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Eligibility Confirmation for Programs and Funding

Confirmation of Student Eligibility for Employer Programs and Funding

If your organization has been employing a McMaster Social Sciences student, whether through co-op or otherwise, you might be asked to contact us for confirmation of student eligibility as you apply for funding, for reimbursement, or for program support.

Types and Criteria of Programs and Funding

Many different organizations and bodies offer programs or funding that can support your organization in hiring students. The eligibility criteria vary from program to program, and sometimes from year to year. In order for our team to help you confirm eligibility quickly and efficiently, it’s important to understand what kinds of eligibility criteria you need us and/or the student to confirm.

Student Status

Do the eligibility criteria simply require that the student be enrolled in higher education?

Citizenship Status

Do the eligibility criteria require that you confirm with the student that they are a Canadian citizen, or otherwise have particular citizenship status?

Program Relevance

Do the eligibility criteria require that there be some meaningful connection between the employment opportunity and the subject matter of the student’s program of study?

Learning Integration

Do the eligibility criteria require that the student be enrolled in a course or program of study that formally, academically requires this kind of experience in question through formal work-integrated learning (WIL) connections?

Planning Ahead

We know that you and your organization want to keep things simple and for processes to run smoothly. To ensure that your experience seeking funding and support is hassle-free, our team recommends the following wherever possible.

  1. Incorporate the criteria into your job posting. Being explicit about your requirements will maximize your chances of getting an eligible candidate.
  2. Target your job posting to the most relevant talent pools. Schools have ways of targeting postings to relevant students. In fact, if your funding or support depends on strict criteria, why attract ineligible applicants with an open online posting? Universities and colleges have ways to make sure that only eligible students can see your posting or apply.
  3. Build confirmation of the criteria into your interview process. When inviting a candidate for an interview, consider recommending that the students contact their school to confirm the necessary eligibility in advance of the interview date.
  4. Confirm eligibility formally before making an offer. Consider reaching out to our team to confirm eligibility before you make a formal offer, or as a part of the offer process.

If You Have Already Identified or Hired a Candidate

In some rare cases, you may have already identified or hired an eligible student before establishing contact with our team. Please note that many funding bodies require have learning-integration criteria not familiar to ineligible students.

Our team is obligated to confirm consent to release any student information by contacting the student independently. This may result in additional turnaround times, especially at deadline season.

Please note that the eligibility for many funding programs are subject to updating and change on an annual basis; confirmation or clarification of criteria may be required.

For fastest and most predictable eligibility confirmation, we strongly recommend early contact, as outlined above under ‘Planning Ahead’.

Contacting Our Team

When contacting our team with your confirmation request, please help us respond quickly by preparing the following elements:

  • Specify which funding or support you are seeking confirmation for, including web links.
  • Attach any relevant forms or document templates.
  • Include the job posting or job description.
  • Include (CC) the student on your message using the student’s McMaster email address.
Contact the Experiential Team