Leader: Vacancy for champion

Establishing the Higher Education Academy was never going to be easy. The General Teaching Council, the parallel body for English schools, has had a rocky ride and the HEA's agenda is much broader - Jperhaps too broad. In many ways, the academy has made good progress in its first year, given that it has had to go slowly to build consensus in an area where many academics are naturally suspicious. In that time, it has brought together its predecessor bodies and forged a more accessible path, consulting widely on its priorities and winning the confidence of key players in the system.

But academics need to know precisely what kind of animal the HEA is going to be, and whether it will focus on the needs of institutions or the needs of individuals. Of all the official bodies on the higher education scene, the academy most needs popular support. It may not be a professional organisation in the sense that it licenses academics, but it will have to act like one if it is to win over the many campus sceptics. In the run-up to the research assessment exercise, academics need to feel that the HEA will be an effective champion of the importance of teaching.