimization, and reporting, and along with traditional budget analyst responsibilities will be helping build out reports in Axiom.

Emma Smith is rejoining the CU Denver budget team.  She is working part-time as a Senior Budget Analyst and given her experience working with us in the past along with her keen analytical skills, a part-time Emma is worth more than most full-time analysts!

David Doig has been promoted to Director of Fiscal Analysis & Decision Support. David will continue to spearhead the Decision Support Toolkit that is available for Denver Schools and Colleges to make data informed decisions for their units while working on continuing to manage the tableau dashboards and increase the use across campus.

March 15, 2021 - Axiom Budget and Labor Planning System

February 4, 2021 - CU Denver Furlough Update

Entering Spring Semester with Cautious Optimism, Positive Outlook

Considering the immense challenges created by COVID-19, we continue to see improvements in our current year budget—tuition revenue is tracking higher than projections and expenditures have remained within budget. Because of these factors, and with the passage of the second federal stimulus package, we are able to announce that effective March 1, 2021, we will be lifting faculty and staff furloughs along with taking a more relaxed approach to the hiring chill to fill mission-critical and strategic positions  (please see FAQs below for more information).

While we are able to lift faculty and staff furloughs in the current fiscal year, we must continue preparing for future budget constraints due to ongoing challenges created by COVID-19. Determining the budget for FY 2021-22 is a process that will occur over the next few months, and we will continue to evaluate our position, including enrollments, state funding, and a host of other factors that impact our resources. We will continue to move forward using a transparent process with shared decision-making responsibility and commitment to the university’s fiscal health. 

Please check this webpage for the latest updates on the CU Denver Budget.

FAQs

Why are we lifting furloughs on March 1, 2021?

We have outperformed budget projections in ways that inspire confidence in our outlook. Better-than-anticipated revenue from tuition, coupled with savings achieved through numerous temporary savings (including eight months of furloughs), and ongoing budget reductions, means that we have enough stability in the current year budget to lift furloughs. Still, we all know the unpredictability of COVID-19 impacts, so we must be cautiously optimistic. Despite our proactive planning, we are not immune to the economic and financial strains of the pandemic.

When will I see my previous salary restored?

Employees that are currently subject to the CU Denver Graduated Furlough Plan will have their pre-furlough salary restored in the March paycheck (issued March 31). The February paycheck (issued Feb. 26) will be the last one with a furlough reduction.

How are employees earning an annual salary under $60,000 impacted by this decision?

Classified staff cannot be mandatorily furloughed without action from the governor and/or legislature, which did not occur. Furthermore, University Staff or Faculty with annual salaries under $60,000 were not impacted by the previously announced furloughs, these categories of employees will continue to earn their regular salaries.

Will I receive backpay for the period that the furlough was in effect?

No. The shared sacrifice was necessary during this extraordinary time and enabled the university to remain on solid financial footing.

Where can I get more information on furloughs and what lifting the furloughs means to me?

Please check the CU Denver HR furlough webpage for the latest information or you can contact your unit Human Resources Business Partner.

Does lifting furloughs now mean we won’t have furloughs in the future?

At this time, we don’t plan to implement furloughs in Fiscal Year 2021-22, but we can’t guarantee this. CU Denver’s furlough plan demonstrates the shared sacrifices approach we took to addressing the largest financial challenge in the history of the university. While we are pleased to be lifting furloughs before the end of the year, we must be prepared to address changing financial conditions and need to have all tools at our disposal.

What does relaxing the hiring chill mean?

We will be more flexible with filling open positions but will continue to follow the mission-critical hiring process. This approach will allow units to address critical needs within existing budgets while remaining financially prudent and adhering to current processes. For more information, please see the following link: https://www.ucdenver.edu/offices/human-resources/Required-Mission-Critical-Protocol-for-temporary-hiring-Hiatus

We received more federal funds, how much did we receive and how can we use the funds?

CU Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus is projected to receive approximately $19.4 million in one-time funding – with a minimum of $5 million of these funds earmarked for student financial aid – via the most recent CARES Act signed into law in December. We are awaiting information from the U.S. Department of Education on the flexibility for use of these funds, and will keep the campus updated on any developments.

Is every University of Colorado campus making the same budget decisions?

While we are one system, each campus has unique revenue and funding models that impact their finances. We are proud of the forward-looking, proactive measures that we implemented early on in the pandemic to help ensure our viability today.

October 9, 2020 - CU Denver Budget Update