Freedom of Information Act (FOIL)

Submit a FOIL Request

Mail a written request to:

Records Access Officer
New York State Higher Education Services Corporation
99 Washington Avenue, Room 1350
Albany, New York 12255

E-mail a written request to:

[email protected].

Please note that this mailbox is for FOIL requests only and other inquiries will not be responded to. Students seeking assistance with grants and scholarships should schedule an appointment to speak with HESC here.

Submit a request for records in person:

Our main offices are located in 99 Washington Avenue, 13 floor, Albany, New York. Upon entering the main entrance of the building, advise Security Staff that you would like to request records. Security Staff will contact the Records Access Office, and a staff member will provide assistance. Please be advised records require review prior to disclosure. As a result, documents and records will not be immediately available.

We will send you a letter within five business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably described, make such record available, deny such request in writing, or furnish a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request. If you have not received a letter within five business days, please contact us at [email protected].  

Please note that this mailbox is for FOIL requests only and other inquiries will not be responded to. Students seeking assistance with grants and scholarships should schedule an appointment to speak with HESC here.

An acknowledgment letter will provide you with an estimate of when the records you request will be available, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request. This date is determined by the number of documents you request, their format, their availability, the time it takes to redact any information that cannot be disclosed pursuant to FOIL, the time it takes to assemble the documents, and other factors.

If the records you request require a fee to be paid, you will be notified prior to the records being released to you. Unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, Public Officers Law §87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of 25¢ per copy for copies of records up 9”x 14”, or the actual cost of reproducing a record. In determining the actual cost of producing a record, an agency may include only:

• an amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare the requested record(s), if at least two hours of agency employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record request;
• the actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person making the request in complying with such request; and
• the actual cost to the agency of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an agency's information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, if such service is used to prepare the copy.

Once the requested records are prepared, you may receive the records via email, fax, paper, CD/DVD, or USB. Records are available for inspection, by appointment, on business days between 10 a.m. through 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. through 4 p.m. at the Records Access Office, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12255. You may schedule an appointment for in-person inspection of records by contacting us at at [email protected].  

Please note that this mailbox is for FOIL requests only and other inquiries will not be responded to. Students seeking assistance with grants and scholarships should schedule an appointment to speak with HESC here.

Under provisions of the Public Officers Law, you may appeal a FOIL determination. If you desire to submit such an appeal, you must do so within 30 days of the written response to your FOIL request. Please include a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response letter you received along with your appeal. Please include a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response letter you received along with your appeal letter to:

          Records Appeal Officer
          New York State Higher Education Services Corporation
          99 Washington Avenue, Room 1350
          Albany, New York 12255
          [email protected] 

Please note that this mailbox is for general counsel requests only and other inquiries will not be responded to. Students seeking assistance with grants and scholarships should schedule an appointment to speak with HESC here.

You will be informed in writing of the decision within ten business days of our receipt of such an appeal. Please indicate the FOIL Request Number when corresponding on this subject.

Here is a current list of records, by subject matter, that are maintained by this agency. Some of the listed records may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law.

For more information about FOIL, please visit the New York State Committee on Open Government’s website.

When submitting a FOIL request:

• Be as specific as possible in describing the requested records. Include relevant dates, names, descriptions, etc. See suggested language for a FOIL request from the Committee on Open Government.
• Specify whether you would like to inspect the records or have copies of the records sent to you.
• If records are available, specify how you want them sent, i.e., via US mail or e-mail. We may choose to send the records by U.S. mail, if you have requested a large volume of records, for security or other important reasons. We will notify you of any charge for reproducing such records before they are sent to you.
• Include your e-mail and mailing address, as well as a telephone number where you can be reached during business hours, if it is necessary to clarify your request.
• Please note that the agency is not required to create a new record in response to FOIL requests.