Flying high in Academe

The first MBA in higher education management began this week

In the old days the words "university" and "management" were rarely mentioned in the same breath. But, today, with the new emphasis on universities as businesses and the importance of higher education to the global economy, university administrators are thought to be in need of some training in management. That is why a new two-year programme has been launched this year at the Institute of Education, London University, for high-flyers in university administration. The first MBA in higher education management, it aims to nurture the vice chancellors of the future to ensure that universities are well-run institutions and that those in charge are abreast of the latest thinking in a ferociously competitive marketplace.

"As universities get bigger so the problems get bigger and we need more professionals thinking through how to tackle them," says Professor Michael Shattock, the former registrar at Warwick University and a key figure behind the new programme. "I don't think a lot of institutions are well managed. We need people who will talk to one another about how you manage." It is envisaged that the new MBA will work rather like a staff college. There are 24 in the first group. The same number will be enrolled next year so that at any one time 48 middle managers will be going through the course.

Based broadly on the Warwick MBA, the programme contains six modules, which are being studied over six individual weeks, three in the first year and three in the second year. The content includes compulsory courses in strategy, finance, the management of teaching and research and marketing. In addition, there are some optional courses in such things as new technology and academic freedom.

The first group contained ambitious young people from universities around the UK as well as William Locke, a policy adviser at Universities UK, the umbrella body for higher education. One of the best things about it, according to Mr Locke, was the feeling that he would be part of a network of university administrators trained in management.

"It's been very stimulating," said Gail Turner, planning officer at Royal Holloway London. "It's given us time to stop and reflect on what other people do."

Two-thirds of the students are women, and the MBA costs £5,250 over two years.

l.hodges@independent.co.uk