Matthew Cooper, M.B.A.
Vice President of Student Financial Services

Emily Foutz, B.S., M.A.
Director of Military Affairs

The Office of Military Affairs is a knowledgeable resource for service members and veterans to help those who serve achieve their academic goals. The services provided include military and veteran benefits counseling to help each student through the process of requesting Tuition Assistance (TA) and veterans’ benefits, processing and follow-through with government agencies, and assistance when military deployment, temporary duty, and permanent change of station orders present a challenge to academic progress.

Military Affairs collaborates with military and veteran organizations to offer a wide variety of military and veteran support programs. Liberty University also participates in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Yellow Ribbon Program.

For more information, please visit the Military Student web page.

Policies

Tuition Assistance

Tuition Assistance (TA) is a government benefit offered to current service members of all branches of the Armed Forces to assist with the cost of tuition. Students may find information on the general process to request TA and policies for utilizing Military TA on our webpage.

Veteran’s Benefits

Liberty University is approved to offer GI Bill® educational benefits by the Virginia State Approving Agency. These benefits include the Montgomery GI Bill (Active Duty/Selected Reserves), Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program, as well as those who qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Veteran Readiness and Employment. Liberty University will allow students to participate in all aspects of their education without a penalty, assessment of late fees, denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities, or require that an individual receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill or Veteran Readiness and Employment funding borrow additional funds due to an inability to meet financial obligation to the institution due to delayed disbursement of payment of these benefits. For students utilizing the Post-9/11 GI Bill or Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits, once documentation is received, a projected credit is placed on the student’s account for Financial Check-In (FCI). Students must complete FCI to secure their courses. For students utilizing the Post-9/11 benefit, the required documentation will typically be a copy of their Certificate of Eligibility. If a student does not have a document from the VA with eligibility information, they may submit their application for VA education benefits along with the Eligibility Statement. For Veteran Readiness and Employment students, a 28-1905 is required to receive this projected credit.  When veterans who are using the Post-9/11 benefit are close to exhausting entitlement, the third-party credit cannot be applied. These students will be given a special payment plan that will not require any payment until 90 days into the term. This will give time for all remaining entitlement payments to be received. The military payment plans for residential and online students are available through FCI for online students using Montgomery, Selected Reserve, and Survivors’ and Dependents’ GI Bill benefits. Please note that this option will not be made available until after a VA document verifying the chapter of benefit being used is received by the Office of Military Affairs or until after the Office of Military Affairs has verified the student’s eligibility with the VA. The deferred payment plan is available through FCI for residential students using Montgomery, Selected Reserve, and Survivors’ and Dependents’ GI Bill benefits. Please note this option will not be made available until after a VA document verifying the chapter of benefit being used is received by the Office of Military Affairs or until after the Office of Military Affairs has verified the student’s eligibility with the VA.

Students may find information on the general process and policies for using these benefits on our GI Bill webpage.

Military Withdrawals

Students with qualifying military reasons for the withdrawal may be able to appeal for a Military Withdrawal, which, if approved, will waive the tuition charges associated with the withdrawn course. Military Withdrawals can be granted through an appeal supported by specific military documentation and will allow the tuition charges for the withdrawn course to be waived if the appeal is approved. Students that are approved a military withdrawal receive a full refund of tuition for the course. Residential students may also be refunded fees, room and board, and deposits, or these can be held and applied for a future semester. All Military Withdrawal requests are reviewed on an individual, case-by-case basis.

How to Request a Military Withdrawal

Step One: Withdraw from your course(s)

Online students may contact an Academic Advisor at (800) 424-9595 to discuss this possibility, and residential students may visit the Office of the Registrar in-person.

Step Two: Request a Military Withdrawal

Online students will need to contact the Office of Military Affairs at 855-355-4947 or at luomilitary@liberty.edu to see if their situation meets the criteria for a military withdrawal.

Residential students will need to contact the Professional Advisor in the College of Applied Studies and Academic Success in Demoss Room 1100 or by phone at (434) 592-4202 or by email to advising@liberty.edu.

Step Three: Submit Documentation for a Military Withdrawal

A thorough review of supporting military documentation is required for a military withdrawal to be approved. Supporting documentation includes a copy of military orders or a letter from a commanding officer for review. These documents must be official and specific enough to indicate the dates of deployment or duty.

Online students will submit documentation to the Office of Military Affairs at luomilitary@liberty.edu or fax to (434) 455-1287.

Residential students will submit documentation to the Office of Military Affairs at luomilitary@liberty.edu or fax to (434) 455-1287.

Returning from Deployment

Liberty University has processes in place for military students returning from deployment to ensure academic progress is not harmed. Upon return from deployment, students will need to contact the University to being the process of readmission.

Step One: Contact Liberty University

Online students and residential graduate students should contact the Office of Military Affairs by phone to (434) 592-5990 or by email to luomilitary@liberty.edu. Residential undergraduate students should contact the Professional Advisor in the College of Applied Studies and Academic Success by phone to (434) 592-4202 or email to advising@liberty.edu.

Step Two: Application/ Reinstatement

A new application will need to be submitted to an Admissions Counselor. Online students may call (800) 424-9595 to reapply. Residential students may call (800) 543-5317 to reapply. Once reaccepted, military documentation can be sent to the Office of Military Affairs verifying that broken enrollment occurred due to military deployment. Military documentation can be emailed to luomilitary@liberty.edu. Once confirmed the broken enrollment was due to military deployment, the application will be processed as reinstatement under the original degree plan.

Residential undergraduate students returning from military duty after breaking enrollment may submit a Financial Aid Scholarship Appeal to request that previous institutional aid be reapplied to the new semester. Students can contact Financial Aid by phone to (434) 582-2270 or by email to financialaid@liberty.edu.

The admissions application fee is waived for military students when reapplying for admission.

Step Three: Get Connected

The Office of Military Affairs can be contacted by phone at (434) 424-5990 or by email to luomilitary@liberty.edu for any needed assistance for military students returning from military deployment. Residential students may also visit the Veterans Center located in the Montview Student Union, Suite 2770 (second floor) or contact the Military Student Liaison at (434) 592-5656 or by email to militarypoc@liberty.edu.

Grievance Procedure

The Virginia State Approving Agency (SAA) is the approving authority of education and training programs for Virginia. Our office investigates complaints of GI Bill^® beneficiaries. While most complaints should initially follow the school grievance policy, if the situation cannot be resolved at the school, the beneficiary should contact our office via email at saa@dvs.virginia.gov.

Contact Information

The Office of Military Affairs is committed to our mission of supporting military service members, veterans, and their families. You may contact a Military Benefits Representative by phone, email, chat, or by visiting one of our locations on campus to meet with a Military Benefits Representative. All contact information can be found on our Contact Us page.

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GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/.