UCalgary Student Pack Verification Failure - Camera Error Loop & Undated ID Card

[archanamahex]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Verification Help & Guidance

Hi everyone,

I am a genuine student at the University of Calgary trying to verify my status for the GitHub Student Developer Pack, and I am completely stuck in a broken automated rejection loop.

The only physical item I have from my university is my student identification card. However, the University of Calgary's standard card layout does not feature a printed issue or expiration date. Because of this, the automated verification bot rejects it instantly every single time.

Furthermore, when I try to submit, the portal rejects my live webcam feed within two minutes with a generic "Please use your device camera" error message. I am actively using my built-in hardware camera with full browser permissions granted, so this is a system-side glitch.

I do not have access to any other physical documents because my university handles everything digitally. I am completely ready to provide live camera captures or screenshots of my official student portals (Desire2Learn, My University of Calgary Student Centre) which explicitly show my full name, active student status, and my upcoming course schedule for the Fall 2026 and Winter 2027 semesters. I am still in university for another two full years.

Since the automated system is fundamentally incompatible with my school's identification design, could a community manager or moderator please flag my account for a manual human review so I can get this sorted out?

Thank you so much for your time and help.
Archana Maheshwari

[nirav-gajera]

@archanamahex
Two separate problems here, and the good news is one of them has an actual fix rather than needing a manual override.

The undated ID card will never pass, by design — but you likely don't need it. GitHub Education's automated check specifically requires a printed date on the document, so a UCalgary ID without one is always going to get rejected no matter how many times you retry — that's not a bug, it's the proof type's requirement. Switch proof types instead: under "My University of Calgary Student Centre," look for an Enrollment Verification Letter (sometimes called a "proof of enrollment" or "confirmation of enrollment" letter) — most universities' student portals can generate this as an instant, dated PDF straight from the registrar, and it explicitly shows your name, institution, and a current date, which is exactly what the automated check is actually looking for. This sidesteps the ID card problem entirely rather than fighting it.

The camera error is a separate, known glitch, not something wrong on your end. "Please use your device camera" firing within two minutes despite full permissions being granted is a widely reported issue with the verification widget, not specific to your hardware. A couple of things that have worked for others:

• Try a different browser (Chrome tends to be the most reliable for this specific flow) if you haven't already.
• Try the flow from your phone instead of your computer, or vice versa — the desktop/webcam path seems more prone to this than mobile.
• Fully close any other app that might have a lock on the camera (video call software, other browser tabs), even briefly, before starting.

On the "flag for manual review" ask specifically: community discussions here aren't staffed by moderators who can manually approve applications — that's not something this forum can action. The actual path for a manual review is contacting GitHub Education Support directly. Since you already have official portal screenshots showing your name, active status, and course schedule, attach those (plus the enrollment verification letter if you're able to get one) directly in the support ticket and explain that the automated flow has failed repeatedly despite genuine student status — that's exactly the kind of case they do pull for manual review when the automated path keeps failing a real student.