Frequently Asked Questions

Founded in 1946, the College & University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) serves more than 14,000 higher education HR leaders at over 1,800 institutions, as well as others interested in the advancement of human resources in higher education. Committed to promoting the effective management and development of human resources in higher education, CUPA-HR offers many professional development opportunities.

Visit our About Us page to learn more about CUPA-HR.

Our member benefits include:

• access to best practices, compliance information, member listservs and other vital resources in the online CUPA-HR Knowledge Center;
• networking opportunities in the CUPA-HR Community;
• discounts on training seminars, conferences, HR books and videos;
• complimentary salary survey and discounts on other surveys;
• up-to-the-minute information on public policy and government affairs; and
• a subscription to The Higher Education Workplace.

Visit our Benefits of Membership page to learn more about valuable membership benefits.

CUPA-HR is the national authority on compensation surveys for higher education HR professionals. CUPA-HR publishes four annual salary surveys: the Administrative Compensation Survey, the Mid-Level Administrative and Professional Salary Survey, the National Faculty Salary Survey for Four-Year Institutions, the Community College Faculty Salary Survey, and the Executive Total Compensation Survey. Also published each year is the Comprehensive Survey of College and University Benefits Programs and the HR Benchmarking and Workforce Planning Survey.

Visit our Surveys page to learn more about each survey.

CUPA-HR offers a variety of memberships to serve human resource professionals working in higher education, as well as others interested in the advancement and promotion of the higher education human resource profession. Membership in CUPA-HR is largely institutional-based, meaning that membership benefits belong to a particular college or university, not an individual. Institutional Members make up about 90 percent of CUPA-HR’s total membership. Affiliate organization, international institution, corporate, other-industry HR professional, retiree, transitional, and student memberships are also available.

Visit our Types of Membership page for more information on types of CUPA-HR memberships.

Membership dues are determined by your institution’s total operating budget. View the current CUPA-HR dues schedule.

The membership year is July 1 through June 30.

Within 7-10 business days you will receive your New Member packet. The packet contains a welcome letter from our president and chief executive officer; a user ID and password to access the CUPA-HR Knowledge Center; the latest issue of The Higher Education Workplace; and information on various upcoming association events.

A key representative (key rep) is the person designated as the point-of-contact with CUPA-HR for Institutional, Corporate, Affiliate and International Institutional memberships. The key rep’s duties include disseminating CUPA-HR membership benefits on campus, receiving and coordinating payment of the institution’s annual dues invoice statement and selecting the complimentary survey each year. The key rep is also included on the distribution list for receiving the free survey report. If you do not know your key rep, please contact our Member Service Team toll free at 877-CUPA-HR4 (877-287-2474) or via e-mail at memberservice@cupahr.org.

User IDs and passwords are available to all CUPA-HR members. You should receive your user ID and password via e-mail shortly after your dues payment is processed. If you do not receive a user ID and password, contact memberservice@cupahr.org or call toll free 877-CUPA-HR4 (877-287-2474).

We know this is confusing! The different credentials allow access to different functions on our website. Please use the following descriptions to help determine which set to use:

• Personal Credentials allow CUPA-HR members to access their personal profile pages, the Community, the Knowledge Center and member directory. Customers also use personal credentials to make purchases in the CUPA-HR online bookstore, order survey results and register for CUPA-HR events online.
• Survey Credentials allow survey participants to log into Surveys Online and complete participation forms. Customers with access to survey results also use survey credentials to view or download survey reports. Please note: because survey results are ordered through the CUPA-HR website, use your personal credentials to place a survey order!
• Dues Credentials allow members or potential members to pay organizational dues. Typically the Key Representative is the only person with access to dues credentials.

The four CUPA-HR regions are named: Eastern, Midwest, Western and Southern. Each of CUPA-HR’s four regions has a board of directors. Visit our Regions and Chapters main page to find listing of region leaders. In addition, each region hosts its own Web site providing information about its career development programs and general region information. To access a region’s Web site from the CUPA-HR home page, highlight the Membership menu item, click on Regions and Chapters, then select the region on the map.

Affiliated CUPA-HR chapters provide various educational programs on the state or local level to encourage members to engage in networking and career development opportunities. Meeting schedules vary with each chapter. Membership at the national and regional levels of CUPA-HR is separate from a chapter membership. Each chapter charges its own membership fee.

Visit our Regions and Chapters main page to locate the chapter nearest to you and find a listing of chapter leaders.

Visit our Board of Directors page for a listing of CUPA-HR Board of Directors.

Visit our National Office Staff Directory for a listing of National Office staff members.

Contact the CUPA-HR Member Service Team toll free at 877-CUPA-HR4 (877-287-2474) or e-mail memberservice@cupahr.org.