DEPENDENT GRANT-IN-AID Purpose Dependents (spouse and/or

DEPENDENTGRANT‐IN‐AID



Purpose

Dependents (spouse and/or eligible children) of full‐time benefited staff and faculty are eligible to

receivegrant‐in‐aidassistance(100%tuitionreduction)totakecoursesatLibertyUniversity.



Eligibility

Staff:Thisbenefitisavailabletodependentsoffull‐timebenefitedstaffemployeeswhohaveworked

a

minimumof6monthsafterbeingclassifiedasabenefitedemployee(for mostthiswillbethedateof

hire).Theemployeemustbeactivelyatworkintheirnormalplaceofbusinessatthetimeofapplication,

enrollmentandstartofclasses.Employeeswhoareonapprovedpaid

orunpaidleavemayapplyupon

returningtoworkinafull‐timecapacity.



Faculty:Thebenefitisavailabletodependentsoffull‐timebenefitedfacultyfromthedateofhire.

AnyoneusingDGIAatthetimehe/sheishiredintoafull‐timebenefited positionbyLibertyUniversity

willbeexemptfromthesixmonthwaitingperiodundertheContinuingEducationbenefit.



DependentEligibility

(a) Aspouse(unlessemployedasafull‐timebenefitedemployeeoftheUniversity);

(b) An unmarried son or daughter including an adopted son or daughter and stepson or

stepdaughter.

1) You will be required annually to submit the current year's tax return form showi ng  your

dependentiseligible.If youclaimedyour child asadependent this willbea copy of your

taxes.Ifyouwereunabletoclaimyourchildduetoageorincomeyoumaysubmitacopyof

theirtaxform.

2) Dependentmustbeacceptedinadegreeprogram.

3) A dependent in high school taking college level courses who qualifies in a special student

status.ThestudentcannotbeenrolledintheLibertyOnlineAcademy.

4) The DGIAwillcoveruntiltheendoftheacademicyearinwhichhe/sheturnsage27.

ConditionsofBenefit

TheFinancialAidSatisfactoryAcademicProgress(SAP)policyisincorporatedintotheDGIAbenefit.The

maximumnumberofhoursallowedshallbetheminimumnumberofhoursrequiredtocompletetheir

degree.Inaddition,any student takingcoursesusing DGIA must beadmittedintoadegreeprogram

beforeusingthebenefit.



CoverageofBenefit

Tuition/Fees–Thebenefitwillcovertuitiononlyandwillnotcoveranyfees.

The DGIA benefitcoversno more than the minimumhours*requiredin the program at eachdegree

level,i.e.bachelor’s,master’s,doctoral, inthe residentoronline learningprograms ofthe  University.

ThebenefitdoesnotcoverInstitutesorcertificateprograms.

Programs Not Covered — The CE benefit does not include  the following programs: Doctor of

Osteopathy,LawSchool,degreeprogramsorJURIcoursesofferedbytheLawSchool, A.A.andB.S.

in Paralegal Studies, M.B.A.–American Legal Studies, M.B.A.–International Legal Studies,

(undergraduateorgraduatecertificateprograms).



WaitingPeriod–Theemployeemustbebenefitedforaminimumof6monthsbeforethedependentis

eligibletotake his/her firstcourseusingthe DGIAbenefit.Ifthefull6monthshasnotbeenreached

beforethestartofthecourse,theemployee’sdependentmustwaituntilthenextsub‐termtousethe

DGIAbenefit.



*PleaseseeCoordinationof Benefits sectionifthe dependenthasalready attemptedhourstoward a

degreehe/sheisseekingtocomplete.



Taxation

Employees will not be taxed for dependent(s) undergraduate degree tuition reduction.Graduate

coursesextendedtothedependent(s)arefullytaxableandtheemployeeissubjecttoincomereporting

andregularwithholdingforthefulltuitionreductionvalueofgraduate

classesfortheirdependent(s).

Theonlyexceptionstotaxationofgraduateclassesappliestothosedependent(s)enrolledingraduate

classeswhoareperformingteachingorresearchfortheUniversity.



Dependent(s)whobelievetheymaymeetthetaxationexclusionforgraduatecoursesduetoperforming

teaching or research for the University, should

 fill  out the CE and DGIA Taxation Exemption Form to

requestauthorization,haveitsignedbytheappropriatesupervisorypartyasindicatedontheform,and

return to HR for approval.The CE and DGIA Taxation Exemption Form can be found on the Human

Resourceswebsite.This form shouldbefilled outassoon aspossibleafterenrolling inanygraduate

classes.



IfusingContinuingEducation,thetotalamountofalltaxableincomeandcorrelatingwithholdingis

calculatedonacollectivebasisandincludesthedollarvalueofallemployeegraduatecoursesover

$5,250plusthefullvalueofDGIAparticipantgraduateclassesduringthecalendaryear.



