Article processing charge

The Journal of Sulaimani Medical College (JSMC) charges an Article Processing and Publication Charge of 250,000 Iraqi Dinar (IQD) for manuscripts accepted for publication.

The charge is paid to the Finance and Account Office of the College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani. The same charge is applied consistently wherever publication fees are described on the journal website.

What the Charge Supports

The publication charge contributes to the costs associated with editorial administration, manuscript handling, research-integrity and plagiarism screening, website and submission-system maintenance, copyediting, typesetting, DOI and metadata registration, long-term access, and other publishing-related services.

Payment of the charge does not purchase acceptance, preferential treatment, or a favourable editorial decision.

Timing and Administration of Payment

The publication charge is payable only after a manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Authors are not required to make any payment as a condition of manuscript submission or peer review. Reviewers are not informed of an author's payment status.

Editorial decisions are based on the scientific and scholarly merits of the manuscript, including methodological quality, originality, ethical compliance, clarity, and relevance to the aims and scope of JSMC.

The author's ability or inability to pay does not influence the editorial or peer-review process.

Submission Fees, Page Charges and Other Author Charges

The 250,000 IQD Article Processing and Publication Charge is currently the only mandatory author charge associated with publication in JSMC.

·       manuscript submission;

·       editorial processing;

·       page charges;

·       colour figures;

·       supplementary materials; or

·       mandatory language-editing services.

JSMC currently does not charge separate fees for the items listed above.

Any future mandatory author charge will be clearly disclosed on this page before it becomes applicable.

Waivers and Discounts

JSMC does not currently offer a formal APC waiver or discount programme.

Accordingly, the applicable charge for an accepted article is 250,000 IQD.

If JSMC introduces a waiver or discount programme in the future, the journal will publicly state:

·       eligibility criteria;

·       which authors or affiliations are eligible;

·       the amount or extent of the waiver or discount;

·       when and how an application should be made; and

·       the procedure for considering the request.

Waiver or discount eligibility, payment status, or an author's ability to pay will not influence peer review or editorial decisions.

Payment

Payment is made through the Finance and Account Office of the College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani.

Payment instructions are provided to the corresponding author after acceptance.

Authors should not make any publication payment before receiving official instructions from JSMC or the College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani.

Withdrawal, Cancellation and Refunds

Questions concerning payment, withdrawal, cancellation, or possible refunds should be directed to the JSMC Editorial Office or the Finance and Account Office of the College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani.

Any refund request will be considered in accordance with the applicable financial and administrative procedures of the College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani and the stage of editorial or production work already undertaken.

Withdrawal after substantial editorial or production work has been completed does not automatically establish an entitlement to a full refund.

Editorial Independence from Publication Charges

Publication charges are administratively separate from scientific assessment and editorial decision-making.

Acceptance, rejection, and requests for revision are based on scholarly and scientific considerations.

Neither the Editor-in-Chief nor reviewers should receive any financial incentive linked to the acceptance of individual manuscripts.

Publication charges, payment status, waiver eligibility, or an author's ability to pay must not influence:

·       peer review;

·       editorial assessment;

·       requests for revision;

·       acceptance or rejection decisions; or

·       the scientific evaluation of a manuscript.

JSMC maintains appropriate administrative separation between financial processing and editorial decision-making to protect the independence, fairness, and integrity of the peer-review process.

Authors may raise questions or concerns regarding publication charges with the journal without affecting the editorial handling of their manuscript.