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The World of Higher Education Podcast Listen now →

Author: Alex Usher

Blue Skies Ahead

Morning everyone. Today is the last blog for a few weeks (though there will be a podcast tomorrow and a Fifteen on Friday). Normal service will resume on September 8th.  For my June send-off, I often paint a pretty solemn “state of PSE” picture. Not gonna lie: 2025-26 has been a bit of a rough year. However, with the exception of British Columbia (sorry guys, you’re pretty much toast), I am pretty sure our sector has already hit bottom in

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June 10, 2026 No Comments

That Was the Quarter That Was, Spring 2026

Q2 isn’t quite over, but since tomorrow is the last blog of the academic year, today is the day to review what’s been happening globally over the last couple of months in a self-imposed 1200-word limit. Buckle up. The story of the quarter – for all of the last six quarters, really – is the ongoing mutilation of the American Science system. Where to start? The firing of the National Science Board? The attempt to limit foreign collaboration in science?

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June 9, 2026 No Comments

Summer Book Report 2026

Hi everyone. Summer’s almost here, so this is the final week before the blog goes on hiatus. And that means, of course, that it’s time for the summer higher education book report! Before getting started on the higher education stuff, y’all seem to like my fiction/non-fiction picks, too. As far as non-fiction goes, I found Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI by Karen Hao to be both excellent and timely. For those needing background reading for

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June 8, 2026 No Comments

“Not Even as a Doorman”: Politics and Universities in Colombia

Colombia is one of the world’s most interesting higher education systems. With a roughly equal mix of public and private provision, it has long had to contend with issues like quality assurance and student assistance. And as a developing country, it’s always needed to balance the desire to expand its higher education system with the many competing demands on public funds. Colombia’s also in the midst of a very contentious election. Last weekend, just after this podcast was recorded, the

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June 4, 2026 No Comments

Re: University and the Change Imperative

It’s hard for universities to do things differently. Although they are evidently capable of being flexible and doing somersaults in an emergency (see: COVID), their collective desire for ongoing change is pretty small. It’s a very conservative industry, where isomorphism rules and the most important question to be asked of any change is “do prestigious institutions do it that way”? One consequence of this is that even when it comes to times where universities are under financial pressure and the

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June 3, 2026 No Comments

One Thought to Start Your Day

One Thought to Start Your Day is our founder and CEO Alex Usher’s popular daily blog, brimming with up-to-the-minute insights and informed opinions on today’s higher education industry.

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