Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing any page of this website or using the Program Finder tool you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the service.

These Terms apply to all visitors, students, parents, guidance counsellors, college admissions staff, and any other person who accesses the site, regardless of how they found it.

Use of the tool by a minor (under 18) requires the consent of a parent or guardian.

2. Description of Service

ProgramFinder provides a free, publicly accessible Ontario college program comparison tool. The service includes:

• A searchable, filterable database of Ontario college programs scored using a five-pillar AI resilience model.
• Career outlook data sourced from ESDC's National Occupational Classification (NOC) Employment Outlook for the Ottawa region.
• A shortlist feature allowing users to save programs and request a personalised email summary.
• A Career Outcome Analysis modal providing per-program data, wage estimates, and an AI-generated career insight.
• Optional referral links to Ontario college program pages and admissions offices.

3. Permitted Use

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to:

• Access and browse the Program Finder tool for personal, non-commercial use.
• Save programs to your shortlist and submit the lead form to receive your personalised program summary.
• Share individual program pages or results by URL for personal, educational, or guidance purposes.
• Reference or cite program scores and career outlook data in non-commercial educational contexts, with attribution to ProgramFinder.

Ontario college guidance counsellors and admissions staff may use the tool to assist students with program exploration.

4. Prohibited Use

You may not use this site or the tool to:

We reserve the right to terminate access for any user who violates these terms without notice.

5. Data Accuracy & Scoring Methodology

AI resilience scores

Program scores are generated using a proprietary five-pillar scoring model assessing human interaction, physical and hands-on requirements, licensing and regulatory protection, transferable skills, and routine digital exposure. Scores are:

• Intended as a comparative research aid, not a definitive career forecast.
• Updated periodically as the labour market and AI capabilities evolve.
• Not influenced by payments, advertising relationships, or college participation in the partner programme.

Career outlook data

Career outlook ratings are sourced from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) National Occupational Classification (NOC) Employment Outlook data for the Ottawa region, covering the 2025–2027 period. This data is:

• Published by the Government of Canada and subject to their own accuracy limitations.
• Regional (Ottawa) and may not reflect conditions in other Ontario cities.
• Updated when new ESDC data is published; the date of the current dataset is noted in the tool.

Wage estimates

Median wage figures shown in the Career Outcome Analysis are estimates based on category-level data and are provided for general guidance only. Actual salaries vary significantly by employer, experience, location, and negotiation. We make no warranty as to the accuracy of any wage figure displayed.

AI-generated career insights

The "Generate AI Career Insight" feature in the Career Outcome Analysis uses a third-party large language model (Anthropic Claude). Generated text:

• Is produced algorithmically and has not been reviewed by a human careers adviser.
• May contain errors, omissions, or outdated information.
• Should not be relied upon as professional career counselling.

6. College Partner Programme

Ontario colleges may participate as Listed, Growth, or Premium partners. Participation:

• Does not affect program scores or the order in which programs appear in search results.
• Enables Growth and Premium partners to receive student lead packets (with explicit CASL consent from the student).
• Grants partner colleges access to a private portal showing aggregate interest data for their programs.

College partners are bound by a separate participation agreement that incorporates CASL obligations and restricts secondary use of student data.

If you are a college admissions contact interested in the partner programme, contact us using the details in Section 12.

7. Intellectual Property

All content on this site — including but not limited to the scoring methodology, program database, website design, copy, graphics, and code — is the property of ProgramFinder or its licensors and is protected by Canadian copyright law.

You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from any content on this site without our prior written permission, except as expressly permitted in Section 3 (Permitted Use).

Third-party data

Career outlook data is sourced from ESDC and is used in accordance with the Government of Canada's Open Government Licence. College names and program names are the property of the respective institutions and are used for identification purposes only.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE CANADIAN LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• Warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
• Warranties that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or harmful components.
• Warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any program score, career outlook rating, wage estimate, or AI-generated text.
• Warranties that use of the tool will result in admission to any program or employment in any occupation.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, in which case the above exclusion applies to the fullest extent permitted by law.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, ProgramFinder and its officers, directors, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or in connection with your use of the service, including but not limited to:

• Decisions made in reliance on program scores, career outlook data, wage estimates, or AI-generated insights.
• Loss of educational opportunity, employment, or income.
• Interruption or unavailability of the service.
• Unauthorised access to or alteration of your data transmissions.

Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising from your use of the service shall not exceed CAD $100.

10. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

If you access the service from outside Canada, you are responsible for compliance with your local laws to the extent that they are applicable.

11. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify users — for example, by displaying a notice on the homepage or sending an email to users who have submitted the lead form.

Your continued use of the service after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, please stop using the service.

12. Contact

For questions about these Terms, to report a concern, or to enquire about the college partner programme: