Liberty University is a conservative Evangelical college, which is reflected in its honor code and other policies. The university teaches
creationism alongside the science of
evolutionary biology. Its honor code, called the "Liberty Way", emphasizes
purity culture. In 2021, a dozen anonymous women sued the school, charging that it failed to curb domestic violence and sexual assault on campus. A 2021
ProPublica investigation found that "an ethos of sexual purity, as embodied by the Liberty Way, has led to school officials discouraging, dismissing and even blaming female students who have tried to come forward with claims of sexual assault." The school sought for years to conceal campus crime and safety statistics, according to a preliminary 2023 report by the
U.S. Department of Education reviewed by the
Washington Post. The report, whose findings may yet be appealed by the school, documents alleged violations of the
Clery Act, which requires schools that receive federal money to disclose crime and safety statistics. Instead, the report indicates, university officials destroyed documentation and failed to notify the campus of sexual predators, bomb threats, and gas leaks. In March 2024 the U.S. Department of education fined the university $14 million for its treatment of sexual assault survivors and the misclassification or underreporting of crimes. Victims were afraid to report crimes for fear of reprisals or were punished for violating the student code by administrators.
Demographics In fall 2017, the acceptance rate for new first-time, full-time students entering Liberty's resident program was 30%. In 2011, the overall acceptance rate, which includes online students, was 51 percent. Liberty University Online is an open enrollment institution. Liberty's Black population has declined from 19.9 percent in 2011 to 10.4 percent in 2019, with a graduation rate of 17% among full-time Black students.
On-campus demographics As of 2021, the residential student body is 74% White, 5% Latino, 4% Black, 3% two or more races, and 2% Asian or Pacific Islander, less than 1% Native American, and 7% "other". Its male-to-female ratio is 45% to 54%.
Online demographics Including online students, Liberty's undergraduate population in 2017 was 51% White, 26.5% race/ethnicity unknown, 15.4% Black or African American, 2.3% two or more races, 1.7% Hispanic/Latino, 1.4% non-resident alien, 0.9% Asian, 0.6% American Indian or Alaskan native, 0.2% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., are represented along with 86 countries. The online male-to-female ratio is 40% to 60%. More than 30,000 military students and over 850 international students attend Liberty. , when including online students, LU was the largest
Evangelical Christian university in the world. , LU was the largest private non-profit university in the United States.
LGBTQ+ stance Words and actions indicating "LGBT states of mind" are prohibited for students as of the 2021 version of
The Liberty Way, the student handbook. Sexual relations are only permitted in a Biblically ordained marriage between a man and a woman. The student handbook says gay sex is prohibited by the
Bible, and thus by the school. Kissing, holding hands, or dating a member of the same sex are also prohibited under
The Liberty Way. Students have criticized the university for being unwelcoming to
LGBT students.
The Guardian has reported that LGBTQ+ students hide their dating behavior in order to graduate and to avoid being fined. Campus Pride, an organization that advocates for
LGBT rights on college campuses, listed Liberty University as one of the worst universities for LGBT students. The school offers
conversion therapy to gay students, a practice that peer-reviewed studies have shown is ineffective and harmful. In 2021, a former Liberty University student was part of a class action lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Education alleging that the institution should not be eligible to receive federal funding because of its discriminatory practices against LGBT students. In 2015, Liberty University denied the discounted tuition to same-sex and trans spouses of military personnel that it offered to heterosexual military couples. In 2016, the university ordered a version of a psychology textbook that omitted sections with LGBTQ+-focused content. The school says it does not engage in unlawful discrimination or harassment because of race, color, ancestry, religion, age, sex, national origin, pregnancy or childbirth, disability or military veteran status. But it "reserves its right to discriminate on the basis of religion to the extent that applicable law respects its right to act in furtherance of its religious objectives."
Honor code The Liberty University honor code forbids students to be alone with a member of the opposite sex "at an off-campus residence" or to have premarital sex anywhere. In 2015, Liberty revised the code to allow students to watch
R-rated movies and to play video games
rated "M". In 2017, the curfew policy was changed to permit students age 20 and over to sign out and stay out past curfew. In 2018, the administration rejected a resolution from the student government that would have allowed off-campus drinking, "profane language", and the use of tobacco.
Convocation Liberty's convocation, held at the
Vines Center on Wednesdays and Fridays, is the largest weekly gathering of Christian students in America. Attendance is mandatory for residential undergraduate and graduate students and commuter students under 21 years of age. They must report to their assigned Resident Assistant and sit in their assigned section, though they may skip Convocation once per semester if they notify their Resident Assistant at least 24 hours in advance. They are fined $25 for each of their first two unexcused absences, and $50 for each subsequent absence. Commuting students over 21 are encouraged to attend. Convocation guests have included pastors, athletes, motivational speakers, and political speakers, who are usually conservative. These include former vice president Mike Pence in 2022 and democratic socialist senator Bernie Sanders in 2015.
Clubs and organizations According to Liberty's website, there are over 100 registered on-campus clubs and organizations.
Liberty Champion Liberty Champion is Liberty University's official student newspaper. In 2019, Will Young, a former editor of the
Champion, recalled his experiences in a lengthy
Washington Post article. In his first week in that role, he had been rebuked for attempting to get the campus's
police blotter. He found that school officials often overrode student editors' decisions and imposed censorship, which was part of "an infrastructure of thought-control that Falwell and his lieutenants [had] introduced into every aspect of Liberty University life". Young wrote that when he eventually resigned, the school did not appoint a new student editor, opting instead to turn the newspaper "into a faculty-run, student-written organ and seizing complete control of its content." It operated from 2017 to 2019.
Speech and debate Liberty's Inter-Collegiate policy debate program ranked first overall (i.e., combining the results at the varsity, junior varsity, and novice levels) for their division at the
National Debate Tournament in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. In varsity rankings, Liberty finished 20th in 2005, 17th in 2006, 24th in 2007, 12th in 2008, 9th in 2009, 4th in 2010, and 4th in 2011. In 2017, the team finished atop the final rankings of all three national debate tournaments for the eighth time, sweeping the American Debate Association, the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), and the National Debate Tournament (NDT). As of 2017, Liberty was the only school to finish first in all three in a single year. As well, it had placed first in the CEDA for eight straight years, first in the NDT for seven of those, and first in the ADA for 13 of the last 14. Through 2016, Liberty hosted the
Virginia High School League's annual Debate State Championships each April. VHSL stopped holding debate competitions at the school after Chancellor Falwell said students should arm themselves to "end those
Muslims" who committed the
2015 San Bernardino attack. League officials said they sought an "environment free from harassment, personal threat, or physical or mental harm." == Athletics ==