Leading article: Ring the changes

The desire of Lord Broers, Cambridge University's former vice-chancellor, to see broader undergraduate degrees in the UK met with approval last week at the Higher Education Policy Institute annual lecture. The education consultant Quentin Thompson suggested that universities broaden their courses themselves. It would make studying for a degree more appealing to potential students. The big question is how to secure change. Vice-chancellors find it difficult enough to secure the reforms they seek. Perhaps the answer is for the Higher Education Funding Council to attach money to change. Then it might start to happen.