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Special Issue Proposal Submission Guidelines

The Canadian Journal of Higher Education/La Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur (CJHE/RCÉS), as a SSHRC funded journal, remains committed to open access, scholarship accessible in English and French, the integrity of the peer-review process, and the dissemination of quality scholarship relating directly to the Canadian higher education context, both at the national and international levels. To continue to support these values, the CJHE/RCES has implemented an application process for special issues of the journal.

The Journal reviews proposals for special issues on an ongoing basis. Proposals for special issues will be reviewed by the CJHE/RCES Editorial Team for a) demonstrated commitment to the aims of CJHE/RCES; b) academic expertise and reputation of guest editor(s); and c) a statement of how the special issue theme will make an overall contribution to higher education scholarship in Canada. CJHE welcomes submissions from established and emerging scholars as guest editor(s).

The guest editors will be responsible for overseeing the process, from submissions to production. They will be held responsible for the academic integrity of the peer-review process and work with the editorial team of CJHE/RCES regarding the submissions and review processes. The lead guest editor will be asked to provide a summary of manuscripts reviewed and rationale for accepted manuscripts inclusion in the journal (as a report) to the Editor prior to manuscripts heading to production for oversight and alignment with CJHE/RCES aims.

All special issues must agree use the CJHE/RCES OJS platform for manuscript management, assigning reviewers, communicating with authors, keeping detailed records of the review process and editorial decisions. The CJHE Managing Editor will provide support in this process and assist in the final production of manuscripts.

In addition to the details listed below please attach the following documents to the special issue proposal: CV of guest editor(s), a sample Call for Papers related to the theme, an outline of the planned contributions and/or plan to solicit submissions.

  1. Proposed Title of Special Issue

  2. Guest Editor(s) and Institutional Affiliation(s)
    1. Please indicate the guest editor who will be the primary contact with the CJHE/RCES editorial team.

    2. Contact Information for all guest editor(s).

    3. Professional/Research Expertise. In less than 500 words, describe academic research expertise related to the theme and, if relevant, any previous editorial or peer-review experience of each guest editor.

  3. Theme and Rationale. In less than 1000 words, please provide a description of the theme and how this theme issue aligns with the goals and mission of CJHE/RCES and its significance for the study of higher education within the Canadian context.

  4. Description of Call for Proposals. In less than 500 words, please describe how you intend to promote the Call for Papers for this special Please provide details on planned contributors as well as how authors will be invited or recruited to submit their manuscripts to the issue. If your special issue is from a conference, please explain how attendees/presenters will be invited to participate in this special issue.

  5. Timeline. Propose the timeline that you will be working with in putting this special issue together, including tentative dates for call for papers, submissions, peer review process, author revisions, and final submissions for preparation for production. For example, please give at least 1 month for the guest editor(s) to review suitability of submissions, another 6-8 weeks for the peer-review process, and another month for summation of reviews and decision-making regarding submissions. Once you have a list of accepted manuscripts, there needs to be reasonable amount of time built into your timeline for author to address revisions (particularly major revisions and resubmissions requiring another review), and production time (e.g., copy-editing, reviewing proofs, layout).

  6. Potential reviewers. Guest editor(s) are asked to list potential reviewers you may approach to help review papers for submitted manuscripts given the topic/themes of the issue. We recognize that selection of reviewers will be determined upon review of the submitted manuscripts, we ask for potential list of names to support the review
    • Managing editor will assist in inviting recommended reviewers who are not currently registered as
    • Each manuscript will require a minimum of two reviewers. Please expect a high decline rate from reviewer requests. Based on our editorial experience, at the stage of sending submitted manuscripts for review, guest editors are asked to provide to the journal manager 4-6 names of potential reviewers per manuscript.

  7. Keywords. Please list 6-8 keywords that will help define the scope of this special These keywords should also be included in the Call for Papers so authors know which keywords align with their submission. These keywords will also be helpful in finding suitable reviewers.