About the Journal
Sponsoring Organizations
https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/pages/view/publication-fees
Introduction
All our readers and authors enjoy the benefits of free open access. We believe that open access of the journal promotes accessibility and uptake worldwide, serving the best interests of the professional and scientific community and the public at large. Since no fees are charged for access, AOSIS offsets the publication expenses – including those of peer review management, journal production and online hosting and archiving – by charging Article Processing Charges (APC), also known as page fees, to authors, institutions or funders for each article published.
Article Processing Charges
The Article Processing Charges (APC) for this journal is R1 236.00 excl. VAT per A4 output page in PDF format. The average length of an article in this journal is 8 pages. The APC may be changed at any time at the sole discretion of the publisher. The submitting author is responsible for payment of the APC and must confirm, at the time of submission, that s/he will organise payment of the APC, should the article be accepted for publication. This responsibility may not be delegated to any third party unless agreed to by the publisher.
Article Submission Charges
Article Submission Charges (ASC) does not apply.
Text changes after layout
Authors will be given the opportunity to revise and approve the text of the accepted manuscript in the final phase of copy-editing. After author approval the manuscript will go to design layout. The author will be asked to proofread the final galleys before going to publishing. Proofreading is intended to correct typesetting mistakes and not to introduce new changes to the text; such changes will require new layout of the pages. If new changes are introduced at this final proofreading stage, the publisher will charge Galley Change Fees (GCF) to the author, based on the cost incurred to make such changes. The GCF per hour is R450.00 [excluding VAT].
Invoicing (if applicable)
The final APC is based on the finally approved manuscript word count, and no changes will be made after invoicing. Only one invoice shall be issued per article (no splitting of invoices) in order to expedite publication and keep costs to a minimum. All amounts are due within 30 days from invoicing. Payment can be made by Credit Card and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). The article will only be published once full payment has been received. If payment is done by EFT from a non-South African bank account, the author will be responsible for any bank transfer charges at the time of the transaction. In all cases a receipt will be sent by email once payment has been received. Learn how to make a payment.
Subsidy opportunities
Authors are encouraged to contact their institution, funder or the Editor-in-Chief of the journal for more details of possible APC subsidy opportunities. Possibilities are: covering APC in the research grant, utilizing the open access funds of the institution, or a direct APC waiver by the publisher.
Funding body agreements
AOSIS complies with the requirements of funding bodies such as the Wellcome Trust and the National Research Foundation, to help authors comply with their open access terms.
Waiver of APC & ASC
Authors may apply to AOSIS for waiving of the APC, which may be granted at the sole discretion of AOSIS/ the funder. In order to be fair to all authors, a full waiver of the APC is only granted under exceptional circumstances. To consider your APC waiver request we need the following:
- A letter from the Research Director, Faculty Dean or Departmental Head, confirming that the author’s institution cannot pay the APC.
- A letter signed by all authors, declaring that they have exhausted all possible funding sources before applying for APC waiver.
Publication fee policy
The journal adheres to our publication fee policy, which includes our reimbursement policy.
Peer Review
https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/pages/view/journal-information
The journal has a double-blinded peer review process. Manuscripts are initially examined by editorial staff and are sent by the Editor-in-Chief to two expert independent reviewers, either directly or by a Section Editor. Read our full peer review process
Open Access Policy
https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/pages/view/journal-information
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of open access. Learn more about the journal copyright, licensing and publishing rights.
Publication Scheduling
https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/pages/view/journal-information
The journal publishes at least one issue each year. Articles are published online when ready for publication and then printed in an end-of-year compilation. Additional issues may be published for special events (e.g. conferences) and when special themes are addressed.
