Mislaid bag around university that's not worth pursuing (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
lost cause
'university that's not worth pursuing' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'mislaid bag' is the wordplay.
'mislaid' becomes 'lost' (similar in meaning).
'bag' becomes 'cause' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'lost'+'cause'='LOST CAUSE'
'around' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lost cause that I've seen before include "Hopeless case" , "Hopeless endeavour" , "Hopeless quest" , "Hopeless situation" , "Hopeless ideal" .)