TaxationoftheBenefit–AdministrativeProcess

Since the IRS requires the  University to deduct regular withholding taxes from the full education

reductionvalueofDGIAgraduate classes(manyemployeesmeetthisthresholdearlyintheyear),HR

has instituted a process to periodically assess when an employee is subject to income reporting and

taxation.Thisprocessallowstheemployeetopaythetaxesassociatedwiththebenefitasrequiredby

theIRSona“payasyougo”pro‐ratabasisduringtheyear,eliminatingtheyear‐endimpactofthefull

benefitadditiontoincomeandtaxation.



Restrictions

 Inthe eventtheUniversity employsbothparents,thegrant‐in‐aidisavailablethroughonlyone

parent.

 Ifaneligible employeeismarriedbetweenthestartofthesemester/termandtheADD/DROP

period, then HR will approve the DGIA for the  dependent in the same semester/term. If

 the

employeeismarriedaftertheADD/DROPperiod,thenDGIAwillnotbeapprovedforthecurrent

semesterorterm,butwouldcoverbeginningthestartofthenextsemesterorterm.

 Thegrant‐in‐aid,whencombinedwiththeVirginiaTuitionAssistanceGrantProgram(VTAG)and

federalPell

Grant,whenapplicable,shallnotexceedthetotaltuitionratefortheacademicyear.

 NootherinstitutionalaidcanbecombinedwithDGIA.

 TheUniversityreservestherighttoneverallowthegrant‐in‐aidtooverpaytheaccount.

LCAScholarship

AdependentwhoisalsoeligiblefortheLCAscholarshipmaycontinueontheLCAscholarshiporelectto

usetheDGIAbenefit.However,oncethedependenthasswitchedfromtheLCAscholarshiptotheDGIA

benefithe/shewillnotbeabletoswitchbacktotheLCAscholarshipforanyreason.



CoordinationofBenefits

DegreeatLU

IfadegreewasearnedatLU,thedependentmaynotuseDGIAtocompleteanotherdegreeatthesame

level.



DegreeatAnotherInstitution

Ifadegreewasearnedatanotherinstitution;thedependentmayuseDGIAtocompleteanotherdegree

atthesamelevel.



DegreeinProcess

AllhoursatLibertyUniversityorthroughLibertyOnlinewillgotowardtheminimumnumberofhoursto

completethedegree.Oncetheminimumnumberofhoursrequiredtocompletethedegreeisreached,

nomorehourswillbeavailabletotakecoursesatthatsamedegreelevel.

Prerequisites

Prerequisiteswill

becoveredunderDGIA whenrequiredforagraduate degreeprograminwhich the

dependentismajoring.



Process

 AnapplicationforDGIAmustbecompletedbytheemployeeintheDGIAportal.Theportalis

locatedontheHumanResourceswebsite(www.liberty.edu/hr)intheHRFormsLibrary(under

benefitsandeducation).

 TheDGIAapplicationshouldbe completedintheportalbyApril30

annuallyforthefollowing

academicyear.

 Employee’snoteligibleforthe Fallsemesterdue to the waiting period,maysubmittheDGIA

applicationoncetheybecomeeligible.

 EmployeeswhomarryduringtheyearmaysubmitDGIAtocovertheirspouse.

UndergraduateStudents

 UndergraduatestudentsmustcompleteandsubmittheFreeApplicationforFederalStudentAid

(FAFSA)eachyearthattheyareenrolled.IftheFAFSAapplicationisselectedforverificationthe

employee/dependentmustproviderequesteddocumentationtotheFinancialAidOffice.

 In addition, the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) application must be completed –

regardlessofmajor–bytherequiredpublisheddeadlinewhichoccursbeforethestudent’sfirst

academicyearofenrollment.

o In certain circumstances the dependent may be required to complete another VTAG

application.Ifthisisrequired,aFinancialAidrepresentativewillcontactthedependent

uponreceiptoftheDGIAform.

GraduateStudents

 GraduatestudentsarenotrequiredtosubmittheFAFSAapplication.

 Only students under a qualifying graduate degree will be required to complete a VTAG

application.StudentswhomaybeeligibleforgraduateVTAGshouldapplyinASISTfortheVTAG

fundsbeforethestatedeadlineofJuly31st.Examplesofpreviouslyeligiblegraduateprograms

include: MSN: Adult/Acute CNS Track (MNAC); MSN: Community Track (MNCT); MSN: Nurse

EducatorTrack(MNED);MPH:Nutrition;MPH:HealthPromotion.

Disclaimer–Participationinadegreeprogramshouldnotbeconstruedasaconditionforemployment

orafuturepromotionalguarantee.



LibertyUniversitystrictlyfollowsallIRSregulationspertainingtoaTuitionReductionProgramunderIRC

Section117(d).



This document is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as an employment agreement or

contract.LibertyUniversityretainstherighttoamendorchangepoliciescontainedhere‐withinatanytimewithoutprior

notice.