ST. PAUL — Enrollment in Minnesota’s colleges and universities has declined since last fall.

Preliminary data from the Office of Higher Education shows enrollment dropping 2.7 percent. And, it’s down nearly 5 percent since 2009 when more people were turning to education during the recession. College enrollment is back to where it was in 2008, before the recession hit.

Enrollment at community and technical colleges and career schools was especially volatile. Enrollment at for-profit career schools dropped about 18 percent this year. Among the larger schools, the Minnesota School of Business lost 44 percent of its students. Rasmussen lost about 13 percent.