Article Processing Charges (APC): Cost Transparency
Financial Transparency and Open Access
- The journal is open access. It charges no subscription, neither to read nor to download. It is funded by article processing charges (APCs). The APC is paid after the initial review and before peer review. The APC covers editorial management and peer review, and it is not refunded even if the outcome is a rejection. It also covers copyediting, professional layout, generation of publication versions (PDF, HTML, ePub, and XML JATS), DOI assignment, digital preservation, and maintenance of the editorial platform. Scientific evaluation and the acceptance decision are made with total independence from the APC payment: paying does not guarantee publication.
- Open Access. Docentes 2.0 Journal provides immediate open access to all its content. No embargo periods apply, and no registration is required to read, download, or consult the published articles. The journal does not charge readers or institutions for access to content. The Journal allows any user to read, download, copy, and distribute the content under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license applicable.
- The current amount of the Article Processing Charge (APC) is published clearly and accessibly on the website before manuscript submission. The journal applies no charge for submission or for the initial review; the APC is the only charge, and there are no hidden fees or mandatory additional payments. Neither are additional charges generated for the number of pages, figure submission, color publication, or other ordinary editorial services. The journal may grant total or partial APC waivers to authors or institutions with duly justified financial limitations. Requests must be submitted in writing to the Editorial Committee and will be evaluated according to previously established institutional criteria.
Fee Structure
Fees effective from March 1, 2026:
| Authors | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 Author | 130 USD |
| 2 to 4 Authors | 347 USD |
| Additional Author (up to a maximum of 7 in total) | +50 USD per extra author |
- Cost Structure by Number of Authors. The Article Processing Charge (APC) applies per manuscript and allows a standard of four (4) authors. Exceptionally, up to seven (7) authors will be permitted if the scope of the research justifies it through the CRediT taxonomy, applying the corresponding surcharge for each additional author. All authors must meet internationally recognized academic authorship criteria; honorary authorship is not permitted. The fee differentiation accounts for the additional editorial workload associated with individual authorship verification, metadata management, editorial correspondence, and the registration of identifiers (ORCID) in indexing systems. Fees are established and billed in US Dollars (USD).
Transparency Breakdown
- Fee transparency. There are no additional charges other than those declared here. The journal does not apply fees for submission, the initial review, post-editing, or early publication.
Ownership and funding
- Docentes 2.0 Journal is edited and managed by Grupo DOCENTES 2.0 C.A., a legally constituted entity responsible for its editorial, administrative, and financial management. Grupo DOCENTES 2.0 C.A. is registered in the Research Organization Registry (ROR) as an academic and research institution under the ROR identifier: https://ror.org/037jqrk16, country of registration: Venezuela. The journal is funded through article processing charges (APC) paid after the initial review and before peer review, as well as through its own institutional resources. The funding structure does not intervene in the scientific evaluation process or editorial decisions, which are adopted with academic independence based on criteria of quality, originality, and scientific relevance.
- Financial independence. Docentes 2.0 Journal does not maintain individual financial agreements with authors that condition the evaluation or publication of manuscripts. Editorial decisions are based exclusively on academic and scientific criteria.
Refunds and Waivers
- Refund Policy. The APC is paid after the initial review and before peer review. The APC covers editorial management and peer review, and it is not refunded even if the outcome is a rejection. This is stated in the payment request, before payment. A payment is returned only in cases of administrative error attributable to the journal, incorrect billing, or duplicate charges. Payment instructions are sent after the initial review, when the manuscript moves on to peer review. There is no charge for withdrawing a manuscript before the APC is paid.
- Exemptions or Discounts. Docentes 2.0 Journal may grant total or partial APC waivers case by case, to authors or institutions with duly justified financial limitations. Requests must be submitted at the time of manuscript submission or, at the latest, upon receiving the APC payment request, accompanied by the corresponding documentation, to the official email: [email protected]. Evaluation of requests is conducted independently and does not influence the peer review process or the editorial decision.
Preservation and Withdrawal
- Digital preservation. Docentes 2.0 Journal guarantees the conservation and permanent access to its content through long-term digital preservation systems. The journal participates in the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), integrated into the OJS platform, ensuring distributed archiving and continuous preservation of published versions. The preservation system allows content recovery in case of technical failure, interruption of service, or loss of data, ensuring the integrity and availability of the published academic record. The journal maintains regular backups of its editorial infrastructure as a complementary measure for operational continuity.
- Manuscript withdrawal. There are no charges for the voluntary withdrawal of a manuscript. If the author withdraws it before paying the APC, nothing is paid; if it is withdrawn after payment, the APC is not refunded.
Editorial Process Timelines and Licensing
- Editorial process timelines. Docentes 2.0 Journal continuously tracks the manuscript from receipt to final publication. The usual time from receipt to final editorial decision is 16 to 20 weeks, depending on the complexity of the work and the number of rounds of review required. The time to first decision is part of that usual period. Once accepted, the editorial production phase begins, including copyediting, bibliographic standardization, and layout formatting (PDF, HTML, ePub, and XML JATS). The complete editorial process will not exceed a maximum period of twelve (12) months, except in exceptional circumstances. In case of prolonged inactivity or repeated failure to meet established deadlines without justification, the journal may proceed to administrative closure of the manuscript.
- Usage license. All published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, which allows access, download, and distribution of the content according to the terms established. Authors retain the copyright of their works.