Pitt senior Teliah Walker pays for college through loans and earnings from employment. Over… Pitt senior Teliah Walker pays for college through loans and earnings from employment. Over the course of her Pitt career, she has worked as many as 60 hours a week while going to school full-time.

When Walker learned that the budget committee of the Board of Trustees voted to raise tuition by 7.5 percent for the 2001-2002 school year, she viewed the increase as a challenge she was determined to meet.

“I have to graduate. That’s all there is to it. If I have to get another job, I’ll do it,” Walker said.

The tuition hike would be the largest percent increase in 13 years. Last year, Pitt raised tuition by 5 percent.

The budget committee approved the increase at a meeting June 21 as part of the University budget for the 2002 fiscal year. The full board will vote on the proposed budget on Thursday.

The proposed budget includes a $58 million increase in expenditures from last year