Advertise on podcast: The World of Higher Education

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 students, and the global higher education system. The conversation explores the pressures and incentives that shape universities, from international tuition and admissions to the ways students, professors, and administrators can become caught in systems of competition, ambition, and financial pressure. The episode also considers the moral compromises that can emerge within higher education, and what fiction can reveal about the people and institutions navigating those pressures. 👉 Episode Links: Lords of Serendipity by Randy Boyagoda

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 online undergraduate admissions test. They discuss how unusual patterns in the exam results raised concerns about widespread cheating, the various ways students may have circumvented the online testing system, and the challenges of determining individual responsibility when the integrity of the exam as a whole has been called into question. Alma Maldonado-Maldonado also explains the commission’s recommendation for a partial retest, the protests and consequences that followed, and what the episode reveals about the challenges universities face as admissions testing moves online.

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 chronologically, Whyte examines universities through the materials that have shaped them, from the stone buildings that anchored medieval universities to the concrete campuses of the postwar era and the silicon of today’s digital age. They discuss why universities became landowners, how physical spaces shaped institutional power and identity, and the complex relationship between universities, their communities, and the state. The conversation also considers what the university’s material history can tell us about its future: as technology makes online education increasingly possible, do universities still need campuses and face-to-face communities? 👉 Episode Links: The University: A History in Stone, Silk, and Blood, by William Whyte: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674495180Focus Friday Sept 18 | Student Experience This Year: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/dal5wpbRQ4aeCbC68WW9mA#/registration

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 the postwar “liberal accord” to the neoliberal model of recent decades, and Cantwell’s argument that American higher education is now entering a post-liberal era in which partisan priorities are playing a much greater role in university governance. The conversation examines growing political intervention in universities, the erosion of institutional autonomy and academic freedom, whether the trend is uniquely American or reflects broader approaches to the role of government in higher education, and what university leaders and governing boards can do to navigate this new environment. 👉 Episode Links: The Postliberal University: Governance, Leadership, and Partisanship in Higher Education by Barrett J. Taylor and Brendan CantwellFocus Friday: Sign up to the One Thought to Start Your Day newsletter

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 influence of political interference, financial pressures, artificial intelligence, and shifting global centres of research and innovation. The conversation explores funding crises in countries including the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Kenya, the rise of private universities in emerging economies, and the challenges facing Canadian institutions as they adapt to declining international student revenues. Usher also offers his predictions for the months ahead and highlights the stories higher education watchers should be following as the new academic year approaches. 👉 Episode Links: The World of Higher Education — Year in Review 2025: Read the free report

Host Alex Usher speaks with Javier Botero about the state of higher education in Colombia as the country heads into a pivotal presidential election. They explore the legacy of President Gustavo Petro, whose government has significantly increased public funding for higher education while continuing to face criticism over institutional finances, funding mechanisms, and its often-tense relationship with private universities.  The conversation examines ongoing debates around university funding, student admissions, and the role of the private sector, as well as the unusual political and legal dispute surrounding the leadership of the National University of Colombia.  Botero also reflects on the strengths and shortcomings of Petro's higher education agenda and considers what may lie ahead under Colombia's next government, including how different election outcomes could reshape the balance between public and private provision in the country's higher education system.  👉 Episode Links: Focus Friday | June 5, 2026: Community Chat. Register for Free

Host Alex Usher speaks with Gerard Postiglione, one of the leading experts on Chinese higher education, about the dramatic transformation of China’s university system over the past half-century. Drawing on his new book, Higher Education in China, Postiglione reflects on the country’s rise from the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution to becoming a global higher education and research powerhouse. The conversation explores the evolution of the Gaokao, the push for world-class universities, Hong Kong’s changing role within China’s higher education landscape, and the challenges China faces around skills, equity, governance, and artificial intelligence.  👉 Episode Links: Higher Education in China: Domestic Demands and Global Aspirations by Gerard A. PostiglioneWorldEd S4 E8: Inside the Gaokao: China’s Defining Test with Ruixue JiaFocus Friday: Sign up to the One Thought to Start Your Day newsletter

Host Alex Usher speaks with Marcel Levi, President of the Dutch Research Council and chair of the Netherlands’ Knowledge Coalition, about how the country built one of the world’s most collaborative and knowledge-intensive research ecosystems. Levi explains the origins of the Knowledge Coalition — an alliance of universities, research organizations, employers, and scientific institutions — and how it evolved from a government advisory body into a unified political voice defending research and higher education during recent funding cuts and populist attacks on universities. The conversation explores the Netherlands’ culture of institutional collaboration, the role of public advocacy in shifting political opinion, and how coordinated investments in interdisciplinary research, European partnerships, and innovation policy are shaping the future of Dutch and European science.  👉 Episode Links: S3 E6: Dutch Higher Education at a Crossroads with Marijk van der WendeDutch Research CouncilThe Knowledge CoalitionFocus Friday May 22, 2026: Register for Free

