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Open Access Publishing Support

OA Fee Finder

Search here for journals that fully waive or discount their open access article processing charges (APCs) thanks to agreements signed by MRU Library.

When using the OA Fee Finder, keep in mind the Publisher Requirements to ensure eligibility.

Publisher Requirements for Waivers/Discounts

Canadian Science Publishers via CKRN
  • Waived and 25% discounted APCs inthese hybrid journals
  • How it works: MRU authors will have the APCs in these journals waived or discounted automatically if they list MRU as their affiliation when submitting their manuscript.
  • Key requirements: The corresponding author for the article at the time of submission must be from MRU or another participating institution to be eligible for waived or discounted APCs. The corresponding author can not be changed after submission. 
  • Agreement period: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025.  CRKN agreement announcement
  • Agreement type: Read & publish 
Cambridge University Press via CKRN
  • Waived APCs in eligible Cambridge hybrid and gold journals. To see the list of eligible titles, visit the CUP website, and select Canada, Mount Royal University to see the details of our agreement.
  • How it works: The waiver is automatically applied via author affiliation once the article is accepted. Additional publishing instructions can be found on the CKRN website.
  • Key requirements: The corresponding author for the article at the time of submission must be from MRU or another participating institution to be eligible for waived APCs. The waiver applies to the following types of submissions: Research Articles, Rapid Communications, Review Articles, Brief Reports, and Case Reports. MRU authors should use their mtroyal.ca email address when submitting to the journal to flag their eligibility for the waiver.
  • Agreement period: January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024. 
  • Agreement type: Read & publish. 
Company of Biologists
Elsevier via CKRN
  • Waived APCs in the following 1805 hybrid journals
  • 15% discount on APCs in the following 677 gold open access journals. This discount will drop to 10% in 2027 (and dropped from 20% in 2021-2023).
  • How it works: Starting January 1, 2024, authors will be offered the option to publish open access in eligible journals for free or at a discount after article acceptance.
  • Key requirements: The corresponding author for the article at the time of submission must be from MRU or another participating institution to be eligible for waived or discounted APCs.
  • Agreement period: January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026. 
  • Agreement type: Read & publish. 
MDPI
  • 10% discount on APCs at MDPI journals as part of the Institutional Open Access Program.
  • Key requirements: MRU authors must use their mtroyal.ca email address when submitting to MDPI journals to flag their eligibility for the discount.
  • Agreement period: Ongoing. 
  • Agreement type: Open access partnership. 
Oxford Journals via CKRN
  • Waived APCs to publish in 350 hybrid journals (refer to the List of Eligible Hybrid Titles in the spreadsheet)
  • 10% discount on article processing charges (APCs) in 155 gold open access journals (see the Gold APC discount tab in the spreadsheet)
  • How it works: Starting February 1, 2024, MRU authors will be automatically offered the option to make their article open for free or at a discount in eligible journals upon acceptance of their work. This applies to research articles, review articles, case reports or brief reports. Please note that articles in supplement issues are excluded from the waiver.
  • Key requirements: The corresponding author for the article at the time of submission must be from MRU or another participating institution to be eligible for waived or discounted APCs. The corresponding author can not be changed after submission in order to qualify for the waiver or discount. 
  • Agreement period: January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026. 
  • Agreement typeperiod: Open access partnership. 
PLOS

A non-profit, high-impact open access publisher with leading journals in science and medicine.

  • Agreement Type: Open Access Partnership
  • APC Discount Type:
    • Waived/fully funded (flat fee model)
    • Eligible titles: PLOS Complex Systems, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLOS ONE, PLOS Pathogens
  • How it works:
  • Key requirements:
    • The corresponding author must be from MRU (or a participating institution).
    • Use @mtroyal.ca email when submitting.
  • Agreement period: January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2026
  • Licensing & sharing:
    • All articles are published under a CC BY 4.0 license, allowing free sharing and reuse.
    • Authors retain copyright and can deposit their work in repositories.
    • More info.
SAGE via CKRN
  • APC Discount Type:
  • How it works: Authors uses their MRU email for identification. After acceptance, accept the offer to publish open access.
  • Key requirements: 
    • Corresponding author must be from MRU or a participating institution.
    • Not eligible: errata, book reviews, editorials, abstracts, calls for papers, news or similar.
    • Default license: CC-BY-NC (CC-BY available if required).
  • Agreement period: Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2026. 
  • Agreement type: Read & publish. 
Wiley via CKRN
  • Waived APCs for Wiley’s hybrid journals.
  • How it works: Once accepted, eligible authors are notified that their article qualifies for open access publishing at no cost. More details.
  • Key requirements: The corresponding author must be affiliated with MRU or another CRKN institution at submission.
  • Gold Open Access: Wiley’s Gold OA journals are not eligible for waivers but receive a 10% APC discount.
  • Agreement period: January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2026.
  • Agreement type: Read & Publish.

Ensure APC funding is applied: When prompted to declare funding in Wiley Author Services, choose "My APC will be covered by an institution or funder that has a Wiley Open Access Account arrangement with Wiley." Use your MRU email and select Mount Royal University as your institution to ensure the waiver or discount applies.

Looking for other ways to share your work? Authors can also review Wiley’s self-archiving policy to see more options for sharing a version of their article.

