College needs brighter staff (7)
I believe the answer is:
crosier
'staff' is the definition.
(crosier is a kind of staff)
'college needs brighter' is the wordplay.
'college' becomes 'c'.
'needs' says to put letters next to each other.
'brighter' becomes 'rosier' (I've seen this before).
'c'+'rosier'='CROSIER'
(Other definitions for crosier that I've seen before include "one's hooked!" , "A bishop's staff as symbol of office" , "Bishop's crook" , "Staff carried by a bishop" , "Ecclesiastical staff" .)