WASHINGTON – It’s an affordable alternative that can help families save thousands of dollars.

SmartMoney.com reports that for $99 a month and $49 a class students can earn an online education.

The site calls it “the college version of an unlimited data plan.”

Online college New Charter University charges $200 a month for unlimited classes.

The costs per credit hour are much cheaper than fees at traditional colleges, according to the site.

The downside of lower tuition costs is that sometimes the credits from online schools don’t transfer to traditional colleges or universities. And the quality of the education may not be as robust as what traditional campuses offer, the site reports.

WTOP’s Veronica Robinson contributed to this report. Follow @VRobWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.

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