The effects of the pandemic, COVID-19 reverberated throughout the higher education environment, ultimately creating a need for a greater understanding of how it impacted an already marginalized group such as African American women. This qualitative phenomenological case study examined the lived experiences of African American women who obtained degrees from a public rural university through the global pandemic. Data were collected through open-ended, phenomenological-oriented interviews and surveys with five African American women. This study focused on how the services in enrollment management offices impacted the ability of students to persist during the pandemic. Specific focus was given to African American women and their lived experiences with the student services offices by the financial aid office. The research included education theories regarding attrition, retention, and persistence. Finally, the qualitative data from this study yielded information which exposed more about how the pandemic impacted African American women and provided insight into their perspectives about how enrollment management offices may adjust to impact attrition, retention, and persistence rates to improve graduation rates moving forward. Among the findings related to participant perception of the office were those related to increased financial support and proactive communication; findings of suggested measures included adjustments to accessibility, personalization, awareness of service and transparency of roles. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]