The authors have been teaching mathematics and economics for more than 15 years at two nonresidential colleges in New York City: Metropolitan College of New York and Bronx Community College, which is part of the City University of New York (CUNY). Until the first week of March 2020, the authors were teaching all their classes in-person. With the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic, both colleges were immediately closed. The Spring 2020 semester was interrupted, and all professors were given less than 10 days to prepare their respective classes through distant education using the Zoom platform, or equivalent, for instruction. While the transition was abrupt, the authors soon discovered that conducting some mathematics and business classes remotely yielded unexpected advantages to many students, professors and colleges alike. This article offers specific examples the authors used in teaching remotely on Zoom and discusses the improved pedagogy that can be applied only in distance learning. With recruitment and retention of undergraduate students being a growing concern for U.S. colleges, economic survival will depend on an institution's ability to adapt technology and flexible tuition structure in new post-pandemic future.