Words of wisdom are often hard to come by.

But recently, a Tucson Magnet High School guidance counselor provided me with some about the new Arizona International Campus.

"With so little information and so many questions unanswered, I'm not recommending the campus to students at this point."

Those students should be thankful for such sensible advice.

Unfortunately, plans for the new campus are so filled with holes, so unbelievably incomplete, it's a wonder the campus has gotten even 100 students to sign up for next fall's opening.

According to Celestino Fernandez, Arizona International's executive vice president and provost, the campus is "a new four-year institution whose sole mission is undergraduate education."

The UA is already over its 35,000-student cap, and the new campus was approved by the Arizona Board of Regents as a means of handling future growth. Enrollment at Arizona International is expected to grow to 10,000 students by 2010.

According to The Arizona Daily Star, though, a public liberal arts college in Washington served as a model for Arizona International. The state expected Evergreen State College to have 8,000 students by 1975 and 12,000 a decade later. In the beginning of this year, enrollment hovered at a sparse 3,500.

It's not difficult to figure out why the campus hasn't attracted students, for the UA's very own Faculty Senate gave the campus a vote of "no confidence."

That wise guidance counselor met with campus representatives and said they couldn't provide specific details about "what classes they were offering."

That's no surprise, because the campus doesn't even have a set curriculum yet. The schedule of classes won't come out until April, but the application deadline is April 15. What kind of planning is that?

What's harder to believe is that students planning to attend the new campus are expected to pay the same tuition as a UA student.

FernÊndez said the new "International" campus will offer "a global environment" to give "a global perspective."

These are nothing but sound bites to rationalize a program that currently has no solid foundation. The new campus won't provide any more of a global environment than the UA does. As it stands now, the campus hasn't even attracted a single out-of-state stu dent.

That's understandable, because the campus, located at South Rita Road and Interstate 10, is so far outside mainstream Tucson.

With my cruise control set at 65, I drove 18.7 miles east from Main Gate to the site in 23 minutes. Building 040 sits within the UA Science and Technology Park and is the campus' home. The area is surrounded by nothing but desert.

According to the UA Office of Economic Development, the number of single family homes in the new site's district stands at 654. The number of homes in UA's district - 7,049.

The receptionist in the lobby said I couldn't go inside and see the building's four classrooms.

"No tours available," she replied.

Translation for prospective applicants: "Sorry, but you can't see your new home before you buy into it."

FernÊndez said that part of the interdisciplinary curriculum will include the natural sciences. I asked the receptionist if there were any science labs in the campus' only building.

"Not in this building," she said.

The State Prison is four miles from campus, and on my way, I saw men in blue jumpsuits picking up trash from the highway median. They were guarded by men with guns. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of campus pride.

Fernandez said he wants to see the site promote a student-life environment. But, from what I could see, there are no residence halls, and the closest hangout is the local Texaco station about two miles away.

The site was criticized by a National Advisory Board that said the location needed to be more convenient and closer to the center of town.

Well, the Regents had the chance to vote for a downtown site advocated by Democratic Mayor George Miller. He said the campus congestion would be good for business.

The Board, however, opted for the South Rita site and, in effect, took space away from prospective employers that could've moved in and supplied Tucson with employment.

When asked about how students would get to the site, Fernandez had no concrete answer other than, "We have to work with public transportation.

"We're thinking through all of those issues," he said.

"Those" issues should've been thought through before the campus opened for enrollment.

Prospective students are muddling through the positive propaganda about the new campus and are steering clear for good reason.

A Catalina High School guidance counselor shared the prevailing student reaction to the campus:

"They're not interested."

Adam Djurdjulov is a journalism junior.