» SOARS

• Support full-time, early- to mid-career Chapman University faculty who choose to publish in open-access platforms but lack other sources of funding for APC for open access.   
• Build innovative models of scholarly publishing, in particular publications that are not supported by subscription revenue models or user-access fees. 
• Increase access to research profiles and scholarship from Chapman. 

• The Supporting Open Access Research and Scholarship (SOARS) award is open to all current, full-time Chapman University faculty. 

• Special consideration will be given to faculty who:

1. Are at the Assistant and Associate Professor levels and have contractual research expectations.

2. Are publishing in a journal run by a scholarly society or non-profit organization (including university presses). This covers the editorial process through the distribution chain. 

3. Have an ORCID. 

• Authors are not eligible to apply if they have funding covering APC fully or partially from grants, external funding, start-up funds, or college/school publication-support programs.  
• Eligible publications and publishing platforms must be fully and immediately open-access.
  • Publications in “hybrid open-access” (which also charge subscription fees) or “delayed open-access” journals are not eligible.
  • The journal must be fully open-access and listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). If the journal is too new to be listed, the publication must be DOAJ-compliant. 
  • The publication must allow authors to retain copyright. 
  • The publication must allow authors to use Creative Commons (or equivalent) licenses at no additional cost.
• Additionally, submissions to journals that are already covered by one of Chapman’s open access read-and-publish agreements are not eligible, as there are already mechanisms in place for Chapman authors to freely publish open access in those publications. See the Free Open Access Publishing Opportunities for Chapman Authors guide for more information.  

• The manuscript must be a peer-reviewed scholarly article.  
• The manuscript must have been submitted, and proof of submission must be provided with the application. 
• If the application is approved in part or in whole, the Chapman author must provide proof of article acceptance by a specified date in order to receive the award.
• Applications will require verification by the applicant’s dean that the applicant has no other funding that could be applied to the APC.

• Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis throughout academic year 2024-2025. 
  • Eligible applications will be collected and reviewed, and faculty notified of award status, periodically throughout the year at the following times: 
    
    • Late June 2024
    • Late July 2024
    • Late August 2024
    • Late October 2024 
    • Mid-December 2024
    • Late February 2025
    • Late March 2025
• Any application not covered in one round of allocations will be considered in the next round, until the fund is expended. If all funds allocated to a round are not used, those funds will be added to the subsequent round. 
• An author is limited to one award per fiscal year (June 1 – May 31). A manuscript may only receive one award. SOARS award recipients may not reapply for a period of two academic years. 
• Chapman SOARS cannot guarantee funding, and authors should count on funding only after their application is approved and they have received notice of the award amount from the Leatherby Libraries. Award funds will be available upon receipt of proof of article acceptance.
• The Chapman SOARS Fund is administered by the Leatherby Libraries. Applications are reviewed and evaluated by a library committee based on the criteria set forth above. Final award decisions will be made by the Dean of the Library. Awards and lists of publications will be accumulated annually and posted.  
• Award advances or reimbursements will follow the policies and procedures set by Financials Services.