MASHEIN

Management of Small Higher Education Institutions Network

MASHEIN was established in 2000 and has been funded by the Leadership Foundation since 2005. MASHEIN is a network of 39 small institutions in the UK providing development and training events on a national level, specifically focused on the needs of small higher education institutions. Such institutions make a distinctive contribution to the diversity of the sector. We define 'small' as institutions with fewer than 3000 f.t.e. higher education students, and fewer than 4000 f.t.e. students overall.

Small institutions share several key characteristics which we use to inform the development of MASHEIN’s programmes:

• staff often have multiple roles and typically take on strategic responsibilities earlier in their careers than might be expected in a larger institution
• senior managers and leaders retain a significant portfolio of operational responsibilities in addition to their strategic responsibilities
• smaller resource bases mean that it is essential that staff have the appropriate leadership and management skills to facilitate the flexibility and adaptability of the institution
• small institutions are frequently specialist which can enhance their ability to focus strategy at the institutional level
• small institutions share common developmental issues which may be of less relevance to the rest of the higher education sector

The MASHEIN programme supports institutions in the areas of succession planning, change management, and responding to sector developments and has
the merit of understanding scale and issues as they affect institutions with different sizes

The programme has three strands:

• Leadership Development Programme
• Key Issues Awareness Programme
• Mentoring/Shadowing Programme

A list of forthcoming MASHEIN events is available and further details may be found under the relevant strand listed above.

To find out more about the work of MASHEIN please contact:
Rebecca Bull, MASHEIN Project Manager