Submissions

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Author Guidelines

Journal of Reform and Advances in Higher Education (JRAHE) is a double‑blind peer‑reviewed, open‑access international pure academic journal. Editorials, commentaries, opinion essays, letters to the editor, book reviews, journalistic reports and informal reflective notes are not accepted. Only rigorous empirical, theoretical or systematic review manuscripts that fit one of the seven thematic sections below will enter the pre‑screening workflow.

1. Seven Thematic Sections

  • Global Higher Education Reform Systemic reform, institutional innovation, operational model renewal and structural upgrading of higher education systems across jurisdictions.
  • AI & Digital Higher Education (Signature Track) AI-enabled teaching, intelligent university administration, digital campus construction, AI-supported student development, digital classrooms, intelligent learning systems, pedagogy innovation and technology-driven paradigm shifts in higher education.
  • Cross-Regional Comparative Education Comparative studies of higher education systems, institutions and reform pathways across nations, regions and governance regimes.
  • University Governance & Quality Innovation Modern university governance, evaluation reform, disciplinary development, quality assurance frameworks and institutional quality improvement.
  • Internationalization & Global Academic Cooperation Cross-border higher education, joint programmes, academic mobility and emerging models of global university collaboration.
  • Young Scholars & Academic Ecosystem Development Academic workforce development, research incentive mechanisms, reform of academic ecosystems and early-career faculty support.
  • Frontier Review & Trend Outlook Systematic literature reviews, global trend analysis and forward-looking outlooks for higher education transformation.

Manuscripts for Special Themed Issues must also be assigned to one of the above seven sections and satisfy the same academic standards.

2. Acceptable Manuscript Forms

Within the seven sections, JRAHE accepts three forms of rigorous academic work only:

  • Original Empirical Research: Quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods studies with clear research questions, transparent methodology, verifiable evidence and original findings.
  • Theoretical & Conceptual Research: Original theoretical construction, framework development, conceptual critique or interdisciplinary theoretical advancement relevant to higher education.
  • Systematic Review & Integrative Synthesis: Systematic literature reviews, meta-analyses and rigorous integrative reviews. Simple narrative summaries, non-systematic descriptive overviews are excluded.

3. Manuscript Preparation for Double‑Blind Review

Authors must prepare two separate core documents, plus supplementary declarations where applicable.

  • Anonymised Main Manuscript (for blind review) Remove all author names, affiliations, ORCID identifiers, funding acknowledgements, and identifiable self-citations. No author‑related information may appear in headers, footers, document properties, table notes or figure captions.
  • Separate Title Page (not shared with reviewers) Include full title, all author names, institutional affiliations, departments, ORCID iDs, corresponding author email address, funding information, acknowledgements and conflict‑of‑interest statement.
  • Mandatory supplementary documents (if applicable)
    • Ethics approval / exemption letter: Required for research involving human participants (surveys, interviews, experiments). Informed consent procedures must be stated in-text.
    • Conflict-of-interest statement: Disclose any financial, institutional or personal interests that may bias research outcomes.
    • Data availability statement, interview protocols, survey instruments or research datasets (optional, recommended for empirical papers).

4. Formatting Standards

  • Language: Academic English. Poorly polished machine-translated manuscripts will be returned at pre-screening.
  • File format: Editable Microsoft Word (.docx). PDF is not accepted for the review stage.
  • Typography: Times New Roman, 12pt, double line spacing, 1‑inch margins, continuous line numbering on the anonymised manuscript.
  • Word count (excluding references, tables, figures and appendices):
    • Original empirical / theoretical research: 6000–10000 words
    • Systematic reviews and frontier synthesis: 8000–12000 words
  • Abstract and Keywords: Abstract (150–250 words) covering research purpose, methodology, key results and implications for global higher education. Provide 3–6 keywords separated by semicolons. Abstract and keywords are placed inside the anonymised manuscript.
  • Headings: Consistent three-level heading hierarchy; avoid excessive nesting.
  • Tables & Figures: Sequentially numbered with descriptive captions, high-resolution. Permissions must be obtained and stated for any reused copyrighted third-party visuals. Embed tables and figures close to the relevant discussion.

5. Citation & Bibliographic Standard (Mandatory: APA 7th Edition)

All in-text parenthetical citations and the final reference list must conform strictly to APA 7th edition. Footnotes should not be used for citation purposes. The reference list appears at the end of the anonymised manuscript under the heading References.

APA 7th Citation Examples

In-text citation

  • Single author: (Smith, 2022)
  • Two authors: (Li & Wang, 2023)
  • Three or more authors: (Zhang et al., 2024)
  • Direct quotation: (Brown, 2021, p. 47)

Reference list entries

  • Journal article

Kirkman, R., & Chen, L. (2023). AI adoption barriers within Asian public universities. Higher Education Quarterly, 77(2), 211‑228. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12456

  • Monograph

Altbach, P. G. (2022). Global perspectives on higher‑education reform. Johns Hopkins University Press.

