Receiving a Refund

How Refunds Work

If eligible, you will receive a refund if you have an excess of funds in your account from financial aid credit (federal, state, and institutional aid) after all direct educational expenses have been paid (tuition, fees, etc.). Account refunds are generated at specific times throughout the semester.

Refund Calculation Examples

Example 1:

Scenario:

• The graduate student is enrolled in two B sub-term courses (6 credit hours) in a term. The student is not attending in any other sub-terms.
• Total loan eligibility: $6,000
• Total account charges (including the technology fee): $3,500 + $349 technology fee
• Projected total refund: $2,151

Disbursement & Refund Timeframe: In this case, the $5,000 in student loans would disburse 21 days after the start of the B sub-term, and the $2,151 refund would be processed 4 days later.

Example 2:

Scenario:

• The undergraduate student is enrolled in two B sub-term courses (6 credit hours) and two D sub-term courses (6 credit hours) in a term.
• Total loan eligibility: $10,000
• Total account charges: $4,500 + $349 technology fee*
• Projected total refund: $5,151

Disbursement & Refund Timeframe: In this case, $5,000 in student loans would disburse 21 days after the start of the B sub-term, and $5,000 would disburse 21 days after the start of the D sub-term. The student’s refund will be prorated, and portions will refund to the student after the B-term and the D-term.
B sub-term calculation:

• 6 credit hours (sub-term) / 12 credit hours (term) = 50%
• $5,500 (projected total refund) X 50% = $2,750
• $2,750 – $349 (tech fee waiver) = $2,401 (total B sub-term refund)

D sub-term calculation

• $5,151 (projected total refund) – $2,401 (B sub-term refund) = $2,750 (total D sub-term refund)

*Unlike other fees, the technology fee is not prorated by sub-term, so it will be factored into the refund calculation after the student’s final disbursement in a term.

Example 3:

Scenario:

• The graduate student is enrolled in two B sub-term courses (6 credit hours) and one D sub-term course (3 credit hours) in a term.
• Total loan eligibility: $7,000
• Total account charges: $5,500 + $349 technology fee*
• Projected total refund: $1,151

Disbursement & Refund Timeframe: In this case, $4,667 in student loans would disburse 21 days after the start of the B sub-term, and $2,333 would disburse 21 days after the start of the D sub-term. The student’s refund will be prorated, and portions will refund to the student after the B-term and the D-term.
B sub-term calculation:

• 6 credit hours (sub-term) / 9 credit hours (term) = 66.6666%
• $1,500 (projected total refund) X 66.6666% = $1,000
• $1000 – $349 (tech fee waiver) = $651 (total B sub-term refund)

D sub-term calculation

• $1,151 (projected total refund) – $651 (B sub-term refund) = $500 (total D sub-term refund)

*Unlike other fees, the technology fee is not prorated by sub-term, so it will be factored into the refund calculation after the student’s final disbursement in a term.

Refund Options

Financial Check-In (FCI) provides you with two credit-management options:

1. Selecting “Refund my credit” authorizes Liberty University to process a refund created by an excess of federal aid. You can choose a refund option from our refund management provider, BankMobile Disbursements. For more information about BankMobile Disbursements, visit this link: https://bankmobiledisbursements.com/refundchoicessso/.
   If you need assistance, please contact ID & Campus Services.
2.  Selecting “Hold my credit” authorizes Liberty University to hold any excess aid from federal aid disbursements on their account for future charges. We will not process a refund created by a federal aid disbursement if the student authorizes Liberty University to hold a credit balance.
   • If there is a credit balance from federal aid on a student account, it must be refunded to the student or returned to the U.S. Department of Education before the end of each academic year. 

Federal Parent PLUS Loans

The parent borrower receives the refund through a mailed paper check unless the parent borrower completes a Federal Direct PLUS Loan Change Form, located on the home tab of the SSB Financial Aid Module, requesting the refund be sent to the student’s account. Another option available on the form is to request a reduction of loan to only cover the student’s account balance.

Other Refunds

For credit balances not made up of federal aid, you may submit a refund request to the Student Accounts Office. A refund from credit or debit card payments will be refunded back to the original payment card.

Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E)

Please be advised all Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) invoicing will begin after the D sub-term add/drop period each semester. Students receiving this benefit in addition to using an Online Student Book Voucher may see an additional delay in invoicing of 2-3 weeks. This is dependent on when the Office of Military Affairs receives finalized receipts from the online bookstore to begin invoicing.

Balance After Refunds

Some charges such as the late Financial Check-In fee, Payment Plan Participation fee and Returned Payment Processing fee cannot be paid by Title IV federal aid (e.g. Pell Grant, Federal loans). This means some accounts may have a balance due to be paid even after a refund processed and sent to the student.

Questions?

Resident Students
studentrefunds@liberty.edu

Online Students
luorefunds@liberty.edu