Journal Publishing

AU Press, as an Open Access electronic press, promotes and assists journal publication through the use of open source technology. This practice allows for the sophisticated electronic delivery of educational content in an open access environment, while lowering the cost of producing and disseminating information. As AU Press is committed to high scholarly standards, each journal is subjected to a rigorous editorial peer review before being accepted to bear the AU Press imprint. Our journals will be reassessed every five years to assure the continued maintenance of scholarly standards.

Athabasca University is a partner with the Canadian Synergies project. As such, AU Press strongly recommends the use of the PKP-OJS (Public Knowledge Project - Open Journal System) platform for its electronic journal publication program.

Criteria for Scholarly Journals

To be eligible to carry the Athabasca University Press (AU Press) imprint, a scholarly journal should:

• be published electronically as an open access journal and reside on AU Press servers;
• have as its main objective the publishing of the results of advanced research and scholarly work by specialists for a readership of specialists or practitioners;
• appear on a regular basis (annually, quarterly);
• be published in English or French;
• show excellence and significance in content. Objectives and content should be distinct and meet a scholarly and/or practical need;
• demonstrate rigour of the selection/editorial process;
• encourage participation by both recognized and new researchers;
• be recognized in appropriate indexes after being in existence for three years;
• have academically credible editorial management;
• exhibit an overall presentation of high quality, that conforms to industry standards for typographic design;
• publish research material without unreasonable delay after favourable assessment;
• include references links to original material as often as possible;
• have no artificial limits on the number and/or length of articles, illustrations, or book reviews;
• have in place an author agreement or permission to publish form that deals with copyright, 3rd party licensing, etc.
• have a site that is easily searchable;
• have new material added on a regular basis; and
• encourage interactivity with readers.

Scholarly journals bearing the AU Press imprint may also be subject to a business assessment.

If you are interested in publishing a journal with AU Press, please complete and submit a Scholarly Journal Prospectus.