* Collective group: "The faculty is offered financial assistance." This treats the faculty as a singular entity.
* Individuals: "The faculty are offered financial assistance." This treats the faculty as a plural group of individuals.
The sentence you provided ("The faculty are offered financial assistance or assistance") is grammatically incorrect because it uses the plural verb "are" followed by "or assistance," which is redundant. You should either use "financial assistance" or "assistance" but not both in this sentence.