Desk and editor review: NACADA is committed to the timely review of manuscripts. However, NACADA is also committed to a developmental process that provides authors with constructive suggestions and encouragement when a submission has the potential to contribute to academic advising literature. This review process reflects NACADA's commitment to the development of scholar practitioners.
Upon receipt of a manuscript, a member of the editorial team completes an initial "desk review" of the manuscript and determines its disposition which either is a) 'desk reject' without further consideration, b) move to "editor review" for potential further consideration, or c) assign to three peer reviewers, i.e., blind review. Every effort is made to complete the initial "desk review' within four (4) weeks of receipt of the manuscript. Authors of manuscripts in category 'a' receive notice of the disposition within a month. Authors of manuscripts falling into categories 'b' or 'c' typically are notified of the next steps within three to four months of the manuscript's submission.
Journal peer review: NACADA embraces and values peer review in the consideration of manuscripts for the Journal and, as with others in the scholarly community, believes that it "greatly contributes to the quality and accuracy of scholarly communication” (Peer Review, 2011, ¶2). NACADA editors select scholar-practitioners who mirror the diversity within the association to review manuscript drafts. As proof of their commitment to advancing the field and scholars, reviewers volunteer their time and talents to improve the literature base through the NACADA Journal.
After determining that a manuscript is ready for review the editors select reviewers to consider the merits of the manuscript, based on elements of originality, applicability, and appropriate use and interpretation of data. The entire review process generally takes from one to four months. Authors can check on the status of submitted manuscripts by logging on to the Peer Track site at http://www.editorialmanager.com/nacadajournal/
Revise and resubmit: The most common decision after initial submission is 'revise and resubmit'. The average manuscript goes through three revisions prior to acceptance. When submitting a revised manuscript four documents must be uploaded into the system:
- Revised manuscript
- Author 'response to reviewers' document. This Word document should address each comment noted by reviewers, the manuscript page number where it appeared, and how the author(s) addressed the noted issue. The only identifying information on this document should be the manuscript title and number (the assigned number begins with the year the initial manuscript was submitted example 19-...). A template for structuring the author's response to reviewers may be found here.
- Title page (see 'Submitting a manuscript' above) Note: during revision upload authors have the option to check to "use the initial Title page".
- Author notes (see 'Submitting a manuscript' above). During revision upload authors have the option to check to "use the initial Author notes".
Important: Authors must check that all documents uploaded properly. Authors must 'approve the documents' before a PDF can built and sent to the editors. Approval of the re-submission can only be done by the author; failure to approve the revised manuscript and supporting documents delays the review process.
Acceptance rate: Approximately 33% of the manuscripts submitted each year are accepted for publication. All manuscripts, whether ultimately accepted or not, receive the full attention of the manuscript reviewers and editors, who provide formative feedback to all who submit manuscripts for consideration.
Journal Author agreement: At upload authors are asked to assign copyright to NACADA (see 'Agree to transfer copyright' above). In cases where this step was inadvertently skipped authors must sign an author agreement prior to the manuscript moving into the copy edit phase.
Copyediting. Authorship does not end upon manuscript acceptance; rather writers enter the teamwork phase with respective editors as the creation of a NACADA publication evolves. A writer can expect to revise the manuscript after reviewers and Journal editors refine the focus of the work. The author then will address specific queries and incorporate directives through the developmental and copy editing stages. In these latter stages, which typically require extensive reworking of specific sentences and passages, the manuscript receives final preparation as a vetted, clearly articulated, and stylistically consistent NACADA Journal article.