The announcement for Burlington County College's job fair yesterday was enticing: "Numerous full and part-time positions are available."

And that's no exaggeration.

With enrollment for the fall semester expected to grow by double-digit percentages, the college plans to identify up to 200 new adjunct faculty members, increasing its part-time teaching force to about 575, said Kathleen Carter, vice president for academic affairs.

The hiring splurge and influx of students come as the college faces a cut of up to $5 million, or 42 percent, in its funding from the county, and flat funding from the state.

Having to serve more with less is a challenge that community colleges locally and nationally are facing this year in a troubled economy.

"This type of growth is unprecedented," said Karen Stout, president of Montgomery County Community College, which expects its 13,000-member student body to jump 24 percent in the fall.

The schools absorbed large increases in new students this spring, and many are seeing even more this summer and projecting similar spikes for the fall.

Displaced workers, students transferring from four-year schools, and others seeking less costly options are fueling the spurt.

"We don't see any end in sight," said Norma Kent, vice president of communications at the American Association of Community Colleges.

Spring enrollments rose between 4 percent and 26 percent, an association survey found. Colleges are hiring as many new faculty as they can afford, holding more courses off site, online, and during weekends and evenings - and raising tuition.

Some, though none locally, are capping enrollment.

But growth has been so fast at Montgomery County's college that students might encounter a de facto cap if they can't get the courses they need.

"We're not saying we're capping it, but we might begin to not open up new sections when we know there are still students who are in need of being served," Stout said.

The school's full-time faculty will teach extra courses for more pay, and the college will hire more adjuncts. Sections are being added in off-peak hours, and classes are loaded to capacity, she said.

She worries there might not be enough parking spaces.

She wonders how the support staff can continue to handle the load, including more requests for financial aid.

And she feels bad for students who will have much more difficulty scheduling courses and could be shut out of science classes because labs are not available.

"We are filled between 8 a.m. and noon on both campuses. There's not one space that isn't being taken," Stout added.

The school is raising tuition 3.5 percent and hoping $1 million cut from county funding this year will be restored for 2009-10, she said.

At Bucks County Community College, spring enrollment surged more than 10 percent. Summer's is up 18, and fall's is projected to be up 8.