Options for Publishing Open Access

MRU faculty have several options to make their research openly accessible, whether through no-cost routes, library funding, fee waivers, or budgeting for publication charges.

No-cost publishing & deposit options

Make your work open without paying publication fees.

Learn more about copyright and depositing.  Use the Open policy finder tool to check journal archiving policies.

Publishing with APCs 

 Some journals charge article processing charges (APCs) to make work openly accessible.

  • Open access journals: Fully open access journals, where all articles are freely available, and often require APCs as part of their publishing model. Check out the DOAJ for a comprehensive list of open access journals. 
  • Hybrid journals: Hybrid journals, subscription based journals that allow articles to be made open with the payment of an APC. 

Library support - Leverage funding and waivers available to MRU faculty:

  • Apply for the Open Access Fund: The library reimburses APCs for eligible publications.
  • Use the OA Fee Finder: Locate APC waivers and discounts for MRU-affiliated authors via library publisher agreements (restrictions apply).

Plan ahead for publication charges:

  • Estimate APC costs: Review journal websites to forecast expenses.
  • Include APCs in grant proposals: Agencies like CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC allow these expenses.

Highlight your Open Access Contributions

Describe how open access amplifies your research's impact by:

  • Documenting your contributions: CVs and applications can include not only open access publications, but also self-archiving efforts, and repository participation
  • Describing your impact: Highlight how open access makes your research accessible to wider audiences, including practitioners, policymakers, and the public, promoting institutional values such as support for equity, inclusion, and public engagement.
  • Pointing to evidence: Share metrics such as downloads, citations, or mentions in policy documents to demonstrate engagement.

Need help?

Contact your Subject Librarian for further support with open publishing.

Open Access Fund

The Library maintains an Open Access Fund to support scholarly publishing by MRU authors seeking to openly disseminate their research by reimbursing eligible open access fees related to publishing their research in OA formats. To date the Library OA fund has supported more than 40 publications by MRU authors. View them in our repository.

Author Eligibility

The Fund accepts applications from the primary author (e.g., lead, first-named, or corresponding), who will take responsibility for submitting the grant request and receiving reimbursement. This author must be affiliated with MRU as a:

  • Tenured, tenurable, or contract faculty member
  • Full-time administrator or staff member
  • Undergraduate student

Co-authors do not have to be affiliated with MRU.

In the event that a project has existing research funding, the request must be accompanied by a declaration that the open access APCs have not already been covered by the grant or are ineligible under the grant.

Publication Criteria

Articles: The Fund reimburses article processing charges (APCs) for manuscripts accepted to peer-reviewed journals that:

Check the journal webpage to find this information or search the DOAJ for journals and license options.

Books/Chapters: The Fund reviews OA publishing fees for books/book chapters on a case-by-case basis to account for the varying OA models used by monograph publishers. Generally we expect the following criteria:

If this information is not available, contact us with supporting evidence (e.g., your publishing contract, emails from your publisher, etc.) and we will review details with you.

Reimbursement Limits

Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, at the time of reimbursement, and require a paid invoice before approval of the reimbursement.

  • Maximum reimbursement is normally capped at $3,000 (CDN) per individual per fiscal year. This can be for a single publication or split across multiple publications.
  • We retroactively reimburse fees paid within the past calendar year, based on the date of application to the Fund. All other Fund requirements, eligibility criteria, and processes still apply.

Mandatory Deposit in the IR

Authors who accept their awarded grant under this fund must deposit a version of their research in the Mount Royal University Institutional Repository. Authors are also encouraged to consider depositing appropriate supporting data in the Mount Royal University Data Repository. In the case of publisher embargo, the manuscript should still be deposited as soon as possible with the appropriate repository embargo provisions in place.

The Library can assist with this process. Contact mrujs@mtroyal.ca for more information.

Applying to the Fund

Please use the electronic application form to apply.

FAQs

How much is in the Fund?

  • We have set aside $15,000 (CDN) to reimburse authors for the current fiscal year.

Are formats other than journal articles and books/chapters eligible?

  • Maybe. We recognize and are encouraged that open access research can come in a wide variety of formats beyond traditional articles and books. We are willing to consider alternative formats on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further information.

How do I apply?

 How long does it take to get reimbursed?

  • Normally about 2-3 weeks. The Library will process your expense report quickly, then forward it to Finance for their usual payment processes. Note: reimbursements will be delayed from March 1 until mid-April (each year) to account for the university's fiscal year-end. You can still apply during this period, and we will clearly communicate about this delay if your application is successful.

Who do I contact if I have questions or want some help?

  • We welcome any questions and are happy to assist you with any part of the process. Please use the contact section to find out how to get in touch with us.

Do other universities offer this kind of fund?

  • Many universities in Canada and around the world also offer an open access fund in support of their local researchers. For examples, please see the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) curated list showing OA funds in action.

How do I budget for OA fees or article processing charges (APCs) in my grant proposals?

  • We recommend budgeting publication charges as part of your grant proposal since many funding agencies treat open access fees as allowable grant expenses. Some examples include:
    • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
    • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
  • To estimate these costs, try reviewing the websites of appropriate journals/publishers where you hope to publish your research. Your subject librarian can help you with this.

Contacts