University of Kansas and Frontiers renew flat fee open access agreement for 2025

The University of Kansas and open science platform Frontiers have renewed 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.

Through 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.  
• Simplified budgeting with a predictable and transparent fixed annual cost.  
• 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 partnership model is designed to remove financial obstacles for institutions and researchers, facilitating broader adoption of open-access publishing,” added Franck Vazquez, Frontiers' Director of Partnerships. “This model is a key step toward shifting the scholarly publishing paradigm, improving transparency, and reducing administrative complexities.”

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.  

In pursuit of sustainable scholarship, KU Libraries has renegotiated existing publishing agreements and started new ones that either eliminate APCs completely or discount them for eligible authors. In addition to Frontiers, publishing partners include: Association for Computing Machinery, Cambridge University Press, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, The Company of Biologists, The Electrochemical Society, Elsevier, MDPI, PeerJ, PLOS and Taylor & Francis.