A lower cost online option from the better universities would be highly beneficial for the nation, especially if we can bring our a good portion manufacturing base home. We will need a lot more engineers, scientists, researchers , computer scientists and designers . The current model is unaffordable and unsustainable, and a large portion of the population is stuck in substandard jobs which don’t fully utilize their intellect.
The in-person option might be optimal , but I think that the current crisis has shown that an alternative is highly desirable.