As University of California tuition rises, the overflow of students who can't afford the higher price tag might flood community colleges like College of the Canyons, officials said Monday.

UC officials last week raised tuition 32 percent to more than $10,000 a year for undergraduate fees - about triple the cost of a decade ago. This latest blow to California's higher-education system threatens to heap more of a burden on inexpensive community colleges.

College of the Canyons in Valencia is packed, and administrators are bracing for possibly even more students as state budget cuts force them to cut classes. Meanwhile, COC students are wondering if they can even afford to transfer to a UC.

"Common sense tells us that anytime fees go up, students look for the most affordable option," COC Chancellor Dianne Van Hook said. "The thing that we don't know is how great the demand is going to be."

At California community colleges, classes cost $26 a unit - maybe $1,000 a year for a full-time student.

At UCs, it's now about 10 times as much, not including housing and books.

Even as the state continues to cut funding, College of the Canyons has seen an increase in enrollment - specifically recession-hit students coming back to school to gain fresh training for a new career. The college's classes are now more than 90 percent full.

That means students who are turned away from UC schools hoping to attend COC could have trouble finding seats in classrooms, Van Hook said.

Much like other community colleges, COC has been reducing the number of courses each semester. College officials want to maintain the high-demand courses while eliminating courses that are traditionally low-enrolled.

"That puts more pressure on us with a whole new subset of students beyond the ones we already have here," she said.

Second thoughts about UCs
Meanwhile, students at COC said they're thinking twice about transferring to the pricier UC system.

Chad O'Melia, 18, initially wanted to transfer to UCLA within the next two years. Now he's added less-expensive California State University, Northridge, to his list of schools to consider.

Tuition at California State University campuses is about $4,026 a year for a full-time undergraduate student.

"Our hand has been forced," UC President Mark Yudof told reporters after the vote last week. "When you don't have any money, you don't have any money."

The fee increase got 20-year-old Sammy Dominguez thinking about his transfer plans after finishing at COC.

Before the fee increase, Dominguez said he would want to enroll in one of the state universities. Now, he said, applying and attending University of Southern California, a private university, makes more sense.

"Now it's basically the same (cost)," he said.

Even though Adam Galway, 16, won't be transferring into the UC system for another couple of years, the fee increase has got him thinking about his plans for higher education.

It's hard enough to get accepted into a UC school, let alone pay for it, Galway said.

"Right now, my chances are a lot slimmer than they were before," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.