The technology exists and is used to the fullest. For money: university-level distance education had been welcomed as a liberation of access to prestigious institutions for people from remote parts of the planet, without the financial means for regular attendance.
However, this was something additional to the normal operation of universities. With campuses full. The fear of infection overturns these data so far. The University of California announced in mid-May that it will not open its facilities this coming fall. This concerns 23 campuses, with nearly 800,000 students/customers.
Even technically it is feasible for all of them to attend classes from their homes, it is an economic disaster from the perspective of university revenues: accommodation, food, activities, all of these add to the prestige of such institutions. Not to mention the image of happy young people strolling around (and flirting) on university lawns.
What is going to happen? Unknown. It is impossible to charge online lessons with amounts that will somehow balance the losses from the closure of physical presence. If this “emergency situation” continues for a while, other profitable uses for university facilities will have to be found.
To be rented for villas? And the social life of tomorrow’s executives? Only distancing!!!