School and credential legitimacy check

Confirm whether an institution is accredited, a credential is valid, and a program exists before enrolling or paying.

Common in international student fraud, credential mills, and fake university scams. Patchr cross-references official accreditation registries, validates the credential chain, and packages the result as a portable proof card — so you know whether the institution is real before tuition moves.

Try school legitimacy check in sandbox API reference

Confirm accreditation before tuition transfers

Look up the institution in official accreditation databases before any tuition, enrollment fee, or application payment changes hands.

Validate the credential chain

Verify that the program, degree type, and institution exist in the national or international credential registry — not just in a brochure or website.

Produce a portable audit trail

The output is a sealed proof card with a cite ref you can share with an immigration advisor, employer, or escalation reviewer without re-explaining the source chain.

For implementation teams

Embed accreditation checks into enrollment and credential verification flows.

Your app sends the institution name, program, credential type, country, student ID, and enrollment proof. Patchr returns the accreditation status, credential verdict, registry check result, and a sealed proof card with a stable cite ref.

Decionis interoperability

The proof card carries a stable citeRef in the format patchr:proofCard:card_school_001#v1 — importable by Decionis-compatible audit ledgers and external governance systems.

Full template API reference

Implementation request

curl -X POST https://api.patchr.co/v1/workflows/templates/schoolLegitimacyCheck/run \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PATCHR_API_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "request": "Check whether Pacific Online University is accredited for the MBA program",
    "conversationId": "conv_school_001",
    "metadata": {
      "institutionName": "Pacific Online University",
      "programName": "Master of Business Administration",
      "credentialType": "masters",
      "country": "US",
      "studentId": "stu_demo_001",
      "enrollmentProof": "att_enrollment_letter"
    }
  }'

Implementation response

{
  "ok": true,
  "taskId": "task_school_001",
  "domain": "resolve",
  "template": {
    "templateId": "schoolLegitimacyCheck",
    "domain": "resolve",
    "name": "School and credential legitimacy check"
  },
  "accreditationStatus": "unaccredited",
  "credentialVerdict": "invalid",
  "registryCheck": {
    "found": false,
    "registryName": "CHEA Database",
    "url": "https://chea.org/search"
  },
  "proofCard": {
    "cardId": "card_school_001",
    "kind": "proofCard",
    "title": "School legitimacy: Pacific Online University",
    "summary": "Institution not found in CHEA accreditation database. Credential chain unverifiable.",
    "evidenceStatus": "sourceBound",
    "confidence": 0.88,
    "openQuestions": ["accreditationSourceCheck"],
    "recommendedRestraint": "proceedWithCaution",
    "cite": "patchr:proofCard:card_school_001#v1",
    "citeRef": "patchr:proofCard:card_school_001#v1"
  }
}

Protect moment

For edtech platforms, visa agencies, and HR tools verifying applicant credentials.

Use it when a student is considering enrolling in a new institution, when an employer is verifying a candidate's degree, or when an immigration advisor needs to confirm credential legitimacy before a visa application. The output tells the reviewer what is accredited, what is invalid, and what to do next.

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