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iLRN Per-Paper Publication Fee Policy (Draft)

Scientific Quality Assurance, Editorial Stewardship, and Infrastructure

1. Purpose

This policy will establish a standardized per-paper publication fee model for all iLRN scholarly outputs that undergo formal editorial vetting. Its purpose is to ensure:

  • Consistent scientific quality assurance (SQA)
  • Sustainable editorial and proceedings production
  • Reliable submission and peer-review infrastructure
  • Equitable global participation aligned with international economic realities

This policy:

  • Treats scientific quality as infrastructure
  • Applies consistently across flagship and regional outputs
  • Avoids paternalistic language while embedding equity
  • Positions iLRN as a mature scholarly steward, not a volunteer-only network


This policy affirms that scholarly rigor, fairness, and transparency require intentional design and modest but real resourcing.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all publication team–vetted papers and scholarly contributions produced under iLRN governance, including but not limited to:

  • The main iLRN International Conference proceedings
  • Regional events, VR Days, and chapter-hosted proceedings
  • Short papers, extended abstracts, and full conference papers
  • The State of XR and Immersive Learning report, including peer-reviewed and commissioned contributions
  • Any Call for Papers or Call for Contributions formally administered or vetted by the iLRN Publications team

This policy applies whenever:

  • Submissions undergo editorial screening, peer review, or meta-review, and
  • iLRN assumes responsibility for scientific quality, editorial integrity, and publication infrastructure.

This policy does not apply to:

  • Independently funded external journals or special issues unless explicitly adopted by agreement
  • Informal blog posts, opinion pieces, or non-vetted community contributions

3. Cost Domains (Internal Accounting)

Per-paper fees support the full scholarly pipeline and are internally allocated across three domains.

3.1 Scientific Quality Assurance (Front-End)

Includes:

  • Design and stewardship of high-quality Calls for Papers
  • Submissions portal configuration and administration
  • Peer-review committee coordination
  • Review oversight, revisions, and resubmissions
  • Camera-ready quality checks
  • Light meta-reviews to ensure consistency, fairness, and rigor

3.2 Editorial & Proceedings Production (Back-End)

Includes:

  • Co-editor compensation
  • Final compilation and formatting
  • Proceedings preparation and release

3.3 Infrastructure

Includes:

  • Submissions and review systems (e.g., EasyChair installation and configuration)
  • Workflow reliability, data integrity, and continuity

4. Internal Cost Baseline (Reference)

Based on current operations, the approximate internal baseline cost per paper is:

  • $14.00 USD — Editorial & proceedings production
  • $4.50 USD — Scientific Quality Assurance
  • $3.90 USD — Submissions infrastructure

Approximate hard-cost total: $22.40 USD per paper

This internal baseline informs—but does not dictate—author-facing fees.

5. Regionally Tiered Per-Paper Fee Model (Author-Facing)

To balance sustainability with global equity, iLRN applies a regionally tiered per-paper fee model aligned with internationally recognized economic classifications.

5.1 Tier Classification

iLRN adopts World Bank income classifications to determine regional tiers. Tier placement is based on the primary geographic location of the hosting iLRN chapter or event, not individual authors.

  • Tier A — Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)
  • Tier B — Upper-Middle / Transitional Economies
  • Tier C — High-Income Economies

5.2 Standard Fee Levels

Tier

Classification Basis

Per-Paper Fee

Tier A

World Bank LMICs

$30.00 USD

Tier B

Upper-middle / transitional economies

$33.00 USD

Tier C

High-income economies

$36.00 USD

These fees support:

  • Scientific quality assurance
  • Editorial oversight
  • Publication infrastructure
  • Modest cross-subsidization to sustain global participation

6. Equity, Access, and Flexibility

This tiered model is not charity-based. It reflects differential access to institutional resources while preserving consistent scholarly standards.

6.1 Exceptional Circumstances

Chapters may request temporary fee adjustments in cases of:

  • Demonstrated regional hardship
  • Exceptional local constraints
  • Pilot, capacity-building, or experimental events

Such requests are reviewed by the Director of Publications in consultation with the Scientific Quality Assurance Officer.

7. Transparency and Communication

All Calls for Papers and Calls for Contributions must clearly state:

  • The applicable per-paper fee
  • The regional tier used
  • What the fee supports (SQA, editorial stewardship, infrastructure)

Public-facing language should emphasize quality, fairness, and stewardship, avoiding administrative or extractive framing.

8. Governance, Review, and Revision

  • This policy is maintained under Code X of the iLRN Codex
  • It is reviewed annually by the Publications and SQA leadership
  • Adjustments may be made as costs, platforms, or global conditions evolve
  • All revisions are documented transparently in the Codex

9. Guiding Principle

iLRN’s publication practices are grounded in the belief that:

Rigorous, inclusive scholarship requires intentional design, shared responsibility, and modest but honest resourcing across a global community.

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Note: next logical steps might be:

  • A one-page executive summary for Board adoption
  • A public excerpt version for CFPs
  • A roles-and-responsibilities appendix mapping this to Publications, SQA, and Chapter Leads
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