Liberty University Online Programs Financial Aid Disbursement Information
On this page, you can view information about our disbursement guidelines for federal financial aid, including the Pell Grant and federal loans, Institutional Aid, and aid you may receive from outside courses.
Please note that aid disbursements are made throughout the day. If you are expecting a disbursement, please allow 2-3 full days for processing before contacting us for a status update.
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External Aid
Federal Loans
Liberty University Aid
Pell Grants
Terms and Sub-Terms
The chart below reflects the setup of a Liberty University online semester (term). Our semesters consist of multiple sub-terms in which a student can enroll. Therefore, disbursement dates will differ among students’ aid eligibility and how they choose to enroll in their courses each term.
Disbursement Scenarios
Example One
- An online undergraduate student eligible for Pell Grant is attending 3 hours in B term and 3 hours in D term. She can expect half of her Pell Grant to disburse 21 days after her first class in B term begins and the remaining half 21 days after the beginning of D term.
- If she were taking a class in B term and another in C term, she could expect half of her Pell Grant to disburse in B term and the remainder in C term.
- If she were taking 2 classes in D term only, she could expect her full disbursement of Pell Grant in D term.
- Note: Enrollment and pro-ration of Pell Grant applies to all combinations of enrollment.
Example Two
- An online undergraduate/master’s student planning to borrow federal loans is attending 3 hours in B term and 3 hours in D term. He meets all eligibility requirements and can expect the full loan to release to his student account 21 days after his D term class begins. His refund will be processed within 4 days after the funds are showing paid to his student account on the 25th day of enrollment. The refund will then be transferred to BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc. for processing.
- If he were taking a class in B term, C term, and D term, his loan would disburse 21 days after C term began.
- If he were taking 2 classes in B term only, his loan would disburse 21 days after B term began.
- If he were taking all residential courses, his loan would disburse 21 days after the start of those courses.
- Note: The half-time enrollment and 21-day criteria apply to all combinations of enrollment for all students and levels.
Example Three
A resident student is enrolled in 12 credit hours — 9 hours are resident courses and 3 hours are in the D term through LU online. The student is eligible for student loans and resident scholarships.
- Student loans will disburse 21 days after the student begins the resident courses, but scholarships will not disburse until 21 days following the start of the D term.
- If there is a credit balance following any disbursement of aid, the process to refund the credit will begin on day 25.
Refunds
The Student Accounts Office processes refunds. View refund information for timeframes and processing of refunds.
Reducing, Canceling, or Returning Loan Funds
If you have not received a refund from a loan credit balance and wish to reduce or cancel the loan disbursement or a future loan prior to disbursement, you should complete the electronic Federal Student Loan Change Form available in ASIST under “Financial Aid Forms.” You may make interest-only payments while in school.
If a refund has been paid from a student loan credit balance, the student can pay the refund to the applicable student loan servicer. Student loan servicer information is available on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Returned loan funds must be accompanied by a cover statement to indicate which loan(s) to amend and how the loans should be split, if applicable, for varying servicers.
