The client pool of students immediately shifts from those who live on campus, or can commute to campus, to all students in the world with a personal computer and access to the internet. Geography doesn't matter. Not only can students come from anywhere, the physical location of instructors is also not limited. Travel may not require a suspension of course activities. Adjunct professors for Tulane could be recruited from anywhere, not just from New Orleans.
Numbers matter less.
Suppose a course has 1000 students in it. Not every instructor and student can manage the technology to do a course this way. But the technology is becoming more widespread daily. Lack of social contact. This is an empirical question, and the answer may differ between academic disciplines.