Lausanne, 6 March 2025 – The University of Kansas (KU) and award-winning open science platform Frontiers are pleased to announce the renewal of their open-access publishing partnership for an additional year. Initially established in 2024, this agreement maintains its terms to provide KU researchers with seamless, cost-free access to publish in all Frontiers journals. 

Starting January 1, 2025, corresponding authors affiliated with KU’s Lawrence and Edwards campuses will continue to enjoy unlimited publishing across Frontiers’ portfolio of 229 open access journals, with article publishing charges (APCs) fully covered by the partnership. 

Scott Hanrath, KU Libraries Associate Dean of Research Engagement emphasized the ongoing benefits for KU scholars:

“KU Libraries remains committed to creating opportunities that enhance the visibility and accessibility of our researchers’ work. Renewing this agreement with Frontiers reinforces our goal of advancing an open, equitable, and sustainable publishing future.”   

By continuing with the flat fee model, the University of Kansas reaffirms its commitment to providing:  

• Unlimited publishing opportunities for affiliated researchers, driving impact of KU research. 

• Predictable and transparent fixed annual cost that delivers simplified budgeting. 

• Reduced administrative responsibilities for library and research staff.  

• Full support for open-access principles, including immediate access under CC-BY licensing and author-retained copyrights.  

“Frontiers’ flat-fee model is designed to remove financial obstacles for researchers, facilitating broader adoption of open-access publishing,” added Dr Franck Vazquez, Frontiers' Director of Open Science, Europe & Asia-Pacific. “This model is a key step toward shifting the scholarly publishing paradigm, improving transparency, reducing costs and administrative complexities.” 

Julia Kostova, Frontiers’ Director of Open Science US, added,

“We are pleased to extend our partnership with KU, enabling researchers to easily publish their impactful research open access at no cost to them, while also ensuring financial sustainability for our library partner in the fast-evolving landscape of scholarly communications today.” 

To be eligible under the partnership, researchers need to ensure that the corresponding author is affiliated with KU and that they use their institutional email address when submitting the manuscript.  

This renewed partnership highlights the shared commitment to advancing open science and empowering researchers to focus on discovering and disseminating knowledge. By eliminating financial and administrative barriers, this agreement enhances the global visibility and impact of KU’s research and strengthens the foundation for a more transparent and equitable scholarly publishing landscape.  

About Frontiers 

Frontiers is an open access publisher connecting researchers worldwide. Our role is to provide the world’s scientists with a rigorous and efficient publishing experience. Powered by custom-built technology, artificial intelligence, and a collaborative peer review, our community journals give experts in more than 1,800 academic fields an open access platform to publish high quality, high impact research. For more information on Frontiers’ OA agreements please fill in this form or contact us at institutions@frontiersin.org.

About the University of Kansas 

Founded in 1865, the University of Kansas is the state’s flagship university — a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, a Carnegie R1 Doctoral University and a renowned national public research university with a global reach. Located in Lawrence, Kan., it operates a total of five campuses and online, with a community of nearly 30,000 enrolled students. Collectively, KU Libraries is one of the top 50 libraries in the Association of Research Libraries by volumes held, and the largest library in Kansas with more than 5.6 million items in seven campus locations. The libraries transform lives by inspiring the discovery and creation of knowledge for the university and our global community. KU Libraries support institutional, national, and international efforts to transform scholarly communication towards a more open and equitable future.