Objective: This study aimed to examine university faculty members’ experiences of virtual education and identify the problems arising in their teaching processes and educational interactions with students through university virtual-learning systems.Method:A qualitative approach and thematic analysis were employed. To this end, interviews were conducted with 15 faculty members from universities in Tehran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling and the snowball strategy. The interview process continued through the twelfth interview, at which point data saturation was reached. Nevertheless, three additional interviews were conducted to ensure data sufficiency, bringing the total number of participants to 15. The data were analyzed in six stages, and a thematic network was developed.Findings: Overall, 28 organizing themes and 12 global themes were identified and categorized into five main dimensions: challenges concerning students’ actual presence and the conditions of interaction in virtual classrooms; the incompatibility of in-person teaching models with the requirements of virtual environments; the crisis of assessment validity and authenticity; increased occupational and psychological costs of virtual education; and the weakening of certain social and identity-related dimensions of the university. The findings showed that virtual education involves more than a change in the instructional medium. It also entails redefining faculty members’ work practices, increased workload, digital fatigue, difficulties in maintaining interaction and authentic assessment, and the erosion of professional and social boundaries within the university.Conclusion: Sustainable virtual education requires redesigned teaching and assessment, institutional support for faculty,professional boundaries, and stronger interaction and university belonging.Because the data are qualitative, the findings are not statistically generalizable.