GitHub Education application denied despite being an active teacher at an accredited school

[AnaTech80]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Re-verification/Repeat Application

Hi everyone,

I am a secondary school teacher in Spain and recently applied for GitHub Education benefits using my GitHub account.

Unfortunately, my application was denied with the following message:

"We were unfortunately not able to verify your academic status. Please address the following issues and apply again."

I believe the issue may be related to the fact that I initially started the application process while visiting another school, where a colleague told me about GitHub Education and encouraged me to apply. However, I am currently employed at a different accredited educational institution.

I have already tried to make sure that my profile information is correct, but I am not sure what additional steps I should take before submitting a new application.

Could someone please advise me on:

How I can request a new review of my application.
Where and how I should submit any additional documentation as proof of my academic status as a teacher if needed.
Whether a failed camera/document verification could be the reason for the rejection.

I am happy to provide official proof of employment or any other documentation required to verify my academic status.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance.

Best regards,

AnaTech80

[MalikAhed]

Starting the application while visiting another school should not by itself disqualify you; the important part is proving your current teaching affiliation. GitHub’s guidance says to reapply with a clear faculty ID, employment verification letter, or other official document that shows the institution and a current date.

Before reapplying, make sure your GitHub profile name matches the document, use the current school’s full name and website, and upload one sharp document where the employment/academic status and date are readable. If the school has no recognized academic email domain, include an official school webpage or letterhead explaining that and contact GitHub Education Support with the school name, website, and domain.

Reapply from https://github.com/settings/education/benefits. For a manual review, use https://github.com/proxy/support.github.com/contact/education and include the rejection text, application ID, school website, and the document type. If this resolves it, please click Mark as answer.

[AnaTech80]

I have updated my "GitHub billing information with my full name exactly as it appears in your academic affiliation" as requested in the rejection message.

When I try to submit the application again, I receive a message indicating that there may be an issue with my location because I am currently away from campus (attached picture). As it is the weekend, I am not on school premises at the moment.

The application opens the camera and asks me to upload an image to explain why I am far from campus, but I am not entirely sure what kind of image is required. Should I upload a photo of myself, a document proving my employment, or some other type of evidence?

I would appreciate any guidance on what image or documentation would be most appropriate so that I can complete the verification process successfully.

Thank you again for your help and support.

[MalikAhed]

That prompt is asking for evidence explaining why the location check thinks you are far from your institution. It is not asking for a selfie, and an ordinary employment document is useful only if it also explains the location difference.

If you teach remotely, work from an officially assigned off-site/closer campus, or your school has multiple locations, upload one clear institution-issued image that states that arrangement and shows your name, school, the relevant location or remote status, and a current date. Examples would be a current timetable showing online teaching, an assignment letter naming the other campus, or a letter from the school on letterhead. Do not edit the document or try to create location metadata.

If you are simply away for the weekend and your normal teaching is on-campus, there may be no special image that can honestly explain that exception. The safest route is to retry when you are at the school, with browser location permission enabled and any VPN, proxy, or location-masking service disabled. A photo of yourself would not prove either your teaching status or why you are away.

GitHub’s guidance also says the academic proof should be clear and show current status plus at least one date: https://github.com/proxy/docs.github.com/en/education/about-github-education/github-education-for-students/solving-problems-with-your-github-education-access. If you are at the correct campus and it still reports you as away, or the school has an incorrect campus location, contact GitHub Education Support and include the school website, the exact message, and the screenshot rather than submitting unrelated evidence: https://github.com/proxy/support.github.com/contact/education.

[AnaTech80]

Hello,

Thank you very much for your quick response and for the detailed instructions.

I teach in person at my school on a regular basis, and I have already tried submitting the verification request while physically present at my institute. Unfortunately, I received exactly the same messages (picture attached).

This is why, in my initial message, I mentioned that I believed the issue might be related to having started the application process from a different school. When I begin a new application, I receive the message:

“That academic domain is associated with the school IES D....”

However, that is not my current school. It is the school where I originally started the verification process.

Since the same issue appears even when I submit the request from my actual institute, it seems that the system may have incorrectly associated my academic domain with that other school rather than with my current one.

Based on your explanation, I understand that the most appropriate next step is to contact GitHub Education Support directly, providing the exact message and screenshots of the issue, as this appears to be an incorrect school association rather than a location-verification problem.

Thank you again for your help and for pointing me in the right direction.

Kind regards

[MalikAhed]

@AnaTech80
happy to help would you please mark as answered and repost your question it might help you reach out to other people that know since i commented on this people might think your question is answered

[AnaTech80]

Sure Malik! I've already submitted the topic to GitHub Education Support. Thanks a lot!!