Many major publishers and scholarly societies are encouraging or requiring researchers to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs) in order to make their research Open Access (OA).
While WPI does not have a central fund to help pay these APCs, we do have a growing number of agreements with publishers to waive or reduce APCs for WPI researchers.
If you want to publish your research with Open Access, and are looking for funds to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs), you may be eligible for APC waivers or discounts depending on where you are publishing.
Full Waiver APC Agreements
Agreements negotiated by the Gordon Library with several publishers provide for full waivers of APCs. Publishers with whom WPI has these agreements (sometimes known as “read and publish” agreements) currently include: Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and, effective March 31, 2025, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery). With the exception of the ACM, these agreements are “cost-neutral” to WPI (the ACM agreement shares costs between the library and WPI departments).
Partial Waiver APC Agreements
In addition, WPI has cost-neutral agreements with other publishers that discount the cost of APCs for WPI-affiliated authors. Publishers with whom WPI has these agreements include MDPI and ASM.
General Guidance
Note that when submitting articles to the publishers, WPI authors are required to use their WPI email address to help confirm their affiliation.
Neither WPI nor the Library has resources available to pay APCs charged by other publishers.
Publisher-specific Information
Publisher-specific information can be found in the publisher tabs along the top of this guide. We will continue to monitor and update publisher information.
What are Read and Publish Agreements/Transformative Agreements?
"Read and Publish Agreements" or "Transformative Agreements" with publishers typically waive or discount APCs for articles that have a corresponding author affiliated with their institution. While some of these agreements are cost-neutral for institutions (with current library subscriptions), others add significant new unfunded institutional costs.
It should also be stated that if you are an individual researcher paying an APC, this in no way reduces the cost of Gordon Library subscriptions. Rather, APC costs and subscription costs are both subject to regular price increases, further exacerbating the ongoing affordability crisis in scholarly publishing.
The Gordon Library supports WPI researchers’ choice of Open Access publishing, removing barriers for readers and allowing anyone to use these works free of charge, thereby enhancing the reach and influence of WPI authors.
Are there other Open Access Publishing Models?
In addition to APC-based Open Access publishing, the Gordon Library can help you identify OA publishing options that are not based on paying APCs. Many Open Access journals don't charge any APC. 60% of the journals in The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) do not charge an APC. These "Diamond" Open Access journals publish work at no cost to the reader OR the authors.
Other WPI Initiatives that may help you
Gordon Library offers all WPI authors a “green open access” option, supporting the deposit of the author’s final article version into our Faculty Research and Scholarship collection in Digital WPI.
For more information on Open Access, see our OA Guide.
Please reach out to us with any questions you have on these agreements or any transformative agreements/"read & publish" agreements. Email gr-faculty_support@wpi.edu and we will be happy to consult with you.
For more information on transformative agreements or APCs in general, see:
Please email gr-faculty_support@wpi.edu and we will be happy to address any questions or issues you have!