The view of the Texas State University campus from its president’s 10th-floor office windows in San Marcos may be the same as it was last week, but the institution has fundamentally changed.

The difference is a seemingly minor word change in the records held by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In mid-January, Texas State was classified as an emerging research institution.

Texas State joins seven other public Texas universities that are a step below the research university status held by the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. Denise M. Trauth, Texas State’s president, expects the classification to enhance her university’s reputation and to help recruit students and faculty.

More tangibly, the new classification is a ticket to participate in a race to become the state’s next public research university.