Students mill around Fraser Hall on the Kansas University campus.

Kansas University’s enrollment this spring is just 39 students below last year’s level.

Enrollment on the Lawrence campus fell 0.3 percent, to 25,332 from 25,412 last spring; and the KU Medical Center’s enrollment rose 1.3 percent, to 3,082 from 3,041.

The figures were announced Thursday as the Kansas Board of Regents released its 20th-day enrollment figures for its six regents universities.

At KU’s Edwards Campus in Overland Park, enrollments jumped 4 percent by credit hours, due largely to new undergraduate business offerings there.

KU was the only regents school to register an overall decline in spring enrollment — most of the other schools reported about a 2 percent increase in students from last spring.

As is typical, enrollments were lower than this year’s fall figures of 30,004 students on both KU campuses.

“Spring enrollment is typically lower than fall enrollment as people graduate in December or leave school for other reasons,” said KU spokeswoman Jill Jess. “We are pleased to have maintained stable enrollment compared to spring 2009.”

The one notable exception is Fort Hays State University, which added 961 students — an 11.5 percent increase, with most of those students coming through its Virtual College program.

As regents institutions reported mostly modest increases, enrollments are up at greater rates at community colleges across the state as students continue to take advantage of cheaper costs.

Johnson County Community College reported a record spring enrollment of 19,223, up 6.3 percent from the previous spring.