Virtual learning and teaching on student achievement and its impact during the COVID-19 pandemic were examined at a Historically Black College and University using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Individual interviews were conducted utilizing faculty and student participants. Four research questions guided the study and yielded results using holistic coding and NVivo as an instrumentation tool. An overview of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the origins, background, and statistical data about the pandemic, culminating with an extensive summation of the literature. It included the Responses of US Colleges and Universities, HBCUs, and the impact of COVID-19 on student achievement in higher education and online teaching and learning. The methodology provided the research design and approach, instrumentation, and several premises to explain the execution of the study. The study was grounded in the Nudge and Resilience Theories using triangulation, bracketing, intentionality, and positionality while collecting data. In order to analyze the results of the effect of virtual learning and teaching on student achievements, the codes and overarching codes formed themes and subthemes. The final responses to the study questions indicated that both faculty and students feel that virtual learning has an adverse effect on students' performance and achievements. Researchers also found that although there were many challenges to teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the virtual modality did not hinder the faculty's capacity to offer course material. The implications of this study are significant to administrators, faculty, and students as best practices can be drawn from the results and findings of the study. The theoretical implications will support in aiding more literature in the field of higher education. It is the hope of the researcher to provide a study that can be used as a resource for other researchers and those who wish to conduct further research. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]