Journal hosting service

• What we will do
• How this will be delivered
• Important user information

What we will do:

We support academic staff and students who wish to create their own open access academic journals. These journals make content freely available online, with clearly defined copyright and usage rights. The service promotes Diamond Open Access publishing—free for both authors and readers—and aligns with the University strategy to “make our research findings widely available for local, national, and global benefit.” 

We provide a stable hosting platform using Open Journal Systems (OJS) and help ensure each journal reflects the research and teaching priorities of the relevant School. Staff benefit from a platform to disseminate research under the University’s brand using Open Journal Systems (OJS), while students gain practical experience in scholarly publishing, editorial workflows, peer review, copyright, academic dissemination and early publishing opportunities.  

Our support includes:

• basic training in using Open Journal Systems (OJS)
• help with creating and maintaining the journal site 
• advice on copyright, metadata, and journal scope 
• a framework for developing journal policies
• signposting to additional editorial training resources
• support for indexing, discovery, and long-term archiving
• continued access to archived content if a journal stops publishing
• use of standard OJS features only (customisations are limited).

There is no charge for this service. 

How this will be delivered:

We will support journal development over a period of several months, with most journals launching within a year of the first enquiry. 

We will follow a structured process to guide users through each stage: 

• We will ask users to begin by submitting the New OJS journal proposal form. 
• We will meet with users to define the scope, goals, and technical requirements of the journal. 
• We will review the proposal through the governance board to ensure alignment with institutional goals. 
• We will finalise an agreement through a signed Memorandum of Understanding and confirmed target dates. 
• We will set up the journal site, provide testing opportunities, and deliver basic training in Open Journal Systems (OJS). 
• We will support the launch of the journal, including issuing a call for papers. 

In addition to this process: 

• We will provide technical support and liaise with IT and external partners as needed. 
• We will advise on indexing, metadata creation, and services such as Crossref (DOIs) and British Library (ISSNs). 
• We will assist with preservation, archiving, and long-term content sustainability. 
• We will offer support for editorial handovers and re-training to ensure continuity. 

Important user information:

Publishers must be a School, Department, or recognised Centre or Institute within the University. They are responsible for: 

• managing the journal submission, review, editing, and production workflow and quality control
• managing the journal’s look and feel within OJS constraints
• administering the journal, including user database management
• responding to take-down policy queries complying with the Journal Hosting take-down policy
• ensuring professional standards using the Open Access Scholarly Association’s Member Code of Conduct
• managing copyright agreements and maintaining licence records.

Further information is held on our web page.