Importance of data around university (6)
I believe the answer is:
status
'importance' is the definition.
(status is a kind of importance)
'data around university' is the wordplay.
'data' becomes 'stats' (statistics are a kind of data).
'around' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'university' becomes 'U' (abbreviation as in UMass).
'stats' enclosing 'u' is 'STATUS'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for status that I've seen before include "One's standing in the community" , "Social position or grade" , "Social position - prestige" , "Relative social standing" , "Social rank" .)