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The World of Higher Education

Higher Education Strategy Associates
Higher Education
Canada
International Students
Academic Freedom
Student Protests
University Of the People
United States
Higher Education Funding
Tuition-Free Education
Accreditation
Institutional Research
Private Higher Education
Shai Reshef
Education Funding
Argentina
Taiwanese Higher Education
EU Students
Serbia
Corruption
Mexican Higher Education

The World of Higher Education is dedicated to exploring developments in higher education from a global perspective. Join host, Alex Usher of Higher Education Strategy Associates, as he speaks with new guests each week from different countries discussing developments in their regions. Produced by Tiffany MacLennan and Samantha Pufek.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes129Founded4 years ago
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Education

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Artwork for The World of Higher Education

Latest Episodes

Host Alex Usher speaks with Katherine Isaacs, a former professor of history at the University of Pisa and former vice chair of the Bologna Follow-Up Group of the European Higher Education Area, about Italy’s higher education system, its distinctive c... more

Host Alex Usher speaks with Roger Smyth, a tertiary education consultant and former senior official at New Zealand’s Ministry of Education, about the country’s recent higher education policy changes and what the upcoming election could mean for the s... more

Host Alex Usher speaks with Jan-Martin Wiarda, one of Germany’s leading education journalists and bloggers, about the rise of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and what its growing political influence could mean for German higher education.

They... more

Host Alex Usher speaks with novelist, Randy Boyagoda, about his new novel, Lords of Serendipity.

They discuss what distinguishes Boyagoda’s novel from the traditional campus fiction genre, including its focus on multiple universities, international ... more

Host Alex Usher speaks with Alma Maldonado-Maldonado, an education researcher at CINESTAV and a member of the independent commission that investigated UNAM’s 2026 entrance exam, about the cheating scandal that followed the university’s first fully on... more

Host Alex Usher speaks with William Whyte, professor of social and architectural history at Oxford and author of The University: A History in Stone, Silk, and Blood, about the material history of the university.

Rather than tracing the institution c... more

Host Alex Usher speaks with Brendan Cantwell, co-author of The Post-Liberal University: Governance, Leadership, and Partisanship in Higher Education, about the changing political landscape of American higher education.

They explore the shift from th... more

Host Tiffany MacLennan speaks with Alex Usher for a mid-year review of the major trends shaping higher education around the world in 2026. Revisiting themes from HESA’s World of Higher Education Year in Review report, Usher reflects on the growing in... more

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Recent Guests

Katherine Isaacs
Former University of Pisa history professor and former vice chair of the Bologna Follow-Up Group
University of Pisa
Episode: Inside Italian Higher Education: Excellence, Affordability and Change
Roger Smyth
Tertiary education consultant and former top official at the New Zealand Ministry of Higher Education
Independent consultant
Episode: New Zealand’s Higher Education Crossroads
Jan-Martin Wiarda
Germany's most influential educational journalist and blogger
Wiarda Blog
Episode: The AfD and German Higher Education
Randy Boyagoda
Author of Lords of Serendipity; professor and administrator at University of Toronto
University of Toronto
Episode: Lords of Serendipity
Alma Maldonado-Maldonado
Education researcher at Cinestav; externally appointed UNAM commission member
Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinestav)
Episode: Responding to Online Entrance Exam Cheating at UNAM
William Whyte
Professor of social and architectural history at Oxford, author of The University, History in Stone, Silk and Blood
University of Oxford
Episode: The University: A History in Stone, Silk, and Blood
Brendan Cantwell
Michigan State Professor of Higher Education, co-author of The Postliberal University
Michigan State University, co-author of The Postliberal University
Episode: The Postliberal University
Alex Usher
Analyst on global higher education; founder of Higher Education Strategy Associates
Higher Education Strategy Associates
Episode: The Half-Time Show: Six Months of Global Higher Education
Javier Botero
Former Vice Minister of Higher Education in Colombia
Colombia government (former)
Episode: “Not Even as a Doorman”: Politics and Universities in Colombia

Host

Alex Usher
Host focusing on global higher education developments and policy analysis; co-founder of Higher Education Strategy Associates

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Inside Italian Higher Education: Excellence, Affordability and Change
Q: Do young people in Italy still see higher education as a real paying proposition, and do low rates of return affect participation?
Isaacs says employment data vary by measurement and region. Graduates from northern and central universities generally do well, while southern graduates face weaker local opportunities. Many skilled young people seek higher salaries abroad, but most still see university as a path forward.
Inside Italian Higher Education: Excellence, Affordability and Change
Q: How is the Italian higher education system structured, and how does it differ from systems elsewhere in Europe?
It includes public and private universities, online universities, arts and music institutions, and vocational programs. Italian universities follow the Bologna framework's three degree cycles and European quality assurance standards, while retaining deep historical roots and a strong research focus.
New Zealand’s Higher Education Crossroads
Q: What are the main issues in the upcoming election and how might they affect higher education?
The discussion highlights debt policy as a central battleground, with parties proposing expensive reforms to graduate debt and repayment terms, while maintaining a focus on national competitiveness and the role of international students in funding, implying limited long-term reform to core tertiary structures.
New Zealand’s Higher Education Crossroads
Q: Back then, you predicted incremental rather than radical change. Were you right?
The reviewer notes that the predicted incremental change largely held, with some shifts in funding approaches and governance, but the core architecture remained centralized and largely unchanged in overall direction.
Lords of Serendipity
Q: Is this book really about American higher education or Western/global higher education more broadly?
It's about Western higher education with a global perspective, recognizing how U.S. institutions influence and reflect broader patterns across the Anglosphere and beyond.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About The World of Higher Education

What is The World of Higher Education about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show surveys higher education developments around the world through executive-level analysis and on-the-ground observations. Across recent episodes, discussions consistently center on funding shifts, governance changes, policy reforms, and the impact of politics on universities, with recurring attention to student mobility, AI and technology in higher education, and the evolving role of public and private institutions in various regions. Guests range from policymakers and university leaders to policy researchers, offering practical takes on reform, funding decisions, and governance. A notable strength is the mix of global case studies (from the United States, Europe, Asia, and beyond) blended with long-running investigations into how p... more

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Which podcasts are similar to The World of Higher Education?

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1. College Matters from The Chronicle
2. Future U Podcast - The Pulse of Higher Ed
3. The Ezra Klein Show
4. Planet Money
5. Hard Fork

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The World of Higher Education launched 4 years ago and published 129 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on The World of Higher Education?

Recent guests on The World of Higher Education include:

1. Katherine Isaacs
2. Roger Smyth
3. Jan-Martin Wiarda
4. Randy Boyagoda
5. Alma Maldonado-Maldonado
6. William Whyte
7. Brendan Cantwell
8. Alex Usher

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