Alex Usher
@alexusherhesa.bsky.social
Higher Education. All of it. All around the world. Also: snark, sumo, Winnipeg Jets triumphalism and bitching about Toronto FC.
I blog here: https://higheredstrategy.com/blog/
I podcast here: https://worlded.transistor.fm/
I blog here: https://higheredstrategy.com/blog/
I podcast here: https://worlded.transistor.fm/
A look at how Canadian unis did in the big international rankings this past year. Mostly, it's an extension of long-standing patterns: U of T holding at the top, UWat gaining ground, and most lower-ranked institutions steadily losing ground to intl competitors.
higheredstrategy.com/2026-ranking...
higheredstrategy.com/2026-ranking...
2026 Rankings Overview (Canada) | HESA
Most years, I do a quick overview of the major international rankings and how Canadian institutions have fared in them. Today is the day I do that for the 2026 rankings from the Times Higher and QS, a...
higheredstrategy.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:14 PM
A look at how Canadian unis did in the big international rankings this past year. Mostly, it's an extension of long-standing patterns: U of T holding at the top, UWat gaining ground, and most lower-ranked institutions steadily losing ground to intl competitors.
higheredstrategy.com/2026-ranking...
higheredstrategy.com/2026-ranking...
Out of curiosity what was Canada's public stance re: the invasion of Panama?
January 6, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Out of curiosity what was Canada's public stance re: the invasion of Panama?
Change in number of Instiutions appearing in Shanghai Rankings's top 500, 2015-2025.
January 6, 2026 at 9:30 AM
Change in number of Instiutions appearing in Shanghai Rankings's top 500, 2015-2025.
350 for Noriega.
The previous modern standard for murdering people en masse while effecting an arrest warrant involved members of a Waco religious cult (76), or group home occupants (11) in West Philadelphia or the Chicago abode of some Blank Panthers (2 dead, more wounded). Trump now holds the record.
in how many "law enforcement operations" are damn near 100 people killed?
January 5, 2026 at 9:08 PM
350 for Noriega.
Yes.
January 5, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Yes.
Reposted by Alex Usher
It’s impossible to parody leftists. I saw someone make a joke about leftists blaming Kamala Harris for the invasion of Venezuela only to find Jill Stein wrote this unironically.
January 5, 2026 at 7:26 PM
It’s impossible to parody leftists. I saw someone make a joke about leftists blaming Kamala Harris for the invasion of Venezuela only to find Jill Stein wrote this unironically.
Well now that's interesting.
Cuba confirma la muerte de 32 militares de la isla en el ataque contra Venezuela dozz.es/k_arz2
Cuba confirma la muerte de 32 militares de la isla en el ataque contra Venezuela
dozz.es
January 5, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Well now that's interesting.
The Blog is back. Today: Saving Canadian post-secondary higher education is going to take some big tent politics. Imposing purity tests on people who support the sector is a sure path to irrelevance.
The Small-Tent Path to Disaster | HESA
Morning all. Back to the grind. One of the surprising things I discovered over the break was that the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) seems to think that the sector is in good enoug...
higheredstrategy.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:48 PM
The Blog is back. Today: Saving Canadian post-secondary higher education is going to take some big tent politics. Imposing purity tests on people who support the sector is a sure path to irrelevance.
Reposted by Alex Usher
I get that, for Canada, U.S. belligerence is incentive to try to further diversify oil exports to overseas markets. But at some point we may need to take into account that the geopolitical situation is also incentive for most countries to try to accelerate their shift away from oil reliance.
January 5, 2026 at 3:42 PM
I get that, for Canada, U.S. belligerence is incentive to try to further diversify oil exports to overseas markets. But at some point we may need to take into account that the geopolitical situation is also incentive for most countries to try to accelerate their shift away from oil reliance.
Reposted by Alex Usher
In a slow labor market, it's not surprising that employers are limiting where they recruit on college campuses to elite institutions and ones close to home. It's also why I expect to see degree requirements tightened--it's an easy and legal way to screen applicants.
Elite Colleges Are Back at the Top of the List for Company Recruiters
As white-collar hiring slows down and corporate DEI goals vanish, where you went to college matters again.
www.wsj.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:46 PM
In a slow labor market, it's not surprising that employers are limiting where they recruit on college campuses to elite institutions and ones close to home. It's also why I expect to see degree requirements tightened--it's an easy and legal way to screen applicants.
