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Open Access Funding

Open Access Funding

Open Access literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. Open Access publishing shifts the costs of content creation and distribution away from subscribers, so that OA scholarship is freely available to anyone worldwide with an internet connection - no subscription necessary. Open Access offers many benefits for authors, including: compliance with funding OA mandates (such as federal agencies), increased impact for your research, expanded audience for your publication, and retention of your copyrights.

In order to facilitate more choice in publishing venues for USI faculty, the Faculty Senate endorsed an Open Access Publication Funding Charge (Charge 2018.20).  This expands the availability of the Faculty Development Fund provided by the Provost's Office to include Open Access publishing charges in reputable venues. Department or College funds for Open Access publishing may be available as well.

A review of Open Access venues is available in collaboration with the Scholarly Communication Unit of the David L. Rice Library. Authors can submit an Open Access Publication Application to start the review. The review process is free of charge! Contact Peter Whiting, Scholarly Communication Librarian, for more information. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the funding come from?

Open Access funds are available to all USI faculty through expansion of the Provost Office's Faculty Development Fund. Department or College funds for Open Access publishing may be available as well.

How is "reputable" defined?

The Faculty Senate charge notes that “reputability” will be confirmed by the Scholarly Communication Unit of the David L. Rice Library in consultation with the applicant, the Directory of Open Access Journals, the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, other scholarly communication resources, and other campus stakeholders, as appropriate.

Reputable publications must:

  • conduct peer review;
  • have policies and practices consistent with the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association Code of Conduct6 or be listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals7 or the Directory of Open Access Books;8
  • publish its standard article fee schedule; and
  • allow the author to retain copyright and/or distribution rights of the final version.
What role does the library play in the application evaluation?

The Scholarly Communication Unit (SCU) of the David L. Rice Library provides review and information of the proposed source based on the reputability criteria defined above. Thus, this review determines how "open" a source may be, not the content or disciplinary reputability. 

How does the process work?

Faculty authors complete an Open Access Publication Fund Application. This is sent to SCU who will then complete a publication review. Concerns or questions that arise during the publication review will be addresses with the faculty authors. Reviews that are successful are then sent to the Department or Program Chair for approval. Approval is then forwarded to the College Dean. Requests for funding from the Provost's Faculty Development Fund are then forwarded with approval from the Dean to the Provost.

If more than one author of the scholarship what should the Open Access Funding request be?

If more than one author than you should split the cost with the other authors. If you are unsure on what you should proceed then you should contact Peter Whiting, Scholarly Communicaiton Librarian. 

Let your Chair know that you are going to fill out this form so they can give you insights on the open access funding process

Who do I contact with questions or concerns?

The Scholarly Communication Unit of the David L. Rice Library is available to assist with question regarding open access generally and review of specific sources. Contact Peter Whiting, Scholarly Communication Librarian.

Open Access Publishing Fund Application

Subjects: Faculty