  • Edited book chapter

Saito, M. (2024). Digital governance in East‑Asian universities. In H.‑J. Park (Ed.), New trajectories of university governance (pp. 89–112). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978‑981‑19‑xxxx

  • Institutional / UNESCO report

UNESCO. (2023). Global report on digital transformation in higher education. https://unesco.org/education/higher‑education‑digital‑report‑2023

We strongly recommend reference management software (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) preset to APA 7th. Include a DOI for journal articles and book chapters whenever available.

6. Online Submission Workflow on JRAHE OJS

  • Register or log into the official JRAHE OJS platform and start a new submission.
  • Complete the submission checklist confirmation.
  • Upload anonymised manuscript, title page, ethics documents, declarations and supplementary materials.
  • Fill in manuscript metadata: title, abstract, keywords, select one of the seven JRAHE sections.
  • Add all contributors following the CRediT taxonomy; honorary authorship is prohibited.
  • Complete confidential notes to the editor (optional): special issue application, conflict alerts, methodological clarification. You may suggest 2–4 potential reviewers with no conflicts of interest; the editorial team retains full discretion over reviewer selection.
  • Review all materials and metadata before final submission.
  • A unique manuscript ID and acknowledgement email will be generated automatically. Use this ID for all correspondence.

7. Editorial and Peer Review Process

  • Editorial pre-screening: Check alignment with the seven sections, formatting completeness, academic ethics. Manuscripts failing pre-screening are rejected without external review.
  • Double‑blind external peer review.
  • Revision according to reviewer and editorial comments; multiple rounds of revision may occur.
  • Final decision notification: Accept / Revise and Resubmit / Reject.

Post-acceptance workflow: Sign CC BY 4.0 licence, settle APC, receive and correct page proofs, Online-First publication, allocation to volume and issue.

8. Fees, Withdrawal Policy and Academic Integrity

  • No submission fee, pre-screening fee or review fee. Article Processing Charges (APC) are invoiced only after peer-reviewed acceptance. APC covers review administration, platform hosting, open dissemination, typesetting, proofreading and online publication. Separate APC schedules apply to special themed issues.
  • Eligible researchers from low-income economies and early-career scholars may apply for APC waiver or partial discount. Waiver applications must be submitted before the acceptance decision; applications submitted after acceptance will not be considered.
  • The corresponding author may submit a written withdrawal request only before external review begins. Once external review starts, withdrawal is generally prohibited. Unreasonable or malicious withdrawal will be recorded in the journal’s academic integrity archive. After acceptance, withdrawal will only be approved when verified major academic misconduct emerges.
  • Multiple submission, duplicate publication, plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification and gift authorship are strictly forbidden. Detected misconduct leads to rejection or formal retraction.

9.  Copyright and Open-Access Licence

Upon acceptance, authors are required to sign the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0) and complete APC payment for publication production.

  • Authors retain full copyright of their work; they grant JRAHE a perpetual, worldwide, non‑exclusive licence to publish, host, index and disseminate the article.
  • CC BY 4.0 permits free reading, downloading, citation and non‑commercial reuse globally, provided the original source is properly attributed. Commercial reuse requires explicit permission from the author(s).
  • Authors are responsible for clearing copyright for all text, images and data included in the manuscript.
  • Authors may archive the final published version on personal academic pages, university institutional repositories and non‑profit academic platforms.
  • JRAHE reserves the right to carry out copy-editing, standardisation and language polishing to uphold publication quality.

Submission Preparation Checklist

  • No submission fee, pre-screening fee or peer-review fee is charged. Article Processing Charges (APC) are only invoiced after formal peer-reviewed acceptance.
  • APC covers peer review administration, journal platform maintenance, open dissemination, typesetting, proofreading and online publication. Special issues apply a separate fee schedule.
  • Eligible researchers from low-income economies and early-career scholars may apply for APC waivers or partial discounts following the journal’s waiver policy.
  • The manuscript fits JRAHE’s scope and one of our seven thematic sections.
  • The anonymized main text removes all identifiable author/institutional information for blind review.
  • The manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under concurrent review by another journal.
  • All co-authors have approved the submission and agree to the publication terms.

Global Higher Education Reform

This section publishes original empirical and theoretical studies on systemic higher education reform, institutional innovation and institutional operational transformation. All manuscripts receive rigorous double-blind peer review. 

AI & Digital Higher Education

This signature track publishes original research on artificial intelligence, digital transformation and educational technology within higher education. All manuscripts receive rigorous double-blind peer review. 

Cross-Regional Comparative Education

This section publishes comparative higher education research across regions, nations and institutional systems. All manuscripts receive rigorous double-blind peer review.

University Governance & Quality Innovation

This section publishes original research on university governance, quality assurance mechanisms and institutional leadership innovation. All manuscripts receive rigorous double-blind peer review.

Internationalization & Global Academic Cooperation

This section publishes research on higher education internationalisation, academic mobility, cross-border collaboration and global academic partnership. All manuscripts receive rigorous double-blind peer review.

Young Scholars & Academic Ecosystem Development

This section publishes original research on the development of early-career scholars, academic career pathways and the construction of sustainable academic ecosystems. All manuscripts receive rigorous double-blind peer review.

