Open access policy

1. Introduction

In alignment with its mission to generate, preserve, and disseminate knowledge, the University of Colima establishes the following institutional open access policy for academic and scientific works published under its editorial imprint, with particular emphasis on books and collective works.

2. Objective

To promote free, unrestricted, and permanent access to academic books published by the University of Colima, ensuring maximum visibility, usage, impact, and long-term preservation of its intellectual output.

3. Scope

This policy applies to:

  • Individual or collective books authored or co-authored by members of the university community
  • Works published by the University of Colima through its General Directorate of Publications or equivalent editorial entities
  • Co-publications in collaboration with other educational, academic, or publishing institutions, provided that open access is included in the respective agreements or contracts

4. General Principles

  • Free and open access: Works will be made available online to the public free of charge, without technical or financial barriers
  • Institutional repositories: Books will be accessible through the University of Colima’s Institutional Repository and/or other recognized open access platforms
  • Digital preservation: Long-term preservation of content will be ensured using accessible and open formats
  • Authorship recognition: Authors’ moral rights will be respected, and all contributions will be properly credited
  • Compatibility with other publishers: In co-publications or collaborations with external publishers, agreements should include clauses allowing open access deposit

5. Usage License

All books published under this policy will be distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

This license allows others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided that:

  • Proper credit is given to the authors
  • The material is not used for commercial purposes
  • Derivative works are distributed under the same license

No alternative licenses will be permitted unless justified by exceptional circumstances and approved by the corresponding editorial authority.

6. Responsibilities

  • Authors: Must ensure that submitted works do not infringe on third-party rights
  • Editorial staff: Must inform authors about this policy and ensure its enforcement throughout the editorial planning process
  • University libraries: Will participate in the preservation, cataloging, and dissemination of works via digital platforms

7. Exceptions

Justified exceptions to this policy may be considered in the following cases:

  • Restrictions arising from agreements with external publishers
  • Inclusion of materials with restricted rights that prevent open publication
  • Works containing confidential or sensitive information

8. Review and Updates

This policy will be reviewed every three years, or earlier if necessary, to ensure alignment with national and international open access standards and regulations.

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Implementation Date: May 2025
Edition: 01