Baylor University Libraries Open Access Article Processing Charge (APC) Funding Pilot

In spring 2018, the Baylor University Libraries will implement a pilot to fund the publication of Baylor scholarship in peer-reviewed, open access publications.  This fund will serve as an incentive to encourage researchers to publish in high quality, open access publications, thereby fostering broad public access to the work of Baylor scholars. 

Open access literature is online and openly accessible to any end user worldwide.  With this greater readership, open access publication:

• has the potential to increase the impact of Baylor scholarship; and
• supports Baylor University's mission to serve the world with a caring Christian commitment by making research available to those, including our international partners, who cannot afford traditional subscription models.

This pilot will run from spring 2018 through spring 2019 or until the initial funds are depleted.  The pilot will be evaluated and if deemed successful, it will be continued.

The pilot has ended as our funds have been depleted.

What is the Open Access (OA) Article ProcessingCharge (APC) Funding  Pilot?

This pilot program provides funding to Baylor authors to make their publication immediately available to all readers (no paywalls). The pilot program will begin in Spring 2018.  The program subsidizes, in various degrees, authors who choose to make their publications available in an open access environment.

Why do we need an open access APC funding pilot?

To foster broad public access to the work of Baylor scholars by encouraging them to take advantage of OA publishing opportunities. OA literature is online and openly accessible to any end user worldwide. With barrier-free access, researchers from anywhere in the world, including Baylor partners overseas, can read the scholarly output of Baylor authors; with this greater readership, OA has the potential to increase the impact of Baylor scholarship and help Baylor be a better steward of our talents.

What charges does this cover?

This initiative covers only the article processing charges for open access publications such as PLoS, BioMedCentral, PhysMathCentral, and hybrid journals (some articles are open and some are behind a paywall) offered by many publishers. Because of the potential popularity of this program, we are only able to fund an author a maximum of $3,000 per fiscal year.  The funding limit for fully open access journals is $3,000/publication and the funding limit for hybrid journals is $1,500.

Are other institutions engaging in this activity?

Yes. Similar programs are now in place at Duke University, Harvard University, Lund University, University of Calgary, University of California, University of North Carolina, University of Nottingham, University of Oregon, University of Tennessee, University of Wisconsin, and others. The Open Access Directory wiki includes a comprehensive list of institutions providing OA journal funds.

Who is eligible to apply?

Any current Baylor University faculty (tenure-line or full-time permanent lecturer or academic professional) who does not have other sources of funds to pay article processing charges. The program especially encourages applicants from the humanities and social sciences and those publishing interdisciplinary research.

Any criteria for articles or publications?

Publications must be made freely available at the time of initial publication -- no embargo periods.

Will this program support charges to make my thesis or dissertation open access?

You do not need funds to make your thesis or dissertation openly available. When you submit your thesis/dissertation to the Graduate School, the submission system provides you with options to make your thesis/dissertation openly accessible or to embargo it for a limited period of time. When you select the open access option, library personnel will make it openly available when it is deposited and cataloged in BEARdocs.  Anyone, anywhere with access to the internet will be able to read your thesis/dissertation.