University Recognition Check
Type a university name and see whether it appears in swot, Wikidata, ROR, and OpenAlex — from a 16,822-university open census. Presence in databases is infrastructure, not a verdict: it is not accreditation, not quality, and not legal status.
CENSUS SNAPSHOT 2026-10-18 · WIKIDATA FRAME · 16,822 ROWS · NO AI INFERENCE — PURE LOOKUP
The census file (about 0.9 MB) downloads only when you search. Results are capped at 20; refine your query to narrow them down.
What the census looks like
Most universities in the census sit on the early rungs of the recognition ladder. Wikidata reads 100% by construction — it is the frame the census was built from, not an achievement.
| Score | Universities | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 4 of 4 databases | 6,817 | 41% |
| 3 of 4 databases | 5,801 | 34% |
| 2 of 4 databases | 1,109 | 7% |
| 1 of 4 databases | 3,095 | 18% |
Per-database presence: swot 47% · Wikidata 100% (frame) · ROR 75% · OpenAlex 75%. Source: Academic Database Recognition 2026, v2 census, n=16,822, CC-BY-4.0.
What each signal actually is
swot is the JetBrains student-pack domain list: an institution appears when its domain is registered there. It is typically the first database to list a new institution. Wikidata is the open knowledge base; this census was built from its university records, so every row has one by construction. ROR (Research Organization Registry) is the persistent identifier registry for research organizations. OpenAlex is the open scholarly index; here it was looked up by ROR ID, which is why rows without a ROR ID show NOT CHECKED rather than absent.
Presence is not a verdict
A high score does not make an institution accredited, good, or legally recognized, and a low score does not make one fake. New institutions climb the ladder slowly — swot first, then Wikidata, then ROR, then OpenAlex — and a 2026-10-18 snapshot cannot see records created after that date. Use this check as one piece of infrastructure evidence, then verify accreditation and legal status with the bodies that actually grant them.
One honest example from our own house: ACLAS itself is not in this census — it had no Wikidata record on the snapshot date. In the same dataset release, the separate 35-institution curated panel lists it at 1/4 (swot only), with its ROR application in progress at that time. We publish that row the same way we publish every other row.
Checker questions, answered
What does this check cover?
One census: 16,822 universities, each checked against four academic infrastructure databases — swot, Wikidata, ROR, and OpenAlex. The census frame is Wikidata, and the snapshot date is 2026-10-18. The underlying dataset is Academic Database Recognition 2026 (CC-BY-4.0), downloadable in full from the dataset page.
Does a 4/4 result mean a university is accredited?
No. A 4/4 result means only that the university appears in all four databases. Database presence is not accreditation, not quality, and not legal status. Accreditation is a separate claim made by specific accrediting bodies and must be checked with them directly.
What does "OpenAlex: NOT CHECKED" mean?
OpenAlex is looked up by ROR ID. Rows without a ROR ID have no OpenAlex check, so the tool shows NOT CHECKED instead of absent. The score counts such a row as not present, because the score only counts confirmed presence.
Why is my university not found?
Four common reasons: the university is not in the Wikidata frame this census was built from; you typed an acronym (acronyms do not match — type the full official name); the census uses a different name variant; or the institution was recorded after the 2026-10-18 snapshot. A missing row is not proof that an institution does not exist.
What about ACLAS itself?
ACLAS does not appear in this census, because the census frame is Wikidata and ACLAS had no Wikidata record on the 2026-10-18 snapshot date. In the same dataset release, a separate 35-institution curated panel lists Atlanta College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at 1/4 — swot only — with its ROR application in progress at that time. OpenAlex ingests ROR upstream, so it follows a ROR record rather than preceding it.
Where does the data come from?
Academic Database Recognition 2026 (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23445888), published by Study Intelligence under CC-BY-4.0. The v2 global census holds 16,822 rows; the v1 curated panel holds 35 institutions with per-database evidence links. Both CSVs are downloadable from the dataset page.