University Policy Office

The University of North Texas (UNT) is a state-funded public research university, and UNT Community Members are expected to take advantage of new technologies to increase access to their scholarly works among scholars worldwide, educators, policymakers, and the public. UNT Community Members engage in a wide range of scholarly activities that result in new knowledge, understandings, and expressions, and UNT Community Members are committed to disseminating as widely as possible the results of their scholarly activities. UNT recognizes the value added by publishers and proposes a policy that is intended to ensure the sustainability of journal publishing. As a public research university, UNT recognizes and values its responsibility to the larger society. Scholarly products — the innovations, scholarship, and creative endeavors of its faculty, and the education provided to its students — benefit the communities the university serves. By providing access to scholarly works, Federal, State, private, and public support of research and scholarship will be enhanced at UNT. Therefore, UNT is obligated to make its faculty scholarship available to the widest possible audience by adopting an open access mechanism for UNT Community Members’ scholarly products. Increased access and visibility of the scholarship serve UNT Community Members’ interests by promoting greater reach and impact, and the University’s and its community members’ status and reputation are enhanced when the scholarship is easily discoverable and accessible. UNT Libraries play an essential role in providing broad access to community members’ scholarly works and ensuring long-term stewardship and preservation of these works, irrespective of format. UNT Community Members recognize the potential of open access as a means to carry out their commitment to disseminate the products of their scholarship.