In this study, I examine why Matthew Arnold considered his country's higher educational institutions to be inadequate, what prescriptions he advocated for improving them, and why he was convinced this amelioration was so necessary for leading England to true modernity. I argue throughout that Arnold's beliefs were profoundly influenced by what he had witnessed during his many official and unofficial trips to the Continent. A genuine understanding of Arnold's views on England's post-secondary institutions necessitates a concomitant comprehension of Arnold the comparative educator