Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.06
Liaison Allie Schwartz
Submission Date April 14, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Columbia University
PA-9: Employee Compensation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.70 / 3.00 Virginia Kaplan
Assistant Vice President
HR
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of employees:
20,776

Number of staff and faculty covered by sustainable compensation standards, guidelines, or policies; and/or collective bargaining agreements:
2,946

Does the institution have employees of contractors working on-site as part of regular and ongoing campus operations?:
No

Number of employees of contractors working on campus:
---

Number of employees of contractors covered by sustainable compensation standards, guidelines, or policies and/or collective bargaining agreements:
---

A brief description of the sustainable compensation standards, guidelines, or policies; and/or collective bargaining agreements covering staff, faculty and/or employees of contractors:

Columbia University in the City of New York maintains collective bargaining agreements with eleven bargaining units. These agreements set forth the wages, terms and conditions of employment, and working conditions of approximately 3,000 support staff.


Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (assessing employee compensation)?:
Yes

Number of staff and faculty that receive sustainable compensation:
20,557

Number of employees of contractors that receive sustainable compensation:
---

A brief description of the standard(s) against which compensation was assessed:

The NYC Living Wage standard was used to assess Columbia's employee compensation. The sustainable compensation standard used in our analysis is a comparison to the NYC Living Wage. For a summary of the Executive Order signed by Mayor de Blasio see http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/459-14/mayor-de-blasio-signs-executive-order-increase-living-wage-expand-it-thousands-more/index.page
Background information:
In September, 2014 Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order expanding New York City’s Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. The Living Wage standard was raised to $13.13 per hour. Based on this living wage standard, over 99% of Columbia University’s employees (including full time, part time and temporary faculty and staff) earn above the NYC living wage standard. Of those who do not, all are part time temporary employees who work minimal hours for the University.

+ Date Revised: June 15, 2015

A brief description of the compensation (wages and benefits) provided to the institution’s lowest paid regular, full-time employees:

Columbia University provides a comprehensive package of benefits designed to allow eligible faculty and staff to create a program suited to their needs and those of their families.


A brief description of the compensation (wages and benefits) provided to the institution’s lowest paid regular, part-time employees:

Columbia University is committed to attracting, encouraging and retaining a highly qualified workforce to support our mission of excellence in education, research and patient care. A world-renowned research university in New York City, Columbia’s success is the result of a diverse workforce coming together to help shape the future. The University offers competitive and fair pay that reflects market trends.


A brief description of the compensation (wages and benefits) provided to the institution’s lowest paid temporary (non-regular) staff:

The sustainable compensation standard used in our analysis is a comparison to the NYC Living Wage. For a summary of the Executive Order signed by Mayor de Blasio, see http://www.1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/459-14/mayor-de-blasio-signs-executive-order-increase-living-wage-expand-it-thousands-more/index.page.


A brief description of the compensation (wages and benefits) provided to the institution’s lowest paid temporary (non-regular, adjunct or contingent) faculty:

Columbia University is committed to attracting, encouraging and retaining a highly qualified workforce to support our mission of excellence in education, research and patient care. A world-renowned research university in New York City, Columbia’s success is the result of a diverse workforce coming together to help shape the future. The University offers competitive and fair pay that reflects market trends.


A brief description of the compensation (wages and benefits) provided to the institution’s lowest paid student employees (graduate and/or undergraduate, as applicable):

Columbia University is committed to attracting, encouraging and retaining a highly qualified workforce to support our mission of excellence in education, research and patient care. A world-renowned research university in New York City, Columbia’s success is the result of a diverse workforce coming together to help shape the future. The University offers competitive and fair pay that reflects market trends.


The local legal minimum hourly wage for regular employees:
8.75 US/Canadian $

Does the institution have an on-site child care facility, partner with a local facility, and/or provide subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of faculty and staff?:
Yes

Does the institution offer a socially responsible investment option for retirement plans?:
Yes

The website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable compensation policies and practices is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

-Employee count includes full time officers and staff, part time casuals, non-student casuals, and temporary employees.
-Local legal minimum hourly wage for regular employees: NYS: $8.00 as of 12/31/2013; increases to $8.75 on 12/31/2014
-On-site child care facilities, continued:
Affiliated Child Care Centers: Columbia University has agreements with nine independently run child care centers. Some are on University property and some are not. Columbia provides financial support to these centers to help support operational costs and financial aid funding in exchange for prioritizing the enrollment of Columbia families.
Backup Care: 100 hours of subsidized backup child care and adult/elder care is available to eligible faculty and staff
Child Care Benefit: For all benefits eligible officers of the University (faculty and staff) who earn less than $115,000 the University will provide $2,000 toward child care expenses (deposited in dependent care FSA) for children under the age of 5
School and Child Care Search Service: free individual consultation to assist parents with finding child care and schooling for their children in and around New York City


-Employee count includes full time officers and staff, part time casuals, non-student casuals, and temporary employees.
-Local legal minimum hourly wage for regular employees: NYS: $8.00 as of 12/31/2013; increases to $8.75 on 12/31/2014
-On-site child care facilities, continued:
Affiliated Child Care Centers: Columbia University has agreements with nine independently run child care centers. Some are on University property and some are not. Columbia provides financial support to these centers to help support operational costs and financial aid funding in exchange for prioritizing the enrollment of Columbia families.
Backup Care: 100 hours of subsidized backup child care and adult/elder care is available to eligible faculty and staff
Child Care Benefit: For all benefits eligible officers of the University (faculty and staff) who earn less than $115,000 the University will provide $2,000 toward child care expenses (deposited in dependent care FSA) for children under the age of 5
School and Child Care Search Service: free individual consultation to assist parents with finding child care and schooling for their children in and around New York City

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.