ServiceNow

Issuing Office

Financial Aid Office

Affected Parties

Students

Policy Language

General Scholarship Rule (GSR): Resident students’ combined federal grants, state grants, and Liberty aid cannot exceed the combined cost of actual tuition and Tier 2 food and housing board charges (located at https://www.liberty.edu/student-financial-services/basic-costs/). For commuter students and all online students, the GSR calculation only includes the cost of tuition since there is no room and board charge, which means federal grants, state grants, and Liberty aid cannot exceed the actual cost of tuition. If the combined aid exceeds the total cost as specified, Liberty aid will be reduced to resolve the excess aid. The Federal Pell Grant is not included as a factor in the GSR for resident students. All Liberty aid is subject to the GSR.

Policy Rationale

The General Scholarship Rule is in place to ensure proper awarding of institutional aid.

Definition of Glossary Terms

Federal Grant: Grant offered by the federal government that does not need to be repaid. Examples include but are not limited to the Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

State Grant: Grant offered by the State of Virginia, the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant, see https://www.liberty.edu/student-financial-services/vtag/

Liberty aid: Any exemption, discount, loan, or scholarship offered by Liberty University

Excess aid: Any amount of aid that exceeds the combined cost of actual tuition and room and board charges

Resident Student: Student in a program of study offered by Liberty University at the residential level, as opposed to online enrollment only

Procedures

The General Scholarship Rule is applied through internal system checks and manual report reviews to ensure compliance with the outlined policy.

Sanctions

Students who adjust food and housing selections risk the reduction of aid after awarding.

Exceptions

The Federal Pell Grant is not included as a factor in the GSR for resident students. The following types of aid are not held to the GSR: Institutional Grant (INTGRT), Founders (FOUNDR), Continuing Education (CONTED), LUO Chancellor’s (DLPCHA), Resident Assistant Award (RASS), and Full Athletic Scholarships.

Initial Approval Date

3/24/2024

Date of Last Review