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The number of federal student loan borrowers enrolling in income-based repayment options grew by more than half over the past year, the Education Department said on Thursday.

As of June, nearly 3.9 million federal direct loan borrowers were enrolled in the plans, which the Obama administration has expanded and heavily promoted. That’s a 56 percent jump from last June.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan touted the increase as a success on Thursday.

“There’s more work to do, we won’t stop fighting to help people who are struggling to pay back their student loan debt,” he said in a statement. “But the fact that more and more borrowers are taking advantage of the opportunity to cap their monthly payments is a good sign.”