An elite product is by definition inaccessible to most people. Also, many students (most?) are not suited to complete online delivery of curricula. Online education evangelists are way too confident, in my opinion. One thing this crisis has demonstrated is that students hunger for in-person attention and collegiality, and most don’t believe that online delivery, however expert or well-designed, is an adequate replacement.
I found that some of my students adapted well to online learning, and they contributed more on discussion boards than they did in person in class. These students were the socially anxious yet diligent. However, others simply lost their motivation without the structure, accountability, and communication of a face-to-face meeting. It’s a matter of temperament, not intelligence.
Will the cost structure of higher ed have to change? Absolutely. However, quality online teaching will not be cheap. If it’s done correctly, it’s every bit as labor-intensive, if not more so, than teaching in person. For example, this semester starting on March 10, I had to record my lectures, listen to them, edit them, change them, etc. before posting, instead of swanning into a classroom and performing live. This preparation (on material I already knew) was very time-consuming, and far exceeded my commuting and prep time in regular days. Just as musicians will attest, live performance is very different from recording. Teaching is a performance art, and performers adjust to the live audience.