Policy 6: University and Classfied Staff

The president is the appointing authority for the University of Colorado and is responsible and accountable for the operation and management of the state personnel system for the university in accordance with C.R.S. § 24-50-101(3)(d). By resolution of the Board of Regents, and by delegation from the president, the chancellors of the University of Colorado campuses are the appointing authorities for their institutions and the president retains appointing authority for system administration.

The president and chancellors may further delegate all or part of their authority to subordinate administrators within their operational units in accord with the following provisions:

(A) Exercise of the authority to delegate shall be done in such a manner as to protect the employee's right to adequate review by a responsible administrative officer in accordance with requirements as specified by the state personnel board rules and state personnel director's administrative procedures.

(B) Delegation of authority under this provision will be made in writing.

See Regent Policy 2.K.

• Adopted as Policy 6.C:  Delegation of Authority for Classified Staff, February 17, 1977.
• Revised:  June 2, 2004; January 24, 2008.
• Adopted as Policy 6.A:  Delegations of Authority, September 7, 2017.
  -  Sections contained in this policy were previously contained in Regent Policy 6.C.
• Revised:  N/A.
• Last Reviewed:  April 10, 2025.

Classified staff searches must be conducted in accordance with the state personnel rules and applicable law.

All recruitments must be conducted in a timely and professional manner that respects the rights of candidates to confidentiality, to the extent permitted by applicable law, and will be conducted in accordance with procedures defined in administrative policy statements (APSs) and campus or system administration affirmative action plans, as appropriate and in compliance with applicable law.

• Adopted:  November 29, 1979 - Regent Policy 3.F:  Search Committees for the Appointment of Deans and University Administrators.
• Revised:  October 22, 1982; October 18, 1990; June 2, 2004 - Rescinded and reissued as new Regent Policy 3.F:  Search for Other Officers and Exempt Professionals; April 17, 2015 (the term “officer and exempt professional” was replaced with the term “university staff”); April 2, 2020 – Revised and renamed Regent Policy 6.B:  Staff Recruitment; and February 10, 2022 - revised for changes related to the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and made retroactive to January 1, 2021.
• Last Reviewed: April 10, 2025.

To ensure the integrity of the appointment and salary approval process, each appointment at the university must be documented in a letter of offer. Such letters shall include all provisions of employment as required by university policy and state and federal law. Letters should follow a consistent format for each personnel group. The administration may develop and maintain an administrative policy statement (APS) specifying the required format for each personnel group.  Details can be found in APS 5023 – Letters of Offer for University Staff.

(A) Employee-at-will

In accordance with C.R.S. § 24-19-104 university staff shall be employees-at-will in their university staff positions unless expressly provided an employment contract authorized by C.R.S. § 24-19-104(1.5). The appointment is terminable by either the employee or the appointing authority at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice.  The terms and conditions of an appointment shall be set forth in a letter of offer in compliance with state law and university policy.

(B) Term employment contracts and employment extensions

In accordance with C.R.S. §§ 24-19-104(1.5) and 24-19-108(e), each campus and system administration may extend term employment contracts or employment contract extensions of not more than five years that must be approved by the Board of Regents. A term employment contract has an explicit termination date and means that the appointment does not continue after that date unless the Board of Regents approves an extension of the term employment contract.

A term employment contract for a specific term is not a guarantee of a particular position, set of duties, or salary for the term of appointment. The appointing authority may make an administrative reassignment at a salary appropriate for the new position.

All other term employment contracts shall be permitted only as allowed by Colorado statute and subject to approval by appropriate campus officers

• Adopted:  September 7, 2017.
  • Includes policy previously contained in Regent Policy 3.G.A – 3.G.B regarding definitions and conditions of appointment for university staff and Regent Policy 11.A regarding letters of offer.
• Revised:  February 10, 2022 - revised for changes related to the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and made retroactive to January 1, 2021.
• Last Reviewed:  April 10, 2025.

Evaluations shall be based upon the position description and performance planning between the supervisor and individual. Evaluations should provide constructive feedback on the staff’s service.

(A) Classified Staff shall be evaluated annually by the current supervisor and second level reviewer.

(B) The performance management system for classified staff shall be in accordance with the requirements established in Colorado law and the Department of Personnel & Administration (DPA) board rules. The University of Colorado Performance Management Program details the implementation of the DPA rules.

(C) A supervisor accountability provision adopted by the Board of Regents on January 18, 2001, and amended February 24, 2005, specifies sanctions will be applied to supervisors, whether classified staff, faculty, exempt personnel, or officers, who fail to evaluate classified staff annually according to the deadlines outlined in the Performance Management Program.

(A) University staff shall be evaluated on an annual basis.

(B) The supervising authority or appointing authority may conduct evaluations in any form and at any time deemed appropriate for any university staff. Information received or created, except the summary report, as a part of an evaluation shall be placed in the university staff’s personnel file and shall be considered confidential. However, such information shall be available to the individual being evaluated except as such information is a letter of reference, or the individual has waived the right of access. The summary report of the evaluation shall be prepared, shall be available to the public, and shall be placed into the university staff’s personnel file.

(C) In those cases where university staff also hold a regular faculty appointment within a school or college, the administrative and academic appointments will be treated independently.

• Adopted:  September 7, 2017.
  -  Includes policy previously contained in Regent Policy 3.G.D regarding evaluations of university staff and Regent Policy 11.G regarding performance management program for classified staff.
• Revised: N/A.
• Last Reviewed:  April 10, 2025.

(A) Colorado’s Constitution vests the Regents of the University of Colorado with the governance and general supervision of the University of Colorado.  In accordance with regent law (article 6, part A), and in recognition of the staff’s role in the function of the university, the Board of Regents recognizes that staff should participate in shared governance.

(1) The nature of that participation varies according to the nature of the decisions in question. The Board of Regents receives regular updates from the University of Colorado Staff Council (UCSC) as a representative of CU staff members on all campuses and System Administration. Each campus within the University of Colorado system shall recognize a staff shared governance organization that represents staff interests and advises the campus chancellor and the campus administration on issues that pertain to staff interests.

(B) University & Classified Staff, via their participation with UCSC and their campus staff shared governance organizations, shall have the ability to evaluate policies that pertain to staff interests and are asked to participate in the selection and evaluation of university leadership through processes defined in regent policy, system administrative policy statements and campus policies.

(C) UCSC and campus staff shared governance organizations may recommend policies and procedures for consideration by the system and campus administrations. The discussion and review of those recommendations shall be a collaborative effort between UCSC, or the staff shared governance organizations and the appropriate system or campus administrators.

• Adopted: April 10, 2025.
• Revised: N/A.
• Last Reviewed: April 10, 2025.