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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
Until further notice, the publisher will cover the article processing charges (APCs) of (a) original research articles or (b) review articles that:
- are accepted for publication,
- up to a maximum of six (6) articles per calendar year, and
- with a maximum of up to ten (10) PDF output pages per article.
For additional pages, whether in articles whose APCs are covered by AOSIS or other accepted articles, the APC per PDF output page shall be ZAR1565.00 (excl. VAT at 15%).
In these cases, the submitting author is responsible for payment of the APC and must confirm, at the time of submission, that they 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 ZAR450.00 [excluding VAT].
Invoicing
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 7 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. Learn how to make a payment.
Subsidy opportunities
APC fees for Open Access journals have become an increasingly accepted method to defray the costs for publication and, fortunately, most institutions have developed mechanisms and funding sources to cover publication costs in high-quality open access journals. Authors are encouraged to contact their institution, department or funder for more details regarding possible APC subsidy opportunities earmarked for open access publications. As your department benefits directly and/or indirectly from publication of the article, where there is an absence of extramural funding we are confident that your department will be eager to carry the costs of the APC fee.
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.