Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions of Using www.hesc.ny.gov

The New York State Higher Education Services Corp. ("HESC"), an agency of New York State, operates www.hesc.ny.gov ("site") to conduct its business and as an informational source for the public. We welcome you and invite you to use it. Your access to and use of this site is subject to the following Terms and Conditions, and applicable law and regulations. HESC may revise these Terms and Conditions anytime without notice. They bind you whenever you access or use this site, so you should review these pages periodically.

Using www.hesc.ny.gov

Whenever you access this site or use this site, you accept without limitation, these Terms and Conditions. This site is intended for authorized use by authorized users only. Unauthorized attempts to upload or alter information on this site are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under state and federal law. Unauthorized attempts to view, download or alter the private information of other users contained herein is strictly prohibited and may be punishable under state and federal law. You may not distribute, modify, copy, transmit, use or reuse the content herein for commercial purposes, except with HESC's written permission.

Using HESC's Authentication System (HESCPIN)

HESC’s Authentication System verifies your identity, serves to protect your non-public personal information , and provides you with a HESC USER ID and HESCPIN. You must use HESC’s Authentication System to participate in various online transactions including: TAP on the Web, and changing your TAP information. The HESCPIN registration process will involve the use of HESC’s federal financial aid data to confirm and validate your identity. When you select or are assigned a HESCPIN and USER ID, you must not share or disclose this HESCPIN, USER ID or secure access procedure to others, and you will notify HESC in the event that your HESCPIN or USER ID is lost or compromised. Use the HESCPIN Assistance form to get help with unlocking or resetting your HESCPIN account or completing your identity verification.

HESC's Customer Service and HELP Desk staff have limited ability to assist you during HESC's Authentication process. For example, these HESC employees cannot reveal or remind you of your HESC USER ID and/or HESCPIN, nor can they provide you with any account information that you would be able to access using your HESC USER ID and/or HESCPIN. These HESC employees are available to assist you with technical problems that arise with the HESC Authentication system, and provide basic customer service assistance. Your HESC USER ID and HESCPIN will be provided via a secure online session that is established when your browser connects to HESC's authentication system. The secure connection is noted by the status of the "lock" symbol on your browser interface. 

Copyright Notice

Everything you read, see, or use on this site belongs to HESC, the State of New York, or another owner where noted. You cannot use it except as provided for in these Terms and Conditions. If you link to another site from here, assume the material in that site belongs to its owner. 

Privacy

Safeguarding the personal information you may give us while using this site is important to us. “Personal information” means any information concerning a person that, because of name, number, symbol, mark, or other identifier, can be used to identify that person. HESC does not disclose any personal information about you to anyone, except as permitted by law. HESC restricts access to your personal information to those individuals and entities that need to know this information in order to administer, service and/or collect Program awards and student loans including, but not limited to, HESC employees, other state employees/agencies, school staff with security access, credit reporting agencies, your employer, the U.S. Department of Education, financial institutions, lenders and servicers, as well as the contractors and agents of these entities. Information regarding your New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) application may be exchanged with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to verify income and dependent status for the purpose of calculating your award. In addition, access to prescribed information on your progress in completing the Federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the TAP application forms is provided to secondary schools, school districts, local educational agencies, and certain designated entities to assist with accurate and timely completion of these forms. Please see our Privacy Policy.

A Word About Links - Content, Privacy, No Endorsement

HESC provides links to other sites for your information and reference. When you click on a link to visit another site, a frame will appear that contains the HESC logo or other HESC content but HESC has no control over those sites. Accordingly, HESC makes no representation or warranty about them and accepts no responsibility or liability for their content or functionality. The presence of links to other sites on this site is not an endorsement of any kind by HESC or the State of New York.

Many sites have their own privacy policy and terms and conditions of use. When you link to another site, you become subject to that site's practices and policies, and HESC urges you to review that site's policies before you give any personal information therein. 

Disclaimer

HESC makes no representations or warranties with respect to www.hesc.ny.gov or its contents, which HESC provides for your use "as is" and "as available."

HESC disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to www.hesc.org and any site with which it is linked.

HESC does not warrant:

  • The functions, information or links contained on www.hesc.ny.gov or
  • That its contents will meet your requirements, or
  • That www.hesc.ny.gov, or its contents, are fit for any particular purpose, or
  • That the operation of www.hesc.ny.gov or its contents will be uninterrupted or error-free, or
  • That defects will be corrected, or
  • That this site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses, worms, Trojan horses, cancelbots, or other harmful components.


Applicable law may not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above exclusion regarding implied warranties may not apply to you.

Limitation of Liability

Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to negligence, will HESC be liable to you or any other user or third party for any direct, special, incidental or consequential damages or expenses, including attorney's fees that result from your use of, or your inability to use, the materials on www.hesc.ny.gov, even if HESC or a HESC authorized representative has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Applicable law may not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability or incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. 

Governing Law

These terms and conditions and any claim or cause of action arising out of, or relating in any way to this site, shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard for New York's choice of law statute. You agree that any claim or cause of action arising out of, or relating in any way to this site and/or these terms and conditions shall be determined by a New York court of competent jurisdiction as prescribed by New York State Education Law, Section 653(4). 

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