APCs

Article Processing Charges

The Civitas Journal of Contemporary Social Studies (CJCSS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal published by Civitas Academic Press.
To support the costs associated with editorial administration, peer-review management, manuscript production, online publication, website maintenance, digital archiving, and the long-term accessibility of published research, CJCSS applies an Article Processing Charge.

APC Amount

USD 200 per accepted manuscript

The Article Processing Charge applies to manuscripts accepted for publication in CJCSS, including:
– Original research articles
– Review articles
– Conceptual and theoretical papers
– Policy analyses
– Comparative studies
– Case studies
– Short communications
– Book reviews
– Letters to the editor
Invited editorials may be exempt from the Article Processing Charge at the discretion of the journal.

When Is the APC Charged?
The Article Processing Charge is payable only after:
– The manuscript has passed the initial editorial screening.
– The manuscript has completed the peer-review process.
– The authors have satisfactorily addressed the required revisions.
– The manuscript has been formally accepted for publication.

CJCSS does not charge authors any:
– Manuscript submission fee
– Initial editorial assessment fee
– Peer-review fee
Payment of the Article Processing Charge does not guarantee acceptance and has no influence on the editorial or peer-review decision.

What Does the APC Cover?
The Article Processing Charge contributes towards:
– Initial editorial assessment
– Peer-review administration and management
– Editorial communication with authors and reviewers
– Manuscript processing and production
– Copyediting and formatting
– Online publication
– Open-access dissemination
– Website hosting and maintenance
– Journal administration
– Digital archiving and preservation
– Maintenance of the published scholarly record

Open-Access Publication
All articles published in CJCSS are made freely available online without subscription or access charges.
Readers may access, read, download, and share published articles subject to the journal’s copyright and licensing policy. The applicable open-access licence will be clearly displayed on each published article.
Where articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence—CC BY 4.0, readers may share and adapt the work, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original authors and source.

Waivers and Discounts
CJCSS is committed to supporting equitable access to academic publishing.
The journal may provide full or partial APC waivers or discounts in circumstances including:
– Authors affiliated with institutions in low-income countries
– Authors from lower-middle-income countries
– Early-career researchers without institutional or external funding
– Active reviewers who have provided high-quality and timely reviews
– Members of the editorial or advisory boards
– Authors facing exceptional financial circumstances
– Manuscripts considered particularly valuable to scholarship, policy, or society
Waiver and discount requests are considered individually and remain subject to approval by the Editor-in-Chief or publisher.

World Bank–Based Waiver and Discount Policy
CJCSS may use the most recent World Bank country income classifications when considering automatic waiver and discount requests.
CJCSS applies Article Processing Charge waivers and discounts according to the most recent World Bank country income classification.Authors whose primary institutional affiliation is located in a Low-Income Country (LIC) may receive a 100% APC waiver.Authors affiliated with institutions in Lower-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) may receive a 50% discount on the applicable Article Processing Charge.Authors affiliated with institutions in Upper-Middle-Income Countries (UMICs) may receive a 25% discount on the applicable Article Processing Charge.Authors affiliated with institutions in High-Income Countries (HICs) are not eligible for an automatic APC waiver or discount. However, exceptional requests may still be considered at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief or publisher.The applicable category is determined according to the corresponding author’s primary institutional affiliation at the time of submission. World Bank classifications are applied according to the most recent available annual update.

Conditions for Waivers and Discounts
The following conditions apply:
– A waiver or discount normally applies only through the corresponding author’s primary institutional affiliation.
– Requests should be submitted during the manuscript-submission process or before the manuscript is formally accepted.
– Authors should not delay a waiver request until after an invoice has been issued.
– Supporting information regarding institutional affiliation, country of affiliation, research funding, or financial circumstances may be requested.
– Waivers and discounts are not automatically granted unless confirmed in writing by the journal.
– Only one waiver or discount category may normally be applied to a manuscript.
– Waivers and discounts cannot ordinarily be combined.
– An approved waiver or discount applies only to the specified manuscript.
– The journal’s waiver decision is final.

Discretionary Waivers
In exceptional circumstances, an additional waiver or discount may be granted at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief or Civitas Academic Press.
Discretionary consideration may be given to:
– Early-career researchers without research funding
– Independent researchers without institutional support
– Active and consistently reliable peer reviewers
– Editorial-board members
– Special-issue contributors
– Manuscripts addressing significant social, educational, governance, developmental, humanitarian, or public-policy concerns
– Authors experiencing genuine financial hardship
A discretionary waiver is not an entitlement and is subject to the journal’s available resources.

Editorial Independence
Waiver and discount requests are handled separately from the academic evaluation of manuscripts.
The financial circumstances of an author do not influence:
– Initial editorial screening
– Reviewer selection
– Peer-review reports
– Revision requirements
– Acceptance or rejection decisions
– Publication priority

Editors and reviewers are not informed of an author’s waiver request unless this information is required for administrative processing after acceptance.
All manuscripts are evaluated solely on the basis of:
– Originality
– Academic quality
– Relevance to the journal’s aims and scope
– Methodological rigor
– Clarity of presentation
– Ethical compliance
– Contribution to knowledge

Invoice and Payment
Following formal acceptance, the corresponding author will receive an official APC invoice or payment request from the journal or publisher.
The invoice will normally include:
– Manuscript title
– Corresponding author’s name
– APC amount
– Approved waiver or discount, where applicable
– Amount payable
– Payment method
– Payment deadline
– Relevant payment instructions
Authors should follow only the payment instructions issued through the journal’s official communication channels.
Any bank-transfer, currency-conversion, intermediary-bank, or transaction charges are the responsibility of the author.

Proof of Payment
Authors may be required to provide a payment receipt or transaction confirmation.
The manuscript may proceed to final production and publication after the journal has confirmed receipt of the required payment, unless a full waiver has been approved.

Refund Policy
Article Processing Charge payments are generally non-refundable once:
– Payment has been received.
– The manuscript has entered the production process.
– Copyediting, formatting, proofreading, or publication work has commenced.
– The article has been published online.

A refund may be considered only where:
– A duplicate payment has been made.
– An incorrect amount has been charged.
– A payment has been received for a manuscript that does not enter production because of an administrative error by the journal.
Refund requests must be submitted in writing and are subject to verification and approval by Civitas Academic Press.
No refund will normally be issued where an article is corrected, withdrawn, or retracted because of an author’s error, ethical violation, inaccurate declaration, or research misconduct.

Tax and Transaction Charges
The stated APC does not include any taxes, banking costs, currency-conversion charges, or transaction fees that may apply.
Authors are responsible for paying any additional charges imposed by:
– Banks
– Payment processors
– Financial institutions
– Government authorities
– Currency-conversion services

Transparency and Publication Ethics
The application of Article Processing Charges does not affect editorial decision-making.
CJCSS maintains a clear separation between financial administration and academic evaluation. Editorial decisions are made according to the manuscript’s academic merit and compliance with the journal’s policies.
The journal is committed to recognized principles of publication ethics, transparency, fairness, editorial independence, and responsible scholarly publishing.

APC Queries
For questions concerning Article Processing Charges, invoices, payments, waivers, or discounts, please contact:
Editorial Office
Civitas Journal of Contemporary Social Studies
Civitas Academic Press
Email: editors@cjcss.civitasacademic.press