The University of Colorado’s guiding principles, as articulated by its governing Board of Regents, include a commitment to openness and accountability. While the university discloses its financial, academic, personnel and other data on various CU websites (and has made these records public since the university was founded in 1876), the CU Accountability Data Center site provides a central access point for all the information.

This collection of financial, academic, personnel and other reports and documents has been generated by the University of Colorado for the CU Board of Regents, Colorado Department of Higher Education, the Office of the State Auditor and the public.

For feedback, email accountability@cu.edu

Annual Budget

Tables representing CU’s annual budgeted revenues and expenditures for operations of each CU campus each year. 

The budget includes economic resources for carrying out the primary mission of CU in teaching and research. The budget comprises three basic revenue sources:

  • State Appropriated: Funds that make up the largest portion of the budget. The primary revenue for these funds is student tuition and fees, but also includes state funds.
  • Auxiliary and Self-Funded Activity: This part of the budget comes from revenue generated by services on the campuses, such as athletics, health services, parking and housing and dining. These services are self-funded and their revenue is invested back into their operations.
  • Restricted: Funds restricted by donors or outside agencies for specific purposes, such as research funding and philanthropy.

The budget is presented annually to the CU Board of Regents.

Visit CU Data Made Simple and select "Budget & Capital Assets"

Budget Data Book

Annual report to the Colorado Department of Education that outlines appropriated revenues and expenditures of the CU campuses and system administration. The report shows prior year actuals and current year budgeted revenues and expenditures for education-related university activities that are funded with tuition and state revenues (state appropriated funds). The report does not include restricted funds (designated by donors for a specific purpose) or auxiliary revenues and expenditures (such as athletics and health services) of the university. For total annual revenues and expenditures see Annual Financial Reports.

Visit CU Data Made Simple and select "Budget & Capital Assets"

​State Transparency Online Project

Participation in Colorado’s Transparency Online Project (TOP) system, created by an executive order of the governor in April 2009 and endorsed by the legislature in House Bill 09-1288. Reports revenues and expenditures for state agencies.  

​Cost of Attendance

Reports full-time cost of attendance at each CU campus by degree level, residency and school or college. These tables outline the estimated total cost of attendance to attend CU as a full-time student and include information on the cost of tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other charges. Tuition and fee rates are submitted to the Colorado Department of Higher Education on an annual basis.

Visit CU Data Made Simple and select "Cost of Attendance"

Salary Database

Database of CU employee salaries is updated annually. The information does not include temporary workers, student employees or part-time retirees and reflects a single point in time during the fall term.  The total number of rows should not be interpreted as an employee count. An employee with multiple appointments will be included for each appointment and is uniquely identified by ID. 

CU Salary Database

The database can be filtered by campus and department and sorted by ID, department, job family, job title, campus and salary level.

For more faculty and staff data, visit CU Data Made Simple and select "Faculty & Staff"

​​Annual Financial Report

Reports all the University of Colorado’s financial activities. The report includes the Statement of Net Assets, Statements of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Assets and Statements of Cash Flow. The university audit is contracted by the Office of the State Auditor.

 

 

Higher Learning Commission 

Information relating to campus re-accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.  Institutional accreditation is a process every 10 years whereby an independent outside evaluation team assesses an institution’s academic programs as well as its governance and administration, financial stability, student services, relationships with internal and external constituencies, and other factors. The Higher Learning Commission recently completed a comprehensive evaluation of CU-Boulder (2009-10) and CU Denver|Anschutz Medical Campus (2010-11). Both were re-accredited. The Colorado Springs campus was re-accredited in 2006-07 and will be re-evaluated in 2016-17.

Boulder       Colorado Springs       Denver | Anschutz

Non-tenure Track Faculty Report

Reports the utilization of non-tenure track faculty members, including information on evaluation and promotion, compensation, and professional development.

Teaching Loads

Provides standard teaching loads by school and college at each CU campus for tenured and tenure-track faculty members.  Teaching generally constitutes 40 percent of a faculty member's contract, together with research and/or creative work (40 percent) and service to the university and profession (20 percent).  In the spring of 2001, the campuses provided the Board of Regents with a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations from the 1999 ad hoc committee on non-tenure track faculty (NTTF). In subsequent years, the campuses provided updates on that progress and agreed that they would continue to submit biennial reports. 

Academic Rigor

Includes information on course grade distributions, student performance on general education tests and licensure exams, and results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).  The report is submitted to the CU Board of Regents every three years, consistent with the general education testing schedule required Voluntary System of Accountability.

Faculty Course Questionnaires

Student evaluations of courses and instructors, provided in a searchable format. Regent Policy 4.B requires that faculty course evaluations be conducted for all courses and course sections. The purposes are (1) to provide students with an evaluation of the course and the faculty member, based on students’ assessments; and (2) to support the faculty evaluation process and faculty rewards system. Each campus establishes a committee to oversee the design, implementation and information distribution process of the Faculty Course Evaluation. The committee includes students and faculty members. The results of the faculty course evaluations are sent to individual instructors for use in improving their courses and teaching, and to department chairs and deans for use in course assignments and in promotion, salary and tenure decisions. Results are also made available to students for use in course selection.  

Boulder       Colorado Springs       Denver | Anschutz

Student and Faculty/Staff Diversity

Reports on enrollment, retention and graduation of students of color.  The report also includes data on enrollment of Pell recipients and of students from various Colorado regions, as well as information on faculty and staff diversity.

Sponsored Research

A summary of sponsored research activity by the four CU campuses.

Visit CU Data Made Simple and select "Sponsored Research"

Campus Sponsored Research Annual Reports

Detailed data on research awards and expenditures at CU campuses.    

Boulder       Colorado Springs       Denver | Anschutz

​Voluntary System of Accountability

Basic, comparative information about public colleges and universities, including information on admissions, cost of attendance, student experiences, and student success. The Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) is an initiative by public four-year higher ed institutions to supply basic, comparative information on the undergraduate student experience through a common web report – the College Portrait. The objectives of the VSA are to:

  • Provide a useful tool for students during the college search process.
  • Assemble and disseminate information that is transparent, comparable and understandable.
  • Demonstrate accountability and stewardship to the public.
  • Support institutions in the measurement of educational outcomes and facilitate the identification and implementation of effective practices as part of institutional improvement efforts.

To participate in the VSA, institutions must agree to collect a wide range of data and share information via the College Portrait website. The participation agreement also includes a timeline for collecting and reporting information.

Boulder       Colorado Springs       Denver | Anschutz

Sustainability

CU has a longstanding commitment to fostering sustainability systemwide as well as leading the state in such efforts. More than a decade ago, the CU Board of Regents passed a Sustainability Resolution directing the university president and chancellors to incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in construction projects wherever possible; develop comprehensive plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and incorporate the mandates of the Governor's Climate Action Plan into each campus' efforts to attain climate neutrality.

Go to cu.edu/2021-sustainability.

CU Employment Totals

Faculty and staff headcount for the CU campuses and system administration, based on information submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.   

Visit CU Data Made Simple and select "Faculty & Staff"