Reposted by Alex Usher
How Germany’s historical high mobility fell short of its reputation: Our data reveals that intergenerational income persistence sharply increased for recent cohorts, reaching levels comparable to the US and coinciding with increasingly class-dependent educational attainment.
Social Mobility in Germany: New Study Reveals a Steep Decline in Opportunity
Baarck, Bode & Peichl: "Rising Inequality, Declining Mobility: The Evolution of Intergenerational Mobility in Germany" CRC Discussion Paper No. 550
190researchblog.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM
How Germany’s historical high mobility fell short of its reputation: Our data reveals that intergenerational income persistence sharply increased for recent cohorts, reaching levels comparable to the US and coinciding with increasingly class-dependent educational attainment.
Also, the choice to use the Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" to indicate time in the '89 sequence was odd because although it is the bangingest of tunes, its listenership at the time was pretty low (Doolittle only went gold in 1995). Should have used Big Fun's "Teenage Suicide: Don't Do It".
One really obvious missed opportunity in the Stranger Things finale: in the final summer of '89 scenes, there really should have been a pan across a movie theatre marquee with Heathers on it.
January 5, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Also, the choice to use the Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" to indicate time in the '89 sequence was odd because although it is the bangingest of tunes, its listenership at the time was pretty low (Doolittle only went gold in 1995). Should have used Big Fun's "Teenage Suicide: Don't Do It".
One really obvious missed opportunity in the Stranger Things finale: in the final summer of '89 scenes, there really should have been a pan across a movie theatre marquee with Heathers on it.
January 5, 2026 at 11:59 AM
One really obvious missed opportunity in the Stranger Things finale: in the final summer of '89 scenes, there really should have been a pan across a movie theatre marquee with Heathers on it.
This, from @robertkelchen.com, is a really good piece on graduate earnings by program and type in the US. Some really useful (and clear) decomposition of data.
Key Takeaways from the Negotiated Rulemaking Data Release
I thought that the end of 2025 was going to be relatively quiet when I wrote my last piece a couple of weeks ago, but my words to the Chronicle of Higher Education for their 25-year retrospective c…
robertkelchen.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:44 AM
This, from @robertkelchen.com, is a really good piece on graduate earnings by program and type in the US. Some really useful (and clear) decomposition of data.
Online higher education is booming in Italy (now 24% of all enrolments). Oddity: on-time completion rates are significantly *higher* in online programs than in in-person ones.
(Speculate away as to why that might be...)
(Speculate away as to why that might be...)
Università telematiche: in Italia oltre 300mila iscritti, uno studente su cinque sceglie la formazione online. I tassi di occupazione raggiungono quelli degli atenei tradizionali - Orizzonte Scuola No...
Gli atenei telematici raccolgono oggi oltre 300mila iscrizioni e rappresentano il 21,8% del totale nazionale per i corsi di laurea disponibili anche online.
www.orizzontescuola.it
January 5, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Online higher education is booming in Italy (now 24% of all enrolments). Oddity: on-time completion rates are significantly *higher* in online programs than in in-person ones.
(Speculate away as to why that might be...)
(Speculate away as to why that might be...)
Student housing in Italy
Immobiliare News | Student housing, il report Patrigest: leva strategica per l'università italiana | MonitorImmobiliare
Il dipartimento Research & Data Intelligence di Patrigest analizza lo student housing: carenza di alloggi e divari territoriali incidono su mobilità e attr
www.monitorimmobiliare.it
January 5, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Student housing in Italy
Increasingly indebted and poorly-funded Complutense Madrid has imposed a 35% cut on all units.
Así se mata una universidad
La Complutense, el mayor centro universitario presencial de España sufre una asfixia económica cada vez más paralizante: todos los departamentos y facultades deben sobrevivir con un 35% menos de un pr...
elpais.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Increasingly indebted and poorly-funded Complutense Madrid has imposed a 35% cut on all units.
Brazil cuts discretionary grants to federal universities by 7%.
