FAQ

frequently asked questions about Open Access funding

Glossary

List of other relevant terminology.

Funding & costs

I want to publish an article in Open Access and make use of funding from the university library, but I don’t know which journal I should choose.

 

Do the same funding conditions apply to all publishing agreements?

Some funding conditions apply to all publishing agreements. These are listed in our outline of Open Access agreements. The various publishers have some differing rules, though, for example, which article types are eligible for funding under the agreement. We have summarised the details for you on the pages for the individual publishers.

 

Will the university cover all of the publication costs for Open Access articles?

No. We only cover the Article Processing Charges (APCs). Additional fees (like colour charges, page charges, submission charges or editorial processing charges) cannot be covered either by the publication fund or under the publishing agreements. Please also be aware of any co-payments that may be added under certain publishing agreements.

 

Which other funding means that the University of Graz cannot cover the publication costs/APCs?

The University of Graz does not fund publications from projects with third-party funding if that funding covers the publication costs.

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is an exception: as of 1st January 2024, funding that previously came directly from the FWF will now be handled by the University of Graz.

 

Can the University of Graz cover the portion of the publication costs/APCs that the FWF does not pay?

No, partial funding is not possible. Additional charges, such as page or colour charges, cannot be covered either.

 

Can I apply for Open Access funding after my article is published?

No, the University Library has to follow accounting procedures and workflows set out in the agreements with the publishers.

 

Can the University of Graz reimburse me if I have already paid the fees?

No. Subsequent reimbursement of fees is not possible.

 

Can I still incur costs despite the publishing agreement?

Yes, you can, as some publishing agreements allow for co-payment. They also may only cover some journals or article types. You will need to look this up case-by-case or clarify it with the university library. The agreements do not cover additional charges, like page or colour charges, either.

Affiliation

Can the university fund my publication if I wrote it at the university but have since left?

  • To be eligible for financing from the publication fund, the applicant must have access to the intranet to make the application and declare their affiliation with the University of Graz. We will usually cover the Article Processing Charge (APC) for Open Access articles where most of the work was done at the University of Graz, even if the corresponding author is no longer a member of the university. We recommend choosing a corresponding author who is currently a university member if you have the option.
  • Different rules apply for the individual publishers under the publishing agreements. Please note that the corresponding author must be affiliated with the University of Graz when their article is accepted for publication (this applies to all publishers except Wiley (for Gold Open Access), IWA and John Benjamins, where the corresponding author must be affiliated when they submit their article) and state this affiliation in the article (see the University of Graz affiliation guidelines for instructions on how to do this).
  • ATTENTION: For publications with FWF funding, the corresponding author must have a current affiliation with the University of Graz when their article is accepted.

 

Can the University of Graz finance publications by postgrads who are not university employees?

  • To be eligible for financing from the publication fund, the applicant must have access to the intranet to make the application and declare their affiliation with the University of Graz.
  • All university members, including postgrads, are eligible for funding under the publishing agreements as long as they meet all other criteria.

 

Can students get funding for their publications?

  • Students are not eligible for funding through the publication fund. The funding application must be submitted by a member of the academic staff involved with the publication.
  • Funding is available to all university members, including students, within the scope of the publishing agreements as long as they meet the other criteria.

 

I have two affiliations – which should I declare?

You can, of course, declare both affiliations. However, in order for your article to be identified as eligible for funding by the publisher, you must state the University of Graz as your primary affiliation and submit your article from your University of Graz e-mail address (@uni-graz.at or @edu.uni-graz.at).

 

What should I do if I do not want the University of Graz to pay my publication costs, even though there is an agreement with the publisher?

If you are affiliated with the University of Graz and would like to submit an article but do not want the university to cover the costs, please write an e-mail to ub.zeitschriften(at)uni-graz.at before submitting so that we know that we should not approve the funding for your article.

 

Does it matter whether I am the Submitting Corresponding Author or the Corresponding Author when I submit an article to Elsevier?

Elsevier only consider the submitting corresponding author when determining whether an article is eligible for funding, so if you want your publication to be covered under the publishing agreement, you must be the submitting corresponding author.

Publication services

When should you contact the university library‘s publication services department?

If you would like to publish an article in an Open Access journal that is not covered by our publishing agreements but is listed in the DOAJ, you can apply for funding from the publication fund on the intranet.

 

Under which conditions will the publication fund cover my publication costs?

The publication fund will cover the APCs for an article published in a DOAJ-listed Open Access journal if you are the corresponding author and a member of the University of Graz. The publication must mention the funding from the University of Graz in the acknowledgements and is not eligible if it results from an externally funded project (except for the Austrian Science Fund (FWF)). See the publication fund for more information.

 

What should I do if my chosen publisher does not have an agreement with the university?

