Open Access Process at Glasgow
Please note that this process applies to articles submitted from 1 September 2026. For the process for articles submitted before that date, see the section below.
The University strongly encourages researchers to make research outputs open access and requires all staff who are designated as the lead University of Glasgow author for journal articles or conference proceedings to notify research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk as soon as the article has been accepted for publication.
There are a number of tools available to support open access, including:
- centrally held funds that some funders provide for institutional publishing agreements or payment of article processing charges,
- deposit of the author accepted manuscript in the institutional repository (providing immediate open access to the accepted version of the manuscript), via the Research Publications and Copyright Policy or as permitted by publishers' policies,
- Open access support for long-form publications
Co-author sites may have similar arrangements.
Research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk can help you to determine the best option for making your publication open access.
Under the Research Publications and Copyright Policy your accepted manuscript will usually be shared by the library, particularly if the paper is not made freely available on the publisher website. Exceptions to the policy will be considered but must be requested no later than the point at which you send your accepted manuscript to the library.
What do authors need to do?
The workflow diagram below shows our institutional approach to open access, including the rights retention approach.
An accessible version of this diagram is available here: [Open Access Workflow]
Before submission
Authors should think about open access options before submission. Decisions at this stage can affect future use of the work. The options for open access may depend on the funding you acknowledge, the affiliation of the corresponding author and the journal or publisher's policies. If you're not sure about the open access routes available to you, please consult with research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk.
In addition to open access options, you should consider CRediT roles, authorship, and affiliations. If you have any co-authors, these aspects should be agreed in advance of manuscript preparation, as should the open access route.
You should include ORCiDs, a funding statement, a data availability statement, and a rights retention statement in your manuscript.
Funding statements and data availability statements are recommended as good research practice for clarity even where no funding underpins the research, or no data was generated or used.
Advice is available from the Open Access Team at research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk.
On Acceptance
The lead University of Glasgow author should notify research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk as soon as an article or conference proceeding is accepted.
- Forward the email from the publisher notifying you of the acceptance
- Include the final agreed text before the addition of the publisher logo and mark up (the author accepted manuscript). If the final accepted version is not ready, you can provide an earlier version of the manuscript with a note that it is not final (e.g. accepted but subject to revisions).
- Often the manuscript includes all of the information the Open Access Team need to help you with open access. If the manuscript is not available yet, or for elements not in the manuscript, please provide:
- Funder name and award reference number for any past or present grants or scholarships acknowledged in the paper. If you do not know the official award number, please ask your local project coordinator or let us know you need help with this in your email.
- Journal name
- Title of article
- Type of article (original research, review, letter, comment etc.)
- List of all University of Glasgow authors
- Affiliation of the corresponding author
- Data availability statement
- Submission date
If you know that open access will be arranged by a co-author please let us know.
If you wish to request that a paper be opted out from the Research Publications and Copyright Policy, you must notify research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk of the reason for this request as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than the point at which you send your accepted manuscript to the Library.
Exceptions to the policy will be considered but will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
Please use the '!' high importance flag if your application needs urgent consideration, e.g., if you are planning a press release in the next few days.
The Open Access Team will usually reply within two working days to confirm the most appropriate route to open access and advise on next steps.
A presentation about open access requirements and support is available and can be run in your area. There is also a regular copyright training session. Some materials are available. Please contact research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk if you have a specific requirement.
There is further guidance available on Licensing and Copyright.
Open Access Process at Glasgow for articles submitted before 1 September 2026
These requirements apply to all journal articles or conference proceedings that are accepted for publication, regardless of funder. More widely, the University strongly encourages researchers to make all of their research works open access in order to enjoy the range of benefits this brings.
The University of Glasgow, along with many other research organisations and funders has adopted a rights retention approach to support open access. This facilitates the author retaining the right to post their accepted manuscript on a repository to meet open access requirements.
You can read the policy here:
Research Publications and Copyright Policy
This approach can be adopted by any author regardless of funding.
Main benefits:
- Increase exposure to author works by ensuring liberal sharing and reuse rights for authors and end users
- Simplify compliance with open access requirements
- Maintain author choice and ensure sharing and reuse of manuscripts regardless of venue
What do researchers need to do?
The workflow diagram below shows how the rights retention approach enables open access.
An accessible version of this diagram is available here: [Rights Retention Workflow]
Before submission
Authors should think about copyright options before submission as decisions at this stage can affect future use of the work. You can ask the open access team research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk should you have any questions.
On submission
Add a rights retention statement to the 'acknowledgement' section of the manuscript (and any covering documents if applicable):
For the purpose of open access, the author(s) has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.
Alternative wording with the same intended outcome can be used instead if required by the relevant funder.
This ensures full transparency for co-authors and publishers.
During Discussion with Publisher
Read any documentation a publisher sends you carefully to ensure it is compatible with any open access wishes or requirements. If you receive any objection or unusual feedback from the publisher contact research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk.
On Acceptance
The lead University of Glasgow author should notify the library at research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk as soon as an article or conference proceeding is accepted.
- Forward the email from the publisher notifying you of the acceptance of your publication.
- Include the final agreed text before the addition of the publisher logo (the author accepted manuscript) or if this is not ready, an earlier version of the manuscript with a note that it is not final. E.g. of accepted but subject to revisions.
- To help with open access, please provide as much of this information as possible:
- Funder name and award reference number of any past or present grants or scholarships acknowledged in the paper. If you do not know the official award number, please ask your local research administrator or let us know you need help with this in your email.
- Journal name
- Title of article
- Type of article (original research, review, letter, comment etc.)
- List of all authors
- Affiliation of the corresponding author
- A copy of the included in your paper.
- Submission date
The Open Access team will usually reply within two working days to confirm:
- Whether deposit of the author accepted manuscript in the institutional repository (providing immediate open access to the accepted version of the manuscript, sometimes know as ‘green’ open access) will satisfy funder requirements, or
- Whether open access can be achieved by a different route e.g. from institutional or centrally held .
If the rights retention statement was included at submission the library can add a CC BY licence and share the manuscript on the University publications system 'Enlighten'. If you have any concerns please notify research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk.
Please use the '!' high importance flag if your application needs urgent consideration, e.g., if you are planning a press release in the next few days.
What does this apply to?
- All articles. Rights retention is broadly designed to support open access to journal articles and conference proceedings.
- Book and chapters. Where there is a funder mandate for .
- Any manuscripts. It is recommended to add the rights retention statement to all manuscript submissions, even if the article will eventually be open access via the publisher.
- All researchers. This approach supports the University's preference for immediate 'Green' open access via the University publications system Enlighten, therefore ensuring the benefits of open access are shared equitably.
Templates
Pre-Submission Cover Letter Template
Submission Cover Letter Template
Additional Information
Creative Commons Licences explanation of CC BY creative commons licencing.
Copyright guidance including reuse of third-party materials.