Open Access Publishing: OA Options at KU

The university supplies mulitple methods for KU authors to get financial support for Open Access publishing. The methods are:

1. Publications accepted in top 15% percentile journals (only APC):

   The Library’s OA Services supports KU authors by covering the cost of the APC, provided the following three conditions are met:

   • There must be at least one author whose primary affiliation on the paper is KU.
   • The paper must be in a journal from a publisher that we have an agreement with (currently there are six: ACS, Elsevier (recently added), Frontiers, IEEE, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley).
   • The journal must be rated in the top 15% as determined by Scopus.

   If those three conditions are met, then the total cost of the basic APC will be covered. The additional charges, such as overlength page charges, or color page charges, will not be covered. For more details about OA Services, users can consult the OA website at https://library.ku.ac.ae/oa/, where they can find lists of journals that are covered, submission details, training videos and more, or they can email the library team at openaccess@ku.ac.ae.

2. Publications accepted in top 10% percentile journals (APC & EPC):

   If your paper is accepted in a journal that falls within the top 10% as determined by Scopus, and KU is your primary affiliation, you can submit a payment request through the KU Portal. Attach the following documents:

   • Invoice
   • Final accepted manuscript
   • Email from the library that they don’t cover these open access charges

   Please note that this is not a confirmation that the request will be approved. The case still needs to be reviewed by the Provost office. In the event the payment is permitted using the funds, please note that payments are completed by the finance team and their SLAs are not in the control of the provost office.

   Please use the following codes in the PMR request:
   Budget codes:

   • Cost Center: 8470220
   • Account: 435350
   • Future 1/Fund: 847001*
   • Expense Sub Class/Program: you can select a program that is relevant to the area of research

   Important: Since “Future 2” is not available in the request form, it is vital that you please include the following combination code in the comments: 847.8470220.1.435350.000000.847001.050589 so that the correct budget is deducted by Finance.

3. The paper is in a Q1 Journal (APC & EPC):

   If neither of the above options applies, and your paper is published in a Q1 journal as determined by Scopus, you may contact your department head to inquire about possible support using the department's budget.

For options 2 & 3, kindly note that direct payment requests (PMR) are the only accepted payment method for these charges; expense reimbursement is not allowed.