Publication Policy

The Editorial Board members of the Journal are appointed by the University President and they have an authority to follow the approved focus and scope of the Journal. The publishing authority belongs to the University of Northern Philippines.

Journal Management

The Editor-in-Chief with the help of the Managing Editor is expected to observe general policies and practices of the University and ensure the efficient management of the journal in terms of editorial controls and timeliness of the publication.

The following are the publication policy process along with the specific duties of the Editorial Board Members:

1. Pre-evaluate the Manuscript

After the corresponding author had submitted the paper via journal website, the Managing Editor receives and pre-evaluates manuscript to ensure that it has not been published or considered by other journal for publication online. The checking of grammar and similarity index may be checked in this stage. The software administrator will be requested to check the paper for quality check. A pre evaluation instrument will be used to evaluate the submission. The following are the initial recommendations:

             a. Proceed for refereeing - The Managing Editor will notify the author that the paper will be submitted for review.

             b. For revision and resubmission – The Managing Editor will notify the author to revise and resubmit the paper for possible consideration.

             c. Outright Rejection – The Managing Editor will notify the author that the paper is does not fit to the focus and scope of the journal or other reason for rejection.

2. Identify Referees

The Managing Editor will identify at most three (3) referees that are expert in the field. If the referee declines to review the paper within one week, the editor-in-chief must propose a new referee. 

3. Review the Manuscript

The Referees will review and return the manuscript using the peer review instrument via email.

4. Receive the Reviewed Manuscript

The Managing Editor will receive the result of the reviewed manuscript then submit the result to the authors via email.

5. Receive the Enhanced Manuscript

The Managing Editor will receive and check the enhanced version of the manuscript. A 10% or less similarity index must be observed for the enhanced manuscript.

6. Consult the Referees

The Managing Editor may consult the referees for reviewing of the suggestions and further scrutiny of the referees will be done if there is a need. The corresponding author is informed by the Managing Editor of the result and asked to submit the revised version if any.

7. Receive the Mandatory Copyright Transfer

The Managing Editor will ask the corresponding author to submit the mandatory copyright transfer via email. The mandatory copyright transfer template is available at the journal website.

8. Send the Manuscript to Language Editor

The Managing Editor will send the enhanced manuscript to the Language Editor for final checking.

9. Receive the Result of the Language Editing

The Managing Editor will receive the edited manuscript from the Language Editor for final checking and return to the corresponding author to incorporate the corrections of the proof read manuscript if there is a need. The author will send the enhanced version of the manuscript via email.

10. Receive the Enhanced Version of the Manuscript

The Managing Editor will receive the enhanced version of the manuscript from the author via email.

11. Prepare for the Layout on the Print Version of the Manuscript

The Managing Editor will forward to the lay-out artist the enhanced manuscript for print version of the journal formatting. There is corresponding fee for the print version which include courier and printing cost of the journal.

12. Prepare the Online Version of the Journal

The Managing Editor will instruct to upload all the manuscript for publication to Layout Artist.

13. Inform the Corresponding Author of the Publication

The Managing Editor will inform the author that their manuscript is already published in the journal.

Guidelines for Referees

The review process is constructive in nature, with the main goals being to raise the standard of the research and increase the author's knowledge. The following are the defined guidelines for referees to establish the standard for evaluating submitted manuscripts for potential journal publication.

1. The referees should support Editors-in-Chief as they make editorial decisions that adhere to the standards established by the publication.
2. The referees should be in-depth, helpful, and impartial. They should refrain from making any disparaging or unethical remarks.
3. The referees' and authors' names shall be kept confidential.

Recommendations of the Referees

The review result of each manuscript is categorized according to the following recommendations:

         a. Unconditional Acceptance

         b. Acceptance with revisions based on the reviewer’s recommendations

         c. Rejection with invitation to resubmit with major revisions based on the referees’ and editorial board’s recommendations

         d. Outright rejection

The overall recommendation is based on the following table:

Accept (category 1 or 2)	Reject (category 3 or 4)	Recommendation
3 referees	0 referee	Accept (category 1 or 2)
2 referees	1 referee	Accept (category 1 or 2)
2 referees	0 referee	Accept (category 1 or 2)
0 referee	3 referees	Reject (category 3 or 4)
1 referee	2 referees	Reject (category 3 or 4)
0 referee	2 referees	Reject (category 3 or 4)
1 referee	1 referee	Subject for Consultation to the Editorial Board

 Referees Judgement

Referee’s judgment on the reviewed manuscript is based on:

1. Originality
2. Contribution to the Field
3. Adequacy of the literature
4. Adequacy of the figures, tables, and graphs
5. The satisfactory use of the English language
6. Depth of analysis
7. Clarity of presentation