The Covid-19 pandemic caused significant changes in higher education, affecting the way of teaching and learning, especially in the interaction between teachers and students. During the first year of the pandemic, neither the educational institutions nor their faculty and students were prepared to adapt to this necessary transformation and develop remote teaching adequate for emergency situations. However, this context of health emergency represented an opportunity to advance in the adoption of technology and the implementation of online teaching. This initial experience has been systematized in different countries around the world as a temporary and realistic solution during a crisis. Unlike traditional virtual teaching, the distance learning generated in this period was not carefully planned and designed, but rather provided temporary access to distance education, using various platforms. This study examines the perception of the student body in the second year of the health emergency with the aim of characterizing the teachers and the teaching methodologies that favored their learning. From a qualitative approach, a content analysis of the responses to two open-ended questions of a questionnaire applied to 1,632 university students belonging to 13 Chilean universities during the year 2021 was carried out. Thirty-three percent of the students were men and 67 % were women, with an average age of 22. Forty-four-point nine percent were in the initial cycle of their undergraduate programs, 42.1 % in the intermediate cycle and 13 % in the final cycle. The first question focused on the distinctive features of teaching that mobilized learning during the pandemic. The results reveal three main categories: a) characteristics of class structure and organization, where virtual classes used digital resources such as videos accessible before or after classes, more interactive and creative presentations with detailed and accurate content, considered as quality information; b) characteristics that mobilize learning, highlighting pedagogical support, promotion of student participation and autonomy, and the creation of instances of collaborative work in synchronous classes, and c) other characteristics such as context constraints, traditional learning design and an inappropriate distance education format for certain subjects. The second question addressed the teaching characteristics that students consider facilitating learning, revealing two categories: a) the value assigned to the personal characteristics of teachers such as empathy, understanding, flexibility, closeness, patience, commitment and enthusiasm, and b) at the professional level, the valuation of characteristics associated with the teaching task, such as willingness to meet students’ needs, concern for their learning and well-being, the commitment, interests and positive attitudes towards teaching, as well as the management of digital tools that enrich your teaching. Teaching vocation emerged as a central aspect that has an impact on teachers’ motivation and knowledge of virtual strategies, with demand being mentioned as a key element in establishing performance standards for students and teaching design. This study recognizes the complexity and multidimensionality of the teaching task in quality virtual teaching designs in emergency contexts. In particular, it highlights the relevance of teaching practices and competencies, with special emphasis on a constructivist view that centers design and practices on the student. It also highlights the specific importance of the teacher’s pedagogical and socioemotional competencies. The students’ assessment of university teaching, both in the forms of teaching implemented and in the personal and professional characteristics of the teachers, will guide the design of training processes, guidelines, and other actions to advance towards quality virtual teaching in the post-pandemic scenario.