Institution verification blocked by AVE, and support case form is failing

Hello,

I am unable to complete institution verification for Microsoft Learn for Educators, and both documented support channels are currently failing for me.

What is happening:

1. My institution verification was rejected with a "Blocked" response from AVE.

2. The in-portal Create a Case form returns "An error has occurred while processing your request. Please try again later" every time I submit, so I cannot raise a ticket through the documented route.

I understand at least one other educator has reported this same combination recently, so I am writing directly in the hope this can be routed manually.

I believe the AVE block is because our institutional domain is pathfinderfoundation.co.in rather than a .edu or .ac.in domain. In India, a large proportion of accredited private higher education institutions operate on .co.in and .org domains, so the suffix is not an indicator of accreditation status here. AICTE records are the authoritative source.

Institution details:

Name: Pathfinder Research and Training Foundation (PRTF)

Website: https://pathfinderfoundation.co.in/

Accreditation:

Approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the statutory national regulator for technical and management education in India, under the Ministry of Education, Government of India.

AICTE Permanent Institution ID: 1-43701706366

AISHE Code: C-72792

Programmes offered:

1. Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), AICTE approved, two-year full-time, 120 students per batch. The programme is AI-centric by design, with Year 2 specialisation tracks in AI and Data Sciences, and Marketing and Finance.

2. Professional certification programmes in cloud and AI, delivered on campus as continuing education alongside the PGDM.

Both fall within the Educational Institution Option scope, which covers accredited degree, diploma, certificate, and continuing or further education programmes.

Faculty verification:

I am Associate Professor in the AI and Data Science department. My profile, showing my institutional email address, is published at https://pathfinderfoundation.co.in/mentor-and-guest-faculty/

Domain ownership:

pathfinderfoundation.co.in is owned and operated by the institution..

Intended use:

Microsoft Official Curriculum maps onto our existing teaching plan. AI-900 and AI-102 into the AI and Data Sciences track, PL-300 and MB-220 into Marketing and Finance, AZ-900 and DP-900 as core digital foundations.

Could someone please complete verification manually, or advise on an alternative route while the case form is unavailable? I am happy to provide any further documentation.

Thank you,

Aayan Kumar

Associate Professor, AI and Data Science Department

Pathfinder Research and Training Foundation (PRTF)

email address removed for privacy reasons