Journal of Regional Medical Campuses Policies

The Journal of Regional Medical Campuses (JRMC) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, web-based journal. Manuscripts accepted for publication are posted on the website immediately upon final acceptance. There are no submission or article processing charges. As an open-access journal, JRMC does not require authors to transfer full copyright ownership to the journal as a condition of publication.

This journal follows the recommendations in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). We also ask reviewers to follow the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

The journal does not accept advertising.

Submission Guidelines

Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication in the Journal of Regional Medical Campuses provided the author(s) owns the copyright to the work being submitted or is authorized by the copyright owner or owners to submit the article. Submitted articles cannot have been previously published or forthcoming in an archival journal or book (print or electronic). There are no fees for authors to publish in the journal.

Submission of articles to the Journal of Regional Medical Campuses should be as a Word document, with the body of text in 12pt font, double-spaced, using the AMA format and style. Make sure you have the following items: article title, abstract, keywords for your article.

Also, provide information about yourself and any other authors.

Manuscript Submission Process

1. All manuscripts should be submitted through the JRMC manuscript management system.
2. Internal Review. A senior editorial member reviews all submitted manuscripts for journal suitability. Manuscripts should originate from a regional campus or address topics related to regional medical campuses. Manuscripts must also conform to scholarly and reporting standards. Following this review, corresponding authors may be contacted with questions or requests. Authors may also be notified that the journal does not wish to pursue publication of the manuscript.
3. Peer Review. After completing the internal review process, manuscripts are sent for external peer review. Reviewers are asked to disclose conflicts of interest and follow the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. The reviewer's identity is not revealed to the author or other reviewers. 
4. Publication Decisions and Revisions. Most decisions are made within 45 days of receipt of the manuscript, with notifications made via email. Most manuscripts require revisions before they are accepted. Using feedback from the peer reviewers and staff editors, authors receive revision instructions in the decision letter. Revised manuscripts should be submitted through the manuscript management system with a point-by-point response to the reviewers’ and editor’s comments.
5. To appeal a decision, a letter must be submitted to jrmceditors@umn.edu explaining the reason behind the appeal. The chair of the editorial management team reviews all appeals in consultation with the management team. The team will return a response within two weeks.
6. Once accepted, all manuscripts are edited for content and overall presentation, not merely for grammar and correct style. During editing, authors should be prepared for further revisions. Requested revisions at this stage may address presentation, completeness, clarity, and/or balance. Revisions may also include stylistic changes to conform with scholarly guidelines and journal standards. Corresponding authors are required to ensure the accuracy of the final, edited version. They must consult with all co-authors or obtain their advance authority to approve the final version on their behalf.
7. Once the editing phase is completed, the article is placed into layout. The corresponding author is responsible for proofreading the final materials carefully. In this phase, authors may correct errors in data or problems created due to typesetting. Discretionary or non-error-related changes are discouraged.
8. Manuscripts are published to the journal website shortly after the layout approvals are complete. The journal may promote articles on its social media outlets. 
9. Honest errors are a part of science and publishing and require a correction when detected. JRMC follows the ICMJE guidelines on publishing corrections. When a correction is warranted, the journal will work with the authors to post a correction notice detailing changes from and citing the original publication. The correction will appear on the electronic print page and appear in the next Table of Contents. In addition, a new article version will be posted with prominent notes on previous versions indicating that there is a more recent version.
10. Misconduct, inappropriate methodology, or errors serious enough to invalidate a paper’s results and conclusions may require retraction. JRMC follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Retraction Guidelines and the ICJME Recommendation on Retractions and Expressions of Concern.

Warranties and Statements

To publish with JRMC, authors represent and warrant that they are the sole creators of the work and owners of all rights, titles, and interests in the work, including the complete and undivided copyright interest to the work. The authors represent and warrant that they have not granted any person any interest, including permissions, licenses, or assignments, in the work that conflicts with the rights, titles, and interests granted here. To each author's knowledge, the work does not infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of any person nor defame, slander, or libel any person nor invade the privacy or other like rights of a person. The authors represent and warrant that they either have express written permission to any third-party content used in their submission to JRMC or that they have a good-faith belief that the works they are using are in the public domain, that their use is fair, or that they are using works under an appropriate Creative Commons (or other open-content) license.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors must declare any conflicts of interest that may affect the information, research, analysis, or interpretation presented in the manuscript. The cover page of the manuscript should disclose any conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as the validity of the research) may be influenced by secondary interests (such as financial gain). If there are none to declare, please indicate “Conflicts of Interest: None” on the manuscript's cover page. Additional information on Conflicts of Interest is available for downloading through the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Although JRMC does not require this form, it may assist authors in identifying conflicts.

Treatment of Human Subjects

The author affirms that an Institutional Review Board (IRB) has reviewed research projects which involve human subjects to ensure that two broad standards are upheld: first, that subjects are not placed at undue risk; second, that they give uncoerced, informed consent to their participation.

Treatment of Animal Subjects

When animals are used in research, the journal requires written confirmation that an institutional animal care and use committee approved the research. The article should contain a description of the research protocols and methods used and the research standards set by the institutional or national guides for the care and use of laboratory animals.

If you have questions or concerns about any of the above statements, please email the editors at jrmceditors@umn.edu.

Open Access Statement

The Journal of Regional Medical Campuses provides immediate open access to its content, which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or their institution. This also means that the Journal of Regional Medical Campuses does not charge article processing fees. All articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Noncommercial Attribution license (CC BY-NC 4.0). 

Creative Commons License

All articles published in the Journal of Regional Medical Campuses are distributed with a Creative Commons Noncommercial Attribution (CC BY-NC 4.0) license meaning that authors hold the copyright to their work. This also means that users have the right to share or adapt the article, as long as the author(s) and source are cited, and the use is for noncommercial purposes. Permission is not needed for these noncommercial uses. For permission for other uses or questions about use, don't hesitate to contact the editors at jrmceditors@umn.edu.

Copyright 

The author(s) retains their copyright in their work.

Self-Archiving Policy

The copyright of each article belongs to the author(s) and grants each author the right to deposit the article in their institutional repository or any suitable subject repository, provided they do not contravene the requirements of the CC license associated with the article. 

General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing website and/or software agree not to misuse the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing service or software in any way.

The failure of University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.