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Category: Blogs

What We Do and Why We Do It

After fifteen years of writing this blog, I pause and look back every now and then at those first posts. Back then, it was just me writing about a sector I had already spent much of my career working in, sharing whatever I thought might help people stay informed, provoked, or at least amused before their first coffee of the day. Over time, I have come to realise that a surprising number of people assume my job is simply writing

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November 24, 2025 1 Comment

Focus Friday: November 21

Hi everyone, Tiffany here. A quick reminder that Focus Friday is happening today (November 21) from 12:30-1:30pm Eastern, and we’re taking on one of your most requested topics: AI readiness. I’ll be joined by Stephanie Enders, Chief Delivery Officer at Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), who has been leading national conversations on applied AI, workforce development, and what it really takes for institutions and communities to adopt AI responsibly and effectively. Together, we’ll look at how AI is being implemented on the ground:

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November 21, 2025 No Comments

A Global Observatory for Higher Education Change: What We’re Learning

As you know, this show is dedicated to a global perspective on higher education; one that tries to encompass the entire globe. But covering the entire planet is difficult. There are a lot of countries out there, and there are very few trends which are truly universal. That means you need to track lots of developments and policies that are overlapping, complicated and contradictory — and that’s hard! I know — I’ve been writing our World Higher Education, Year in Review publication (out on

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November 20, 2025 No Comments

Letter from China

A quick reminder before we get to our regularly scheduled programming: Last week, I told you about the National Defence Research Roundtable HESA is hosting on December 15 in Ottawa. Some of you missed the expression of interest window, so we’re reopening the form until 12pm on Thursday. You can expect to hear from us about registration later this week.  I just spent the last week visiting China. It’s been a trip in more ways than one. My first couple

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November 19, 2025 No Comments

Profit, Education, and Student Grants

One of the less-noticed measures in the November 4 budget had to do with restrictions on student loans. Specifically, it was about banning students attending for-profit institutions from accessing grants provided by the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program (CSFAP). Today, I want to examine the rationale behind this move and its likely effects. But first, some history. CSFAP did not always have a big investment in grants. In fact, it had none at all for the first thirty years of its

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November 18, 2025 1 Comment

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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