Frontier Review & Trend Outlook

This section publishes systematic literature reviews, global trend analysis and forward-looking judgements on higher education transformation. Accepted works are expected to develop testable propositions and propose a clear follow-up research agenda. All manuscripts receive rigorous double-blind peer review.

Copyright Notice

Upon acceptance, authors grant Journal of Reform and Advances in Higher Education a non‑exclusive, perpetual right to publish, distribute, archive and index the work under the journal’s open-access license. Authors retain copyright of their work. Authors warrant that the work is original, does not infringe third-party rights, and all permissions for reused material (figures, adapted instruments) have been obtained. By completing submission, all authors confirm acceptance of this copyright statement.

Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement explains how JRAHE collects, uses, stores, discloses and protects personal data of authors, reviewers, editorial board members, registered users and website visitors. JRAHE is an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal hosted on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. This statement complies with common international data protection principles including GDPR, Hong Kong Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) and other applicable data protection regulations.

1. Who We Are

JRAHE is an international academic journal. The journal’s editorial office is the data controller for all personal information collected through this website and submission system.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect information that you actively provide when you register an account, submit manuscripts, complete review forms, join the editorial board, or communicate with the editorial office:

  • Account information: full name, email address, institutional affiliation, department, job title, ORCID identifier, country/region
  • Manuscript-related information: submission records, co-author information, reviewer comments, review recommendation, revision history, correspondence records
  • Optional information: telephone number, postal address (only if voluntarily provided)
  • Automatically collected technical data: IP address, browser type, device information, access timestamp, system operation log for platform security and troubleshooting. We do not collect sensitive personal data (race, religious belief, health information etc.) unless you voluntarily submit such content within your research manuscript.

3. Purposes of Processing Your Personal Data

We only process personal data for legitimate academic and editorial purposes:

  • To create and manage your user account on the OJS submission platform;
  • To process, administer and track manuscript submissions, peer review, revision and editorial decisions;
  • To send editorial notifications, review invitations, decision letters, proofreading requests and other essential journal communications;
  • To maintain official publication records, archive editorial histories and support academic indexing, abstracting and citation services (e.g. Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar);
  • To manage editorial board membership and reviewer pools;
  • To maintain platform security, diagnose technical faults and prevent improper use of the submission system;
  • To respond to your enquiries, data access, correction or deletion requests.

We will NOT sell, rent, licence or share your personal data to third parties for advertising, commercial marketing or unrelated business purposes.

4. Recipients / Third Parties Who May Receive Your Data

Your personal data may only be shared in limited circumstances as follows:

  • Peer reviewers: When a manuscript is assigned for review, only necessary anonymised manuscript content and non-identifying metadata will be shared. Identities of authors and reviewers are protected under double-blind review rules where applicable.
  • Indexing and abstracting databases: Accepted article metadata (author name, affiliation, article title, abstract, DOI) will be shared with academic indexing services for discoverability, as standard academic publishing practice.
  • Authorised technical service providers: OJS hosting service providers, server and cybersecurity vendors who provide platform operation support. All such service providers are bound by data confidentiality obligations.
  • Legal requirement: We may disclose personal data if required by law, court order or regulatory authority.

5. Data Retention

  • Active account and manuscript records: Retained for the full lifecycle of the submission, review and publication process.
  • Published article metadata and editorial archives: Preserved permanently for academic, archival and indexing purposes, consistent with scholarly publishing norms.
  • Unsuccessful submissions / rejected manuscripts: Account metadata and submission records will be retained for a reasonable period for editorial audit, then archived or deleted upon request.
  • System access logs: Automatically purged after a limited security retention window.

6. Your Rights over Your Personal Data

Subject to applicable data protection legislation, you have the right to:

  • Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
  • Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information;
  • Request deletion of your account or personal data, subject to the requirement to retain mandatory publication and archival records;
  • Withdraw consent for non-essential data processing (note that withdrawal may affect your ability to submit manuscripts or participate in peer review);
  • Lodge a complaint with the relevant local data protection authority.

To exercise these rights, please contact the editorial office via the official journal email. We will verify your identity before handling your request.

7. Data Security

We adopt reasonable technical and organisational safeguards to protect your personal data stored on the OJS platform, including access permission control, secure server transmission, regular system maintenance and access log auditing. However, no internet transmission or electronic storage can be guaranteed to be absolutely secure.

8. Cookies

This website may use essential functional cookies to maintain your logged-in session and OJS workflow functions. We do not use tracking or advertising cookies for behavioural profiling. You may manage cookie settings via your web browser.

9. Links to External Websites

Our website may contain links to external third-party sites such as indexing databases, ORCID and institutional repositories. This Privacy Statement only applies to the JRAHE platform. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites.

10. Updates to this Privacy Statement

We may revise this Privacy Statement occasionally. The revised version will be published on this page with an updated date. Continued use of the journal submission system after publication of changes constitutes acceptance of the revised statement.

11. Contact

For privacy-related enquiries, please contact the JRAHE Editorial Office.