(Global rule of thumb: left wing governments are no less likely to cut university budgets than right-wing ones. With the exception of Mexico, they just won't grin quite so much while they are doing it)
(Global rule of thumb: left wing governments are no less likely to cut university budgets than right-wing ones. With the exception of Mexico, they just won't grin quite so much while they are doing it)
Universidades federais sofrem corte de R$ 488 milhões no Orçamento 2026 - Times Brasil - Licenciado Exclusivo CNBC
Em nota, a Andifes manifestou “profunda preocupação” e afirmou que o corte promovido pelo Congresso no Projeto de Lei Orçamentária Anual enviado pelo Executivo agrava o quadro “já crítico” das institu...
timesbrasil.com.br
January 5, 2026 at 10:57 AM
Brazil cuts discretionary grants to federal universities by 7%.
(Global rule of thumb: left wing governments are no less likely to cut university budgets than right-wing ones. With the exception of Mexico, they just won't grin quite so much while they are doing it)
(Global rule of thumb: left wing governments are no less likely to cut university budgets than right-wing ones. With the exception of Mexico, they just won't grin quite so much while they are doing it)
Marco Vasconselos: are Portuguese universities truly inclusive institutions or small, extractive systems that reproduce and defend the established power structure?
Yeowch.
Yeowch.
Porque falham as universidades portuguesas?
Serão as universidades portuguesas instituições verdadeiramente inclusivas ou pequenos sistemas extrativos que reproduzem e defendem o poder instalado?
observador.pt
January 5, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Marco Vasconselos: are Portuguese universities truly inclusive institutions or small, extractive systems that reproduce and defend the established power structure?
Yeowch.
Yeowch.
Great piece from Germany on how universities there are negotiating state cutbacks (by the excellent Jan-Martin Wiarda)
Sparen, verhandeln, neu erfinden
www.jmwiarda.de
January 5, 2026 at 10:45 AM
Great piece from Germany on how universities there are negotiating state cutbacks (by the excellent Jan-Martin Wiarda)
Reposted by Alex Usher
Not commenting on Venezuela is one thing, but Starmer's ministers not even being willing to say "no of course the US shouldn't invade a peaceful sovereign democratic NATO country, which is one of our closest allies" is quite another.
January 5, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Not commenting on Venezuela is one thing, but Starmer's ministers not even being willing to say "no of course the US shouldn't invade a peaceful sovereign democratic NATO country, which is one of our closest allies" is quite another.
Lining up a decent successor in these circustances will be difficult difficult lemon difficult.
Ruben Amorim sacked by Manchester United after losing power struggle over transfers
Ruben Amorim sacked by Manchester United after losing power struggle over transfers
*
Head coach goes after outburst at Leeds game
*
He oversaw worst Premier League finish of 15th
Ruben Amorim has been sacked by Manchester United after 14 months as their head coach. The Portuguese departs after a power struggle with the hierarchy over transfer policy, with Amorim demanding his colleagues in the recruitment department “do their job” after Sunday’s draw at Leeds.
Amorim believed United were prepared to back him in the January window should a major signing become available but then said last Friday: “We have no conversation to have any change in the squad.” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Lining up a decent successor in these circustances will be difficult difficult lemon difficult.
What? While currently serving as Canada's Special Representative on the Reconstruction of Ukraine?
(not to mention being an MP)
(not to mention being an MP)
Zelensky has appointed Chrystia Freeland as an adviser on economic development.
January 5, 2026 at 10:23 AM
What? While currently serving as Canada's Special Representative on the Reconstruction of Ukraine?
(not to mention being an MP)
(not to mention being an MP)
Brazilian state of Santa Catarina passes a law requiring students to pass a drug test before being permitted to enroll at a state university.
Universidades públicas exigirão exame toxicológico na matrícula 2026 | A TARDE
Assembleia Legislativa aprova PL que exige exame toxicológico de alunos no ingresso de universidades estaduais. Entenda a regra e o pacote de projetos conservadores.
atarde.com.br
January 5, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Brazilian state of Santa Catarina passes a law requiring students to pass a drug test before being permitted to enroll at a state university.
Reposted by Alex Usher
This is what happens when you recklessly extend BRICS right up to America’s borders and ignore America’s legitimate security concerns.
January 3, 2026 at 7:45 PM
This is what happens when you recklessly extend BRICS right up to America’s borders and ignore America’s legitimate security concerns.