Check whether the journal is listed in the DOAJ. If it is, check whether your article meets the publication fund‘s other eligibility criteria.

Legal matters & licenses

Will the current publishing agreement still be valid next year?

The current contracts with the publishers will remain, but the conditions can change from one year to the next.

 

Do the Open Access agreements cover contributions to anthologies or volumes in a series?

No. Unfortunately, contributions to anthologies or series are not currently eligible for funding.

 

Can I choose freely between Green (self-archiving in a repository) and Gold (original publication/version of record published in OA) Open Access?

The guidelines vary according to the funding body if you publish an article from an externally-funded project. The University of Graz is equally in favour of both options and does not have any requirements one way or the other.

 

What are Creative Commons licences (CC BY, etc.)?

Creative Commons licences regulate the exploitation and usage rights of a work. In contrast to traditional publishing contracts, where these rights would transfer to the publisher, with most Open Access contracts, the author retains the rights. In turn, they can decide which licence to apply to their work in agreement with the publisher. There are Creative Commons licences with varying degrees of "openness". Any author can apply a licence to their own work. CC licences are free of charge and do not need to be registered. Further information: Creative Commons

 

What is Plan S?

Plan S is an Open Access policy adopted by several research-funding bodies, including the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). It lays out a framework of conditions under which publications from subsidised projects must be published in Open Access.

 

Which licence do I have to choose to comply with the current Plan S/FWF/University of Graz guidelines?

Publications from FWF projects must have a CC BY licence. The University of Graz does not require a specific Creative Commons licence. You can find details about the publishing contracts on the respective websites.

Submission process & funding approval

Why is it important to mention the funding from the University of Graz in the acknowledgements of my Open Access article?

In the interests of cost transparency and the traceability of expenses, it is important to disclose funding through the Open Access agreements and Open Access fund.

 

Why is it important to use my University of Graz e-mail address (@uni-graz.at or @edu.uni-graz.at) when submitting an article? Can I use my private e-mail address? Can I use my e-mail address from another university/research institute?

For most publishers, the e-mail address is the most important piece of information for identifying eligible authors. If you do not use your university e-mail address, you risk not being referred to the Open Access agreement when publishing.

 

How can I speed up the process?

Read the available information about your chosen publisher‘s submission process carefully, and ensure that your submission fulfils all the requirements. Before submitting, check whether you have other funding that could cover the Article Processing Charge (APC).

 

Will I be informed if the university agrees to cover the costs for my publication?

If you are publishing in Open Access under a publishing agreement, in most cases, yes, you will automatically receive a confirmation e-mail from the publisher. Some publishers, however, do not send notifications.

 

What should I do about e-mails I receive after submitting my article?

Most e-mails you receive from the publisher are just for your information. If you receive e-mails from the university, we need additional information from you before we can confirm that we will cover the publication costs. Please respond to such e-mails as soon as possible!

 

What should I do if I do not receive a timely reply from the publisher (for example, Elsevier)?

If you have not received a reply from a publisher after a week, please contact ub.zeitschriften(at)uni-graz.at and explain your concern. We will contact the publisher on your behalf.

 

My chosen Wiley Gold journal is on the list of eligible titles. Why was my article still not eligible for funding?

The publishing agreement with Wiley only covers articles in Gold journals submitted from 1st January 2024. Articles that were submitted in 2023 are not eligible even if they are not published until 2024.

 

What should I enter under "WHO WILL PAY" when I submit an article to a Wiley Gold journal?

Please choose [My institution or funder has an agreement...] under "WHO WILL PAY" on the Wiley Dashboard and enter the code AT10. This code is now valid for articles with Austrian Science Fund (FWF) funding as well as those with funding from the University of Graz. 

After publication

I have published an article and want to make it available on unipub. What do I need to do?

The first step is to check the legal requirements of the journal/publisher regarding secondary publication. The Sherpa/Romeo website will help you with this. If you want to upload a contribution to an anthology to unipub, you need to contact the editor or publisher. The publisher will generally have taken over the exploitation rights to your article, so you will need to get their consent to secondary publishing. However, Austrian copyright law (§ 37a UrhG), which cannot be overruled by contractual agreements, allows for secondary publishing of scientific contributions under certain conditions. If the first publication of your article was already under a CC licence, you can certainly upload it to unipub.

Please choose the applicable form for the upload (journal article, contribution to anthology, monograph). The university library’s publication services department will review and approve the upload.

 

Why is it important to enter my publication in the research portal?

The University of Graz research portal documents the research and transfer achievements of the whole university and makes them accessible to the public and the federal ministry. You can find further information about the research portal here. (Note: University of Graz intranet link, only in German).

 

Who can enter publications in the research portal?

Only employees of the University of Graz can make entries in the research portal. (Students do not have access to the research portal).