Azure for Students eligibility issue – UK FE college delivering LJMU-validated Foundation Degrees

Stewart Cunliffe 0 Reputation points
2026-10-08T13:51:47.25+00:00

We are seeking assistance with an institutional eligibility verification issue affecting students attempting to register for Microsoft Azure for Students.

Institution details

Current institution: [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]

Formerly: [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]

Student email domain: @eastlancslearning.ac.uk

Institution type: UK Further Education college delivering Higher Education programmes

University partner: [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]

The issue

Students enrolled on our FdSc Software Engineering programme are unable to register for Azure for Students because Microsoft's verification process indicates that they or their institution are not eligible.

Although East Lancashire Learning is classified as a Further Education institution, we deliver a Foundation Degree programme validated and awarded by [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] University.

Our institution was previously known as [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] Group, and we are concerned that the institutional name change or current academic email domain may be affecting Microsoft's verification process.

Impact

This is preventing students from accessing the Azure resources needed for Assignment 1 of module [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed], Cloud Computing and Programming.

The lecturer is also unable to obtain suitable Azure credit or access to demonstrate the technologies required for the module.

The official LJMU module specification confirms the Higher Education programme and its delivery through the college: [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]

Our question

How can [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] Learning request a review of its academic institutional eligibility and student email domain so that students enrolled on LJMU-validated Foundation Degree programmes can be correctly assessed for Azure for Students eligibility?

We would appreciate guidance on the appropriate Microsoft Education team or escalation process for resolving this verification issue.

We can provide evidence of the university partnership, programme enrolment and registration errors through an appropriate private support channel.

Thank you.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For education | Other
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  1. Julie Huynh 3,850 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-08T15:30:59.7633333+00:00

    Dear @Stewart Cunliffe,

    Good day! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum!

    First of all, I would like to clarify that this is a community forum where users help one another. No one here, including myself, has access to Microsoft's internal academic verification systems or the ability to directly review or approve institutional eligibility.

    Based on the information you've provided, it appears that the issue may be related to how East Lancashire Learning and the @eastlancslearning.ac.uk domain are currently recognized within Microsoft's academic verification process for the Azure for Students program.

    Since your institution recently underwent a name change and operates as a UK Further Education college delivering Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU)-validated Foundation Degrees, it is possible that the institution name, domain, or academic status has not yet been fully reflected in the verification system used to determine Azure for Students eligibility.I would recommend working with your institution's IT department or Microsoft 365 administrator to confirm whether East Lancashire Learning and the @eastlancslearning.ac.uk domain are properly recognized within the Azure for Students eligibility and verification process.

    If your IT team is unable to identify any issues on the institution's side, the next best step would be to contact the Azure for Education Support team for further assistance. They are better equipped to review cases where an academic institution, email domain, or student eligibility cannot be successfully validated by the Azure for Students verification system.

    For additional guidance, you may also review:

    In some cases, the academic domain may need to be reviewed and added to the verification system before students can successfully redeem the Azure for Students offer.

    For reference: Unable to activate Azure for Students – "Not eligible for Azure free account" message

    I hope this helps point you in the right direction.

    If my answer helped you resolve your issue, please consider clicking it yes. This helps others in the community find solutions more easily.

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