Fall credit enrollment at the Community College of Allegheny County stands at 20,031, an 8 percent increase over last year and the highest total since at least 2002, college President Alex Johnson said yesterday.

He reported the head count data to school trustees and said enrollment is up by about 6 percent on the Allegheny campus, 18 percent on the Boyce campus, 13 percent on the North campus and 4 percent on the South campus.

The school projects that by the end of the semester, enrollment could reach 21,000, a level not seen since 1993. There has been a space crunch, in particular involving some laboratories, and class sizes on average may rise from 20 to 25 students.

"We do have the extra capacity," Dr. Johnson said. "Our big concern right now is just making sure we have the appropriate number of faculty, either full- or part-time, to satisfy that need."