Journal of Student Affairs in Africa
Journal / Journal of Student Affairs in Africa / Submissions

 

This journal uses the OJS Journal Management System for the submission and peer review process of manuscripts. Please register as an author and read the author’s guidelines before preparing and making a submission. All submissions must be made by email to the journal manager at jsaa_editor@outlook.com.

Submissions are encouraged from scholars and reflective practitioners from across the globe; submissions ought to be relevant to the mission, aims and scope of the Journal (see About the Journal). Especially encouraged are submissions from African scholars and professionals working in higher education on the African continent. Submissions dealing with student affairs issues from other contexts (e.g. the African Diaspora, other emerging economies; developed countries) that are transferable to the African context are also considered for publication.

Guidelines and checklist for use prior to preparation and submission of a manuscript:

-  The submission has not been previously published, nor is it under consideration by another journal.

-  Submission should be filed in MS Word, OpenOffice or RTF format, page numbered, single-spaced; using a 12-point font; and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. Authors are welcome to submit pictures, illustrations etc. to accompany their manuscript.

- The Journal uses the APA author-date referencing system.  (for details see our referencing guide here).

-  JSAA is divided into different sections, i.e. Research Article (peer reviewed); Reflective Practice (peer reviewed); Dialogue section; Book Reviews section; and Calls and Notices. Please note that different requirements apply:

• Research articles Contributors are encouraged to submit original research-based manuscripts of ca. 5000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. Manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150-300 words. They should be double-spaced and all pages consecutively numbered.
• Reflective practice articles (reflective practitioner accounts) on professional campus practice are peer reviewed. They are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. Unlike a research article, they do not need to include an extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. Reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution and significantly enhance our understanding of student affairs practice within their respective scope and focus. Typical length: 2,500 – 5,000 words.
• Book reviews should be between 800 – 1,000 words. Competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the Editorial Executive.
• Comments and critique, of no more than 2,500 words, are also welcome.
• Proposal for the journal’s Interviews and Dialogue section and Calls and Notices must be emailed directly to the journal manager. The publication of calls and notices (for conferences; vacancies etc.) may incur a nominal fee.

- Review policy: Once a manuscript has successfully passed an initial screening by the Editorial Executive, it may be submitted for peer-review (if it falls within a reviewed category of articles). The suitability of articles is evaluated in terms of:

1. Originality: the manuscript offers new, original empirical, conceptual, critical, and/or normative insights and interpretation;
2. Significance: the manuscript makes a significant contribution to the scholarly and/or professional field of student affairs and our understanding thereof;
3. Scholarship: the manuscript reflects sound scholarship and adheres to the requirements of rigorous academic work;
4. Scope and Interest: the manuscript falls within the scope of the Journal and is likely to interest readers and stimulate new or further debate on a key matter in the field;
5. Accessibility: the manuscript is written in such a way as to be accessible to the broad range of readers that JSAA attracts.

NB. Manuscripts accepted for review are blindly peer-reviewed by at least two scholars with relevant expertise in the field. The editorial and peer review policy of JSAA adheres to the ASSAf National Code of Best Practice in Editorial Discretion and Peer Review for South African Scholarly Journals published in 2008. Also see "Review Policy"

-  The frontpage of the manuscript must clearly show for which section of the journal the manuscript is submitted, i.e. Research Article (peer reviewed); Reflective Practice (peer reviewed); or Book Reviews.

-  The frontpage must further include: The title of the article, name(s) of the author(s), position and professional affiliation, and contact address.

-  The journal's language is English. British English or American English spelling and terminology may be used, but either one should be followed consistently through the contribution.

-  All manuscripts should have a title, and an abstract of no more than 300 words. In the manuscript, first, second and third order headings should be clearly distinguishable but not numbered. Footnotes should be avoided, but if used, should be placed as endnotes before the references. Acknowledgements of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section before the references.

-  Reproduction of copyright material: Authors are requried to secure permission to reproduce any proprietary text, illustration, table, or other material.

-  References: The description of the journal’s referencing style can be found here.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
    
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
    
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).