Payment Policy

No Article Processing Charges (APCs) – 2026

Journal of Transformative Pedagogies and Learner Engagement (JTPLE) is fully committed to removing financial barriers to high-quality open access scholarly publishing, particularly during its launch phase.

Zero APC Policy for Volume 1 (2026)

For the entire year 2026 (Volume 1, covering all issues published from January 2026 to December 2026), JTPLE will operate with zero Article Processing Charges (APCs) / Publication Fees / Submission Fees / Page Charges.

This policy applies equally to all authors, regardless of geographic location, institutional affiliation, or career stage.

This Means:

  • There is no fee to submit a manuscript
  • There is no fee if the manuscript is accepted after peer review
  • There is no fee for publication of accepted articles
  • There is no fee for authors from low-income, lower-middle-income, or upper-middle-income countries (or any other region)
  • There is no fee for color figures, supplementary materials, or extra pages

How Publication Costs Are Covered

All costs associated with the publication process are fully covered by Synergy Publication as part of its mission to support transformative education scholarship and equitable knowledge sharing.

These costs include:

  • Editorial management and peer review
  • Copyediting, typesetting, and layout
  • Online hosting and website maintenance
  • Long-term digital archiving (e.g., LOCKSS / CLOCKSS)
  • Indexing and visibility efforts
  • Open access dissemination

Future Policy (Post-2026)

The journal’s leadership will review the financial sustainability model annually. Any potential introduction of Article Processing Charges (APCs) or other publication-related fees will:

  • Be announced at least 6 months in advance
  • Be clearly communicated on the journal website
  • Never be applied retroactively

If any fee structure is introduced after 2026:

  • Full waivers or substantial discounts will be automatically available for authors from low-income and lower-middle-income countries (as classified by the World Bank)
  • Case-by-case hardship waivers will be considered for authors without institutional or grant funding
  • The journal will uphold the principle that ability to pay will never be a barrier to publication of high-quality scholarly work

Current Status

As of December 29, 2025 (Launch Year 2026):

No fees of any kind are charged to authors or their institutions for submission, peer review, acceptance, or publication in JTPLE during 2026.

This no-APC model reflects the journal’s core values of equity, inclusion, accessibility, and support for early-career researchers, practitioners, and scholars from diverse global contexts.

Authors are encouraged to focus solely on the quality, originality, and scholarly contribution of their work — not on financial considerations.

For questions regarding this policy, please contact the editorial office through the journal platform (available upon launch in January 2026).