Throughout the Advance Ontario program, there are specific deadlines in the various stages of your journey as you work towards completing an employer project and receiving your stipend payment.
Stage expirations are time limits set within the program to ensure that stipends are available for learners who actively engage and work towards completing employer projects. Stage expirations are implemented for different steps of the program, each with its own timeframe and outcomes if they expire.
Allowing any of these stages to expire could result in a removal from the program. You are notified of the pending stage expiration date throughout your Advance Ontario journey to help ensure that you never miss a step.
The deadlines below are based on the cohort you are participating in. Project start and end dates are as follows:
Cohort 1: <INSERT DATES>
Cohort 2: <INSERT DATES>
Cohort 3: <INSERT DATES>
For Students:
Stage | Time until expiry | What happens if the stage expires? |
Student invitation to join a cohort | 7 days | The invitation expires after 7 days. We will not grant requests to re-issue an invitation.
A reminder to accept your invitation will be sent after 2 days, followed by another after 5 days.
If your invitation expires and a new cohort opens, you will be eligible to apply again.
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Student invitation received → first application to an employer project | 10 days | If you've joined an Advance Ontario cohort but haven't applied to employer projects yet, you’ll receive reminders at 3 days, 7 days, and the day before the final deadline. You have 10 days to apply and can submit up to three applications at a time. We know finding the right fit takes time, and we’re here to help. Check out our help article for guidance if you're unsure where to start. |
Student matching period | 14 days | Students have 14 days in which they can be actively applying and matching to their project. The ability for students to match to projects will be turned off at 12:00PM EST on the final day of the matching period, see the cohort breakdown for specific dates and deadlines. |
Students matched to a project → starting the project | Based on cohort dates | To begin a project, students must complete the onboarding survey and click “Start Project” on their team page by the project start date.
A 3-day grace period with multiple reminders will be provided. If you do not start the project within this time, Advance Ontario reserves the right to remove you from the cohort.
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Project Duration | 2-8 weeks | Projects must be completed and submitted on your team page within 2-8 weeks. Projects that are completed in <2 weeks or >8 weeks will be deemed ineligible for payment. Reminder - your team must be in an active state to submit your deliverables and complete the project. See more on team states here. |
Project end date | Based on cohort dates | Projects in Advance Ontario must be completed in at least 2 weeks and by your cohort’s deadline (within 8 weeks).
After the 8-week period, you’ll have a 3-day grace period with multiple reminders. Failure to complete the project within this time may result in removal from the cohort.
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For Employers:
Stage | Time until expiry | What happens if the stage expires? |
Project posted → Student applications received | Based on cohort dates | To participate in a cohort, you must accept at least one student application (up to a maximum of four) before the cohort begins.
Project dates are fixed, and if no applications are accepted by the start date, you will be unable to participate. However, you can request to match your project again when a new cohort opens.
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Student applications received -> Student applications accepted/declined | 3 days | Students can have up to three pending project applications at a time. If a student has applied to your project, it’s one of their top three choices.
Please respond promptly to allow students the opportunity to match with other projects if yours isn’t a fit.
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