Austin Community College reported that this year's spring class was the fourth semester in a row with record enrollment.

"The enrollment growth has been far beyond our expectations," ACC Vice President Mike Midgley said.

More than 41,000 new students began attending class this spring, a 12-percent increase from last year.

Deeb Ansara said he enrolled his son due to the economy.

"Initially we wanted to get him into UT-Austin, but we didn't have enough funds for that. I ended up having to use my veteran's benefits to get him into ACC," Ansara said.

Student Jeff Severn said he was there for the same reason.

"Being so cost effective, ACC is just probably the best option right now," he said.

ACC student Allison White said she enrolled because working wasn't an option.

"I tried looking for a job before I got into school, and there is just nothing if you only have a high school degree because everyone else who's out of work has taken those jobs," she said.

According to Midgley, the college is seeing more traditional students like White and Severn, as well as older students who are recently unemployed.

"We're seeing a lot of folks who probably wouldn't have been in school right now coming back to hone their skill set, gain additional skills, make themselves more competitive," Midgley said.

Midgley said ACC welcomes the growth, but it could become a problem.

"This is putting a strain on us operationally," he said. "We have almost no classroom space left. We're operating seven days a week at almost all our campuses, we have weekend college."

Midgley said there's no plan to cap enrollment as community colleges elsewhere have done. However, ACC will have to look for a solution to curb its popularity.

For now, the plan is to expand. ACC will open a new Round Rock location this fall. The campus will initially serve 5,000 students and will eventually serve 11,000.