The Integrated Planning and Resource Management (IPRM) system implemented at Wilfrid Laurier University this year has caused concern among many staff and faculty about how this new budgeting system will effect the school, and more specifically, the arts faculty.
One of the more significant problems with the new planning system is the tension that has risen between faculty and administration.
This seems to have revealed some lingering hostility between administration and the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) after last year’s labour negotiations. Consequently, the system has apparently become more about asserting dominance than protecting the interests of students.
While the IPRM can become increasingly intricate for students to follow, it is necessary for students to become informed on a process that will ultimately impact them and their future alma mater.
The IPRM process however, has taken a positive step to ensure both fairness and a concern for students. On Monday night the IPRM committee voted to elect two-thirds of its members rather than the 50 per cent that was previously elected.
This ensures that the community is fairly represented and can prioritize the greatest area of need for the university together.
The only way the IPRM, or any planning process for that matter, will be successful is if both parties cooperate and are prepared to make serious decisions about the future of Laurier.
With almost every other corporation making cutbacks, it is expected that the university will eventually be forced to do the same.
For these reasons, it is integral that the administration and faculty can work together, leave emotions to ensure the right decisions are made.
—The Cord Editorial Board