The coming battle over university places

Until now, the debate over universities has dwelt inevitably on how much students need to stump up in tuition fees. With the release of today’s White Paper, the government will hope that the emphasis shifts to what students receive in return for that cash. Basically, it is all about fixing a subverted market by making it more transparent. With universities good, bad and indifferent rushing to charge the maximum possible amount for fees, the idea is that forcing them to release more information about their courses — about teaching standards, job prospects and the like — will help students decide which are offering value-for-money. Who knows? It might even shame one or two institutions into lowering their asking prices.

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All of which augurs a tremendous confrontation with the universities. Our halls of learning are already feeling