How long until UTSA is a tier-one university?
UTSA is one of seven universities jockeying for position as a tier-one research university. In his recent visit to UTSA, State Representative and Chair of the Higher Education Committee Dan Branch discussed how UTSA could win tier-one status before UT El Paso, UT Dallas, UT Arlington, University of Houston and Texas Tech University. The American Association of Universities (AAU) has a set of benchmarks that determine which universities have tier-one status. Of the 60 tier-one colleges in the U.S., only three universities in Texas meet the rigorous demands of the AAU: UT Austin, Texas A&M and Rice University. “One of the metrics is if a university brings in $100 million in research grants,” Branch said. The seven emerging universities raise between $10 million to $60 million in grants. According to a university release, UTSA finished 2008 with $51.8 million in research grants. “We tried to set up in our House Bill 51, a series of metrics that align with outside standards. Along the way
