Open Access

Transformative agreements are contracts negotiated between institutions (libraries, national and regional consortia) and publishers that transform the business model underlying scholarly journal publishing, moving from one based on subscription to one in which publishers are remunerated a fair price for their open access publishing services. (Source: Plan S)

SUNY has entered into a transformative agreement with Cambridge University Press (CUP) that begins January 2023. 

The SUNY Cambridge transformative agreement (TA) allows for open access (OA) publishing and subscription access. 

This SUNY agreement means

• We have access to the Cambridge Full Journal package (400+ journals), including perpetual access to all volumes published from 2023-2025.
• Faculty and campus affiliates can publish articles with open licenses in a Cambridge journal without paying an Article Processing Charge (APC).

Why are APCs waived?

The APC cost is included in the library's subscription fee. This is often referred to as a "read and publish" agreement.  STL's agreement with Cambridge incorporates waived APCs and a discounted subscription price that provides our community access to hundreds of additional CUP titles. By 2025, most of Cambridge's journals will be open-access, APC-based rather than subscription-based. 

How do I get the APC waived?

For the APC to be waived, the article must -

1. Have a corresponding author affiliated with SUNY New Paltz. Authors must use their @newpaltz.edu email address to qualify for the APC waiver. You may also need to use an ORCID when submitting your article. The agreement also covers emeriti faculty and graduate students.
2. Be original research—eligible article types are research articles, review articles, rapid communications, brief reports, and case reports. 
3. Be accepted for publication in a CUP journal covered by the agreement. 
4. Be accepted for publication from January 1, 2023. 
5. Upon acceptance, choose the Gold Open Access option in your author publishing agreement form and select a creative commons license.

What Cambridge journals can I publish Open Access in without paying an APC?

Check our campus Cambridge page or the below spreadsheet for eligible OA publishing titles under our agreement. The Open Access Waivers and Discounts Tool is very helpful. 

Will the library pay APCs outside the Cambridge agreement?

Because journal and database subscriptions consume a large portion of the library's budget, it cannot pay individual APCs.