‘Matrix’ will become key to planning

By Amy Geiszler-Jones

When it comes to accountability and determining WSU’s future, those in the WSU community will hear a lot of references to "the matrix."

It’s not a reference to the recent sci-fi movie by the same name — it’s the reality of WSU’s present and future.

President Beggs talked more about the WSU matrix during an address to the university community Aug. 23.

The WSU matrix, which looks similar to a Rubik’s cube, is Beggs’ way of organizing how WSU should be performing and planning.

He unveiled the WSU matrix at his inaugural speech in May.

Components of the matrix are this:

• Constituents — faculty, staff, students, and alumni and community

• Values, which are a reflection of what the university sees as important, — recruitment; retention, support activities, teaching, research, and promoting excellence

• Plans – developing goals and action plans, and evaluating and making decisions based on how well the university functions when it serves its constituents.

Beggs is asking that all elements of the university determine where they are spending money, based on this model. He calls this "completing the face of the matrix." It’s his way of saying budget officers need to fill in the blank spaces of the model with dollar amounts and explain how they serve the university’s four constituencies.

"Everything we do should fit into one of those cells," he said.

Beggs said knowing where WSU is spending its money will help in determining WSU’s future.

"We need to financially support the things we say are important," he said.

After the face of the matrix is completed this fall, the results will be reviewed this spring.

Using the matrix as a planning tool is a new concept for Beggs, who came to WSU in January after a two-year stint as chancellor at Southern Illinois University. His "exposure" to entrepreneurs and other business planners in Wichita, including the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce, led him to develop the WSU matrix, he said.

During his speech, Beggs said there are five priorities for WSU: staying competitive with salaries for faculty and unclassified staff; getting extra resources for the library; technology and equipment; revising the general education curriculum and facing fiscal planning issues.

Beggs also noted that he was pleased the Kansas Legislature approved tuition equity adjustment for WSU, which previously was only given to the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. Because of the adjustment, WSU will see an increase in its state budget equal to 25 percent of the revenue generated from the tuition rate increase.