Article Processing Charges
Learning Communities — International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts operates under a Diamond Open Access publishing model. The journal does not charge authors any Article Processing Charges (APCs) for the submission, peer review, acceptance, publication, or open access availability of their articles.
No Article Processing Charges
Authors are not required to pay any fee in order to publish an eligible manuscript in the journal. There are no mandatory Article Processing Charges associated with standard publication.
The journal does not charge:
- Submission fees
- Manuscript processing fees
- Peer-review fees
- Article Processing Charges (APCs)
- Publication fees
- Open access fees
- Acceptance fees
- Page charges
- Mandatory color figure charges
- Charges based on the number of authors
- Charges based on manuscript length under normal publication conditions
Diamond Open Access Model
The journal's Diamond Open Access model is designed to remove financial barriers for both authors and readers. Authors can submit and publish their work without paying a publication charge, while readers receive immediate and free access to published articles.
This approach supports equitable participation in scholarly communication and helps ensure that researchers are not excluded from publication because of institutional, geographic, or financial limitations.
No Fees for Peer Review
Authors are not charged for editorial assessment or peer review. Manuscripts that successfully pass the journal's initial screening are considered for single-blind peer review solely on the basis of their scholarly merit, relevance, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and suitability for the journal.
No Fee for Acceptance or Publication
No payment is required when a manuscript is accepted for publication. Acceptance decisions are independent of financial considerations and are based entirely on the outcome of editorial assessment and peer review.
Authors are also not required to pay a standard publication fee after acceptance or before their article is made available online.
No Fee for Open Access
All published articles are made freely and permanently accessible online without requiring authors to purchase an open access option.
Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), unless otherwise stated. This permits broad access, sharing, distribution, adaptation, and reuse in accordance with the terms of the license.
No Waiver Application Required
Because the journal does not impose Article Processing Charges or standard publication fees, authors do not need to apply for an APC waiver or discount.
The absence of publication charges applies equally to authors regardless of their country, institution, professional status, funding availability, or career stage.
Editorial Independence
Financial considerations have no influence on editorial decisions. Manuscripts are evaluated according to academic and ethical criteria, including originality, relevance to the journal's scope, methodological rigor, quality of analysis, scholarly contribution, and compliance with publication ethics.
Editors and reviewers are not informed of, and do not make decisions on the basis of, an author's ability or inability to pay publication-related costs.
No Hidden Publication Charges
The journal is committed to transparency regarding publication costs. Authors will not be required to pay an undisclosed mandatory fee as a condition of manuscript acceptance or standard publication.
Any optional service obtained independently by an author from an external provider, such as professional language editing, translation, graphic preparation, or other third-party assistance, is separate from the journal and is not an Article Processing Charge imposed by the journal.
Open Access Commitment
Through its Diamond Open Access model, Learning Communities — International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts aims to promote inclusive, accessible, and equitable scholarly communication by removing publication fees for authors and access charges for readers.
