Public Access to Records / Freedom of Information Law

SUNY Empire State College is required to comply with the provisions of New York state's Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law §§ 84-90). As such, the college must make certain records available to the public for review or to provide copies of such records upon request.

Requests

Requests should:

  • Be made in writing to the college’s records access officer, the Office of Communications and Marketing.
  • Reasonably describe the records sought, as specifically as possible, including the dates the record(s) cover, titles, specific files and designations
  • State whether the requestor wishes to review the information on site during normal college business hours, or to have copies produced, in which case there is a fee of $.25 per copy, payable in advance of receiving the material(s).

To facilitate Freedom of Information Law requests, complete the application for public access to information.

Public Access to Information Request PDF (PDF 184kB)

Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this document. If Acrobat Reader is not installed on your computer, you can download it for free from Adobe. If you cannot use Acrobat Reader, contact the Records Access Officer at foil.request@esc.edu for an alternative.

Acknowledgement

The college has five business days to acknowledge the request for information, including indicating whether the college intends to grant or deny access, in whole or in part, to the requested information.

  • If the college intends to grant access, it should do so within 20 additional business days of the acknowledgment unless a determination is made that more time is needed to fulfill the request.
  • If the college intends to deny access, in whole or in part:
    • it should provide an explanation and a date, within reason based upon the circumstances, when the information will be provided
    • such denial shall be in writing, stating the reason(s) and detailing the requestor's right to appeal such denial.
    • Requests not fulfilled in a timely manner are considered a denial and subject to appeal.
    • Any person, group, or agency who feels that a request has been denied unfairly may appeal within 30 days. Appeals must be in writing, stating the reason, and should be sent to FOIL Appeals Officer, State University of New York, SUNY Plaza, Albany, NY 12246.

Additional Information

The following links contain additional relevant information regarding State University of New York records access or New York's Freedom of Information Law:

SUNY: Compliance with Freedom of Information Law
New York state: Committee on Open Government

The above information does not pertain to access to student records. Requests for access to student records, such as transcript requests, should be made to the Office of the Registrar.

Contact Information

Records Access Officer, 2 Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 and/or: foil.request@esc.edu