EL PASO - UTEP has increased research funding and created doctoral programs to be on par with any top-tier university in Texas, and starting this month the El Paso delegation to the state legislature will work to do just that.

The five state representatives and one state senator that represent the county in Austin on Monday revealed their united list of priorities for the 81st Texas Legislature, and making the University of Texas at El Paso a "Tier 1" institution is on the top of that list.

"During this session strategic decisions will be made on Tier 1 funding for universities, and we want UTEP's stellar record in research and doctoral program creation to be honored," said state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso. "We need to make sure that Tier 1 funds are allocated to the universities that deserve them ... that they're not just a coronation for other universities."

Besides from the higher profile, a Tier 1 designation for UTEP would mean increased state and federal funding for education and research programs.

Currently only the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University in College Station are considered Tier 1 institutions.

Local legislators said that of the eight to ten universities vying to become top-tier in the eyes of the state, UTEP is probably on the forefront.

Schools that have also sought Title 1 status include the Univeristy of Houston, University of Texas at Dallas, the Univeristy of North Texas in Denton and Texas State Univeristy in San Marcos.

In the last 20 years, external funding for research has grown from $3 million a year to about $50 million. Since 1987, the doctoral programs offered have gone from one to 17.

Also, among all state universities, UTEP ranks third in the ratio of total federal research expenditures behind only the University of Texas and Texas A&M.

"UTEP is already doing the type of work that a Tier 1 university is expected to do, so we are ready and willing to to compete for that title," said Richard Adauto, UTEP's executive vice president. "We are providing access to quality education to many people in the region. Texas can't live with just two Tier 1 universities."

Adauto and Shapleigh said the state has the opportunity to create the first Tier 1 university that has a Hispanic majority in enrollment.

"When we look at UTEP, we know that this is how Texas will look in the near future," Shapleigh said. "The state needs to recognize that UTEP is place to make a great impact in the future of Texas."

Richard Estrada, a sophomore at UTEP, said the legislators are right to make the university a priority, and hopes they are successful in achieving their goal of making UTEP a Tier 1 school.

"UTEP does a lot of good stuff but it gets a bad rap because for so long it was not that great a school," he said. "But things are different from when my older brothers used to come here. UTEP is good school now, and we need more people to know that."