Governance and Editorial Independence

Open Christian Press is accountable for the quality, integrity and sustainability of its publishing programmes. Effective governance requires clear authority, qualified leadership, documented roles and safeguards against interference by owners, sponsors, administrators, authors or service clients.

Institutional relationship

Open Christian Press is the scholarly publishing arm of Open Christian University and is co-published in partnership with the Center for Faith and Work. These relationships provide institutional mission and support while respecting the independent editorial judgement required for credible scholarly publishing.

Governance structure

Publisher leadership

Publisher leadership establishes strategy, approves publication programmes, safeguards infrastructure, manages legal and financial responsibilities and appoints qualified editorial leadership. It should not dictate the acceptance of a particular manuscript for personal, political, financial or institutional advantage.

Journal editors

Editors-in-chief and editorial teams are responsible for the scholarly direction of their journals, reviewer selection, ethical oversight and editorial decisions within the approved scope and policies.

Book and series editors

Acquisitions, scholarly and series editors assess proposals, commission reviews, guide revision and recommend publication. A series editor should not use the series to publish personal or institutional associates without independent evaluation and conflict management.

Reviewers and advisers

Reviewers advise editors through confidential, reasoned assessment. Advisory boards may support strategy, reputation and disciplinary breadth but do not replace active editorial responsibility.

Production and platform teams

Production staff prepare files, metadata and publication records. Platform administrators manage systems and access. Neither role should alter scholarly decisions without editorial authority.

Editorial independence

Decisions are based on scope, originality, evidence, method, coherence, ethics, significance and the capacity of the work to serve its intended audience. The following factors must not purchase or improperly control acceptance:

·       Article or book processing charges

·       Institutional status or personal relationships

·       Sponsorship, advertising or donor preferences

·       Political pressure or anticipated controversy

·       A desire to increase publication volume

·       Prior use of a paid editorial service

Conflicts of interest

Editors must disclose and manage conflicts involving authors, reviewers, institutions, funding, collaboration, competition or personal relationships. Where independence could reasonably be questioned, another qualified editor should oversee the matter.

Submissions by Press leaders, editors or affiliated institutional personnel require an independent process that prevents the author from selecting reviewers or controlling the decision.

Appointments and accountability

Editorial appointments should be based on expertise, integrity, availability and alignment with the responsibilities of the role. Titles should not be honorary decorations. Performance may be reviewed in relation to decision quality, timeliness, ethical conduct, communication and stewardship of the publication.

Financial transparency

Fees and sponsorship arrangements should be publicly disclosed. Editors and reviewers do not receive a share of article processing charges merely because they recommend acceptance. Any paid specialist book assessment or commissioned editorial work must be arranged transparently and must not compromise the final decision.

Complaints and oversight

Concerns about editorial conduct may be submitted through the appeals and complaints procedure. Matters involving a senior editor should be reviewed by an appropriately independent person or committee.

Publication ownership and continuity

Written agreements should establish ownership of titles, archives, domains, identifiers, files and metadata. If a partnership ends, published records must remain accessible and corrections must continue to be possible.

Editorial independence is not institutional isolation. It is the disciplined protection of scholarly judgement from interests that should not determine the outcome.