Leading Article: Harvard's lesson

It is good news that some universities in Britain have woken up to the need to put more effort into teaching as opposed to research. Many students feel short-changed by the lack of interest shown in them by academics, and by the passive nature of a lot of their learning. This feeling is likely to grow with top-up fees.

Universities that are sensitive to their students will take a leaf out of Harvard's book and think about how to make their teaching more interesting and relevant. If the University of Sydney, in Australia, can introduce reforms to reward good teaching, so, too, can British institutions.