Policies & Procedures

AA4003 Open Access Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide for Open Access publishing as a voluntary means of making scholarly works and educational resources as accessible to the public as possible, in order to have the greatest impact on the academic community and the community at large.

Statement of the Policy

SUNY Broome Community College faculty support making scholarly and educational materials as accessible to the public as possible to maximize their impact on both the academic community and the broader public. To that end, faculty endorse the voluntary deposit of scholarly work in open online repositories such as the College’s digital repository (DSpace) or the SUNY Open Access Repository (SOAR).

SUNY Broome maintains a digital repository for the College’s archival materials and scholarly publications, which faculty and staff may choose to share. By depositing work in the SUNY Broome digital repository (DSpace) or the SUNY Open Access Repository (SOAR), authors grant SUNY permission to make the material publicly accessible online. Authors also have the option to apply a Creative Commons license to their work.

Content deposited in the College’s repository will be discoverable through the library catalog and available for non-commercial, educational use. Examples of materials that may be included, though not limited to, are as follows:

• Scholarly and academic publications or conference presentations/posters produced by faculty, staff, or students
• Teaching materials such as syllabi, assessments, or documentation of innovative instructional methods
• College archival content

Open Access

Open Access refers to open access publishing, which is scholarly research made openly available online, either through open access journals or through publicly accessible institutional repositories.

Open Access publishing contributes to fiscal responsibility and sustainability by providing an alternative to the current academic publishing structure. It also develops an inclusive and learning centered environment that supports pedagogical excellence and student success. It relates to supporting the library in adapting to a changing environment, cultivates partnerships to enhance success, and supports faculty professional development.

Open Access publishing contributes to student support and success in that students also have the option of publishing their work open access or depositing it in open repositories. Their research then becomes part of their digital footprint, which can provide academic and career benefits.

Open Access publishing contributes to community engagement. Open Access publishing makes work available to the general public. This can both help educate the public and raise the public visibility of the college and its work.

Related Policies

GA 2005 Copyright Policy

To whom it applies

This policy applies to College faculty, staff, and students who may produce scholarly or academic work, or other publications suitable for inclusion within the College archives.

Definitions

Open Access – free, online availability of research articles (SPARC)

• Gold open access – author publishes in open access (CC licensed) journals
• Green open access – author publishes anywhere, then archives a copy in an openly accessible online repository, such as the SUNY Broome’s DSpace community in the SUNY Digital Repository
• Hybrid open access – author publishes in a toll-access (paid subscription) journal, and pays article processing charges (APCs) to have a CC license applied to the article

Creative Commons (CC) license – an addendum to copyright which makes work publicly accessible (About the Licenses)

Institutional repository – an open online archive of scholarly work, hosted by an academic institution

Open Education – has the goal “to widen access and participation to everyone by removing barriers and making learning accessible, abundant, and customizable for all. It offers multiple ways of teaching and learning, building and sharing knowledge.“ (JRC Opening Up Education, 2016)