Big Ten Academic Alliance and Wiley Extend Open Access Agreement

The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) is pleased to announce an extension of its landmark open publishing agreement with Wiley, a global leader in research and education. The three-year agreement, effective as of January 1, 2023, grants fourteen participating universities and seventeen affiliated campuses access to publish and read in Wiley’s full journal portfolio, including Hindawi’s gold open access portfolio.

Under this new agreement, lead authors at all campuses covered by the agreement will be able to publish their articles as open access, ensuring that their research will be immediately open and available to the public and that they will retain rights to their own work. Article publications are free of charge, eliminating the need for authors to pay publication fees.

The first year of the agreement has seen remarkable success, with over 2,400 articles published open access—an increase from 19% prior to the agreement to over 65% after one year. With the extension of this agreement, BTAA is making progress toward its goal of a sustainable open scholarship ecosystem.

In addition to open publishing provisions, the agreement also provides a contractual framework for structured conversations with tangible goals to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in editing and publishing, as well as durable stewardship of the scholarly record. The BTAA is confident that this landmark agreement with Wiley will provide its universities with the resources and support they need to continue their open scholarship initiatives and make their research available to the world.

“We consider this agreement an important building block in our ongoing, coordinated strategy to advance open and more equitable scholarship. This open publishing agreement provides a model we would like to grow and scale to other publishers in this space,” said Maurice York, Director of Library Initiatives for the Big Ten Academic Alliance. “The message we are sending to Big Ten faculty is, in Wiley publications, no fees, no caps, no limits, no hassle. We anticipate this will be a liberating message for our authors, completely removing from them the burden of managing submissions, payments, and other administrivia too often associated with open publishing of their work.”

“This agreement increases the accessibility of published research to the tens of thousands of students and faculty that make up the Big Ten Academic Alliance,” said Kathryn Sharples, Vice President, Open Research, Wiley. 

The fourteen research libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance participating in this agreement include Indiana University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Chicago.

ABOUT the BIG TEN ACADEMIC ALLIANCE

The Big Ten Academic Alliance is the nation’s preeminent model for effective collaboration among research universities. For more than half a century, these world-class institutions have advanced their academic missions, generated unique opportunities for students and faculty, and served the common good by sharing expertise, leveraging campus resources, and collaborating on innovative programs. Governed and funded by the provosts of the member universities, Big Ten Academic Alliance mandates are coordinated by a staff from its Champaign, Illinois headquarters.

 ABOUT WILEY

Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in scientific research and career-connected education. Founded in 1807, Wiley enables discovery, powers education, and shapes workforces. Through its industry-leading content, digital platforms, and knowledge networks, the company delivers on its timeless mission to unlock human potential.