Financial Aid

How Disbursements Work

If you are a recipient of Financial Aid, we want to be sure that you understand the process for financial aid disbursement into your student account, and how the disbursement directly relates to the actual number of credit hours you attend.

A common question students ask is at what point their financial aid disbursement will take place when the classes they enroll in are spread between different sub-terms.

How it works is that your financial aid will disburse according to the credit hours you actually attend. Financial aid that requires half-time enrollment (federal student loans) will not disburse to your student account until you actually fulfill your half-time attendance. For a number of students, this means that some of their financial aid will not disburse until the point at which they begin classes within a latter sub-term.

Example: Steve has both a Pell Grant and federal student loan. While Pell Grants are paid based upon attended enrollment, federal student loans require half-time attendance. Steve has enrolled in three credit hours in sub-term B and three credit hours in sub-term D.

The following chart illustrates when Steve's disbursements will occur:

Until eligible aid (like the federal loan depicted above) disburses, it will show as pending aid that will arrive once class attendance in the later sub-term begins. Because of this, the loan can be counted as part of financial check-in, lowering the amount owed in the student's payment plan even before the money from that aid arrives.

Options for receiving your financial aid sooner: If you are expecting a refund from financial aid but need funding before you actually begin your attendance in a class within a later sub-term , you may want to consider one of the options presented below.

1. Scheduling class attendance within an earlier sub-term can help you reach half-time status sooner, allowing the disbursement of some of your financial aid to occur earlier.
2. Certain financial aid sources, such as alternative loan programs - not federal programs - allow earlier disbursement. Information and helpful links about alternative loans are available by visiting http://www.liberty.edu/financialaid and then selecting the Online Loan Application. Within that webpage, you will find links to alternative loan lenders. With some alternative loans, approvals are processed by lenders within minutes.

If you have additional questions regarding the disbursement of your financial aid please email our Financial Aid Office at financialaid@liberty.edu.