Host Alex Usher speaks with Christine Wach, Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement at IDP Education, about the evolution of international student mobility and the shifting global higher education market. Wach traces IDP’s origins as an Australian government and university initiative, its transformation into a multinational education services company, and the development of IELTS and other major business lines. The conversation explores the post-pandemic surge and subsequent slowdown in international student flows across Anglophone countries, the growing importance of migration pathways and employability in student decision-making, and the emergence of new destination markets beyond the traditional “Big Four.” They also discuss AI’s impact on student recruitment, the challenges of sustainable growth, and how institutions and governments may need to rethink international education strategies in an increasingly competitive and uncertain environment. 👉 Episode Links: IDP EducationFocus Friday — Sign up for the One Thought to Start Your Day Blog

Host Alex Usher speaks with James Waghorne, University Historian at the University of Melbourne and co-editor (with Ross Jones and Marcia Langton) of Dhoombak Goobgoowana, a two-volume work examining Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne. Waghorne discusses how the project approaches colonial history through case studies of race science, anthropology, and the harvesting of Indigenous human remains, situating the university within broader systems of Western scientific knowledge and settler colonialism. The conversation also explores the University of Melbourne’s reconciliation efforts, including Indigenous knowledge in the curriculum, collaborative research partnerships, Indigenous astronomy, and the challenges universities face in confronting their colonial pasts while reshaping higher education for the future. 👉 Episode Links: Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne, edited by Ross L Jones, James Waghorne and Marcia LangtonFocus Friday | May 8: Data Myth Busting | Register for free

Host Alex Usher speaks with Nicholas Dirks about the realities of university leadership amid financial pressures, political scrutiny, and growing institutional constraints. Drawing on his experience at Columbia and UC Berkeley, Dirks reflects on navigating crises around academic freedom and campus governance, and why meaningful reform in higher education is so difficult to achieve. The conversation also explores debates around institutional neutrality, interdisciplinarity, and what changes may be necessary for universities to adapt to an increasingly uncertain future.  👉 Episode Links: City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the UniversityFocus Friday

Host Alex Usher speaks with Daniel Collier and Michael Kofoed about the uncertain status and evolving role of the U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration. They unpack why the department still exists despite efforts to dismantle it, and what that reveals about the limits of executive power.  The conversation explores key policy shifts around student aid, accreditation, and DEI, and how legally fragile or unclear directives are shaping institutional behaviour across higher education. They also examine major changes to student loan repayment, including the move to a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), and what it means for borrowers.  Collier and Kofoed reflect on the risks of governing through executive action and how upcoming political shifts could reshape the future of federal higher education policy.  👉 Episode Links: “A New Attitude: Why McMahon Isn’t DeVos 2.0” (Inside Higher Ed) by Daniel CollierFocus Friday: Online & Distance Learning (April 17) | Register for free

Host Alex Usher speaks with Chang Da Wan about the evolution of strategic planning in Malaysian higher education, from decades-long national development plans to the newly released Higher Education Blueprint (2026–2035). They explore how a deeply embedded planning culture has shaped the system—and whether it has truly delivered on its ambitions. The conversation examines the blueprint’s structure, including its ten policy pillars, the continued influence of neoliberal governance and performance metrics, and concerns about limited transparency and top-down decision-making. They also discuss major policy questions around pre-university pathways, equity, and the complexities of managing multiple admission systems. The episode further looks at emerging priorities such as student wellbeing, the challenges of measuring non-academic outcomes, and the uncertain role of technology in future planning. Chang Da Wan reflects on what may be missing from the current blueprint—and what the next generation of reforms will need to address about the purpose and future of universities in Malaysia. 👉 Episode Links: Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint (2026–2035)Focus Friday: Online & Distance Learning (April 17) | Register for free

Host Alex Usher speaks with Dr. Pushkar about the shifting landscape of higher education in India. They examine a proposed new centralized regulator, ongoing funding challenges, and the growing divide between top institutions and the rest of the system. The episode also looks at the rise of foreign branch campuses, India’s ambitions in AI education, and concerns about academic quality and research integrity. 👉 Episode Links: WorldEd 2.4: Higher Education in IndiaHESA's Transnational Education Strategy Project

Host Alex Usher speaks with Jisun Jung, Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong, about South Korea’s fast-moving higher education policy landscape amid a steep youth-population decline. They discuss the “Zombie University” law encouraging struggling private institutions to close voluntarily through compensation tied to selling assets, while public universities are pushed to merge into larger regional flagships. Jung assesses Korea’s rapid growth to 300,000 international students, warning that some regional institutions enroll students who primarily work. The conversation also covers the government’s “10 Seoul National Universities” regional investment strategy, the prolonged medical student strike triggered by a sudden plan to add 3,000 medical seats, the Yonsei AI-cheating scandal and uneven institutional responses, heavy national investment aimed at becoming a top-three AI power, and the small but concerning right-wing youth movement dubbed “Freedom University.” 👉 Episode Links: WorldEd 2.31: Korean Higher EducationFocus Friday March 27: Industry-Institutional Partnerships