Facing an uncertain summer because of the state budget crisis, officials at the San Fernando Valley's colleges said Wednesday that they are bracing for an even tougher fall because of rising demand and dwindling resources.

Mission, Valley and Pierce colleges are finding it difficult to make plans because of the budget stalemate in Sacramento. And while they expect the Legislature to increase fees for the fall semester, they are stuck now with charging students $11 a credit-hour, then having to notify them at a later date that they might billed an additional $7 a credit-hour -- or more.

"That's going to be a nightmare," Mission President Adriana Barrera said. "We've got to calculate the difference, inform all the students and, if they're on financial aid, repackage all of their financial aid packages. It's going to be labor-intensive."

Fall classes at Pierce have been cut 8 percent, and 10 percent at Mission and Valley, but applications at Pierce and Valley are up by about 30 percent, and are also on the increase at Mission.

Community colleges have to accept all qualified applicants, but enrollment doesn't guarantee the students will be able to get into classes. LAVC President Tyree Wieder said faculty members are taking on as many students as they can, resulting in some classes with 35 to 50 students. But there will be some students who still won't be able to get the classes they need.

"We're frustrated in our ability to provide the services we know we should be providing," Wieder said.

At California State University, Northridge, summer classes are running normally, but the university is bracing itself for the mid-July meeting of the Board of Trustees, which could approve a fee increase for the fall of up to 30 percent. Such an increase would raise undergraduate tuition from $1,572 to $2,046 per year, and graduate tuition from $1,734 to $2,256.

But CSUN President Jolene Koester noted that one-third of the fee increase would be directed to financial aid to help the poorest students.

"Class sizes will go up, but it's important for the public to understand that our class sizes are relatively small compared to a lot of institutions," Koester said.

The University of California Regents at their mid-July meeting also will consider fee increases of 25 percent for fall 2003, which would raise undergraduate tuition from $3,834 to $4,794 per year. That increase could go as high as 30 percent, depending on state budget cuts.