The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that final figures are not expected until next month.

However, early data provided to the newspaper indicate that the system is reversing more than a decade of record-setting enrollment.

Early projections show that the system enrolled 312,600 students by Sept. 6, a 1.1 percent drop from the 316,095 the prior year. It is only the third time since 1978 that enrollment has dropped.

The data indicates that five schools dropped by more than 10 percent: Fort Valley State University; and Bainbridge, Georgia Perimeter, East Georgia State and Gordon State colleges.

Augusta State University’s enrollment dropped this fall for the third consecutive year. The university had 6,498 students at the end of the second week of the semester, compared to 6,740 this time last year and 6,919 in fall 2010.

Staff reports were used in this story.