Refund Policy
Conditions and terms governing pre-publication refunds, duplicate payments, and administrative withdrawals.
This Refund Policy explains the terms under which article processing charges may or may not be refunded. It should be read together with our Terms and Conditions and Processing Charges page.
1. The Processing Charge
Our Journals applies a one-time article processing charge payable only after a manuscript has been peer-reviewed and accepted.
2. When the Charge is Payable
The charge becomes due after acceptance and must be paid before the article proceeds to publication. By paying, authors confirm they understand and accept this Refund Policy.
3. Refunds before Publication
Since the processing charge covers work already carried out, including peer review, editorial handling, and preparation for publication, it is only partially refundable once an article has been accepted and the charge has been paid.
A refund may be considered in the following circumstances:
- Duplicate or accidental payment: Refunded in full.
- An administrative error on our part: Refunded in full.
- Withdrawal of the article by the author before production begins: Refunded in part. In this case, an administrative and review fee of US $40 is retained to cover work already completed, and the balance is returned to the author.
- For Nigerian authors: In the event of early withdrawal before production, ₦15,000 is refunded.
4. No Refund after Publication
Once an article has been published online and assigned a DOI, it forms a permanent part of the scholarly record and the processing charge is non-refundable under any circumstances.
5. Article Withdrawal and Retraction
If an article is withdrawn or retracted because of author misconduct, such as plagiarism, fabricated or misused citations, falsified data, or duplicate submission, no refund will be issued.
6. How to Request a Refund
Eligible refund requests should be sent to the email of the particular journal within 48 hours of payment, stating the manuscript title, the author’s name, and the reason for the request. We will review eligible requests and respond within 14 working days. Approved refunds are returned using the original payment method where possible or sent to the same account where the money came from.
7. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Refund Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.