Ethics & Policy

1. Publication Ethics

IJTEG is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures to prevent any publication malpractice. The journal follows the guidelines and best practices developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All parties involved in the publication process — authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher (IATEG) — are expected to adhere to these standards. Any reported breach of these standards will be investigated thoroughly and appropriate action taken.

2. Authorship

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the research. All listed authors must meet the following criteria:

• Substantial contributions to conception, design, acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data
• Drafting or critically revising the manuscript for important intellectual content
• Approval of the final version to be published
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Contributors who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section. Corresponding authors must ensure all co-authors have seen and approved the submission.

AI Authorship

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors who use AI-assisted tools in the preparation of their manuscript must disclose this in the Methods or Acknowledgements section, describing how AI was used.

3. Plagiarism & Originality

All manuscripts are screened for plagiarism prior to review. Submissions must be original, unpublished work not under consideration elsewhere. The following constitute unacceptable practices:

• Plagiarism: Reproducing others' text, data, or ideas without acknowledgement
• Self-plagiarism: Re-publishing one's own previously published work without disclosure
• Duplicate submission: Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously
• Data fabrication or falsification: Inventing or manipulating data or results
• Selective reporting: Omitting results that do not support the authors' conclusions

Discovery of any of the above at any stage (pre- or post-publication) will result in immediate rejection or retraction, and notification to the authors' institutions where appropriate.

4. Peer Review Ethics

Reviewers

• Must treat manuscripts as confidential documents
• Must not use information obtained through peer review for personal advantage
• Must declare any conflicts of interest that might affect their assessment
• Should provide objective, constructive, and timely reviews
• Must not contact authors directly without editorial permission

Editors

• Must maintain confidentiality of all submissions
• Must not use information from unpublished manuscripts for personal research
• Must declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from relevant decisions
• Make editorial decisions based solely on scholarly merit, fit, and ethical compliance

5. Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing their work. This includes:

• Funding sources for the research
• Employment or consultancy with organisations related to the research
• Personal relationships with individuals involved in the research or review process
• Intellectual positions or beliefs that might influence interpretation of results

Declared conflicts of interest will be published with the article. If no conflicts exist, authors must include the statement: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

6. Corrections & Retractions

IJTEG is committed to the integrity of the scholarly record. Where errors or ethical violations are identified post-publication:

• Erratum: Published correction for errors introduced by the journal
• Corrigendum: Published correction for errors introduced by authors
• Retraction: Removal of a published article due to serious ethical violation, unreliable data, or duplicate publication
• Expression of concern: Published notice if an investigation is underway

Correction and retraction notices are permanently linked to the original article. Retracted articles remain accessible with a clear retraction notice attached.

7. Open Access Policy

Open access is consistent with IJTEG's mission to maximise the reach and impact of scholarly research on transnational education and governance. The journal is compliant with major open-access mandates and recommendations, including those of DOAJ, Crossref, and leading research funders.

Unless otherwise stated, all published content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

8. Copyright

The copyright of each article published in IJTEG is held by the International Association for Transnational Education and Governance (IATEG).

Authors grant IATEG a non-exclusive licence to publish, distribute, and archive the work while retaining the right to self-archive, share, and reuse their work in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license under which it is published.

Copyright transfer documentation will be provided as part of the final acceptance process. Authors will be required to sign or electronically accept the copyright agreement prior to publication.

9. Archiving & Preservation

IJTEG is committed to the long-term preservation of its published content. The journal intends to participate in recognised digital preservation programs, which may include:

• PKP Preservation Network (PKP-PN): Decentralised digital preservation
• CLOCKSS / LOCKSS: Distributed archive for scholarly content
• Internet Archive: Supplementary archiving

In the event that the journal ceases publication, archived content will remain accessible through these preservation programmes.

10. Privacy Policy

Personal data submitted to IJTEG (including names, affiliations, and email addresses) will be used solely for the stated purposes of the journal and will not be shared with third parties outside of the editorial and publication process.

Reviewer identities are kept confidential throughout the review process and are not disclosed to authors. Reviewer comments are shared with authors in anonymised form only.

For questions about data handling or to request deletion of your data, contact editor@ijteg.org.