UA to Undergrads: Give Us Money

Fact: Of Alabama's 16 four-year colleges, half have increased tuition by at least 33 percent over the past four years. In-state tuition at the University of Alabama was increased by 16.25% in 2003-04 and another 12% in 2004-05. Meanwhile, duplication of academic programs among the UA System's 3 universitites continues unabated, and spending on new facilities has been less than frugal. Last year, UA completed work on a new science and engineering building named in honor of Alabama's senior U.S. Senator. The cost was about $60 million, more than $10 million above the original bid. A $24 million expansion of the student recreation center was recently completed, adding a pool, water slide, rock climbing wall, and yet another tennis complex. Now, the UA administration says the University is so impoverished that it has to beg undergraduates for donations.