Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is committed to supporting faculty and their student researchers in disseminating their scholarly work. Recognizing the importance of Open Access (OA) publishing in making research freely available to a wider audience and accelerating scientific progress, SIT 3 funding is made available to establish the Open Access Publication and Data Collection Fund Program. This program aims to alleviate the financial burden of Article Processing Charges (APCs) associated with publishing in fully OA journals.

I. Eligibility and Application Requirements

Applicants must meet all the following requirements to be considered for funding:

  1. Full-Time Faculty Status
    The applicant must be a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member at any of the campuses of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at the time of application and at the time funds are awarded.
  2. Journal Quality (Q1 Ranking or equivalent)
    The manuscript must be accepted for publication in a Q1-ranked (or equivalent) journal, as defined by the most recent Journal Citation Reports (JCR), SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) quartile rankings, or equivalent ranking system within the relevant discipline.
  3. For APC Funding: Peer Review Status
    The manuscript must have:
    • Completed at least the first round of peer review, and
    • Received a decision of Minor Revision (or equivalent editorial determination).
    Proof of the editorial decision letter must be provided at the time of application.
  4. For APC Funding: Open Access Requirement
    The journal must offer a fully open access publication model or a hybrid open access option requiring an Article Processing Charge (APC).
  5. Author Status
    The applicant must be the corresponding author or lead author of the manuscript.
  6. Declaration Statement
    A statement indicating the impact that the publication/s will have on the University as well as a pathway for it/them to potentially lead to extramural funding.

II. Available Funding

The table below reports the initial allocation of funding based on typical levels of the APCs and data collection tools. The Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (VPAA) reserves the right to move funding among the categories.

Category Minimum Maximum Average # ERAU Supported
Community-Scale Journals $100 $1,000 $550 0
Discipline-Focused High Impact Journals $1,000 $3,000 $2,000 8
Data collection tools $1,500 $2,500 $2,000 1
Established High Impact Scholarly Journals $3,000 $8,000 $5,500 1
Broad-Reach Commercial Journals $8,000 $12,000 $10,000 0
         
Number of Faculty Supported in FY27 10      
         
Budget for FY27 $23,500      

III. Selection Criteria

Eligible applications will be evaluated competitively out of 100 points based on the following criteria:

1. Academic Impact

For APC Funding: Journal Impact and Scholarly Influence (up to 40 points)

Funding priority will be given to publications demonstrating strong disciplinary impact. Evaluation will consider:

  • Journal Impact Factor (JIF)
  • SCImago Journal Rank (SJR)
  • Article Influence Score (if available)
  • Reputation and selectivity within the field
  • Higher-impact journals will receive proportionally higher scores within this category.

For Data Collection Funding: The following criteria will be used to evaluate proposals for data collection funding (up to 40 points)

Criterion Points 1 point (low) 3 points (mid) 5 points (high) How to measure
Cost efficiency 12 >=$2500 >$1250 and <$1750 <=$750 per paper Cost of data collection/expected papers in 24 months
Output potential 8 1 paper 2 papers 4+ papers Expected papers and presentations from the project
Time to first paper 8 >24 months 12-18 months <=6 months Estimated months to first submission
Data necessity 8 4+ viable alternatives 2 alternatives 0 alternatives Count of acceptable alternative tools/datasets
Publication history 4 0-1 papers in 3 years 4-6 papers 9+ papers Peer-reviewed papers in last 3 years
           
Total possible points 40        

2. Faculty Career Stage (up to 20 points)

To support research development and long-term scholarly productivity:

  • Tenure-track faculty will receive 20 points.
  • Tenured faculty will receive 10 points.

This criterion is intended to strengthen early-career research trajectories and enhance tenure and promotion competitiveness.

3. Strategic Institutional Impact and Equity in Scholarship (up to 40 points)

To promote equitable research development across the university, preference will be given to:

  • Faculty from departments or colleges that have not historically been allocated or earned funds that can be used towards APCs. (10 points)
  • Projects that present alignment with strategic priorities at ERAU. (10 points)
  • Projects that show collaboration with ERAU’s centers of excellence. (10 points)
  • Projects that show cross-campus collaboration. (10 points)

IV. Funding Determination

  • Applications will be scored out of 100 points based on the criteria above.
  • Awards will be issued on a rolling basis. Every effort will be made to ensure that funding is distributed equitably throughout the academic year.
  • The VPAA will call upon the Chairs of the Research Committees or equivalent of each of the three campus Senates to evaluate applications and make decisions.
  • The VPAA reserves the right to:
    • Cap APC/data collection tool reimbursement at a predetermined maximum amount.
    • Partially fund applications.
    • Adjust point distribution in future funding cycles based on program assessment.