Open Access Policy and Strategy of Clausthal University of Technology

Clausthal University of Technology supports the principle of Open Access as set out in the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities signed by the President of Clausthal University of Technology[1] and described as follows by the "Digital Information" priority initiative of the Alliance of German Science Organizations[2]:
Open Access describes the goal of making the world's knowledge accessible and reusable in digital form without financial, technical or legal barriers. In order to open up the knowledge that is continuously expanded, modified and documented in scientific publications to the scientific community in accordance with this principle, a forward-looking digital research environment must guarantee a well-organized and sustainably financed provision of publications that are as free of charge as possible and available without restriction in terms of usage rights.

Open access is intended to

• increase the level of awareness and citation frequency of scientific publications by members of Clausthal University of Technology
• Promote knowledge transfer, interdisciplinary research and international exchange
• accelerate publication processes and thus enable more efficient research through faster exchange of research results
• Improve the visibility and findability of publications in search engines and scientific databases

The TUC recognizes that Open Access is a step in the transformation of scientific information culture, which can be followed by the opening of research data (Open Data) and research processes (Open Science).

Clausthal University of Technology declares the support and promotion of Open Access in the sense of the Berlin Declaration as a strategic goal.

• The TUC supports its researchers in the publication of scientific OA formats and in the development of OA publication channels independent of publishers.
• The TUC encourages its scientists to publish their scientific work in OA journals, provided that a scientifically suitable OA journal is available.
• The TUC supports its researchers in paying any publication costs incurred.
• The TUC expects its researchers to exercise their right to digital secondary publication of their scientific publications in the sense of OA. The University Library operates the publication server of Clausthal University of Technology to implement secondary publication.
• In this context, the TUC recommends that its scientists reserve the exploitation rights for electronic versions of publications.
• The TUC also encourages its researchers to make research data available OA.

The free choice of publication options and freedom of research remain unaffected by these guidelines.

The following fields of action and stakeholders are decisive for the success of the implementation of the Open Access Strategy. The progress and development of Open Access are monitored and made visible using indicator figures. Ideally, the majority of scientific articles should be published Open Access by 2025.

The university management of the TUC continuously develops the Open Access Strategy in dialog with the scientists and supports the scientists in implementing the strategy.

• The Senate will instruct the Senate Commission on DP Media to continuously develop the topic of Open Access and the Open Access Strategy.
• The University Executive Board will provide the financial resources for the operation and further development of the publication server, a publication fund and legal advice on publishing in Open Access.
• The university management will appoint an Open Access Officer who will advise all members of the university on questions relating to Open Access.
• In consultation with the academics, the university management will develop its position on the expansion of open access with regard to open data and open science.
• The university management will inform academics about the applicable secondary exploitation rights for scientific contributions and motivate them to make use of them or to reserve the corresponding rights for secondary publication in their author contracts.
• The university management will ensure that open access publications are also used for evaluation in recruitment and appointment procedures as well as in assessments of academic performance.

The University Library supports the university management in implementing the Open Access strategy. It coordinates and promotes open access activities by providing suitable services.

• The University Library will manage the publication server, make it available for use by researchers and coordinate measures for long-term archiving with other universities in Lower Saxony.
• The University Library will manage a publication fund from which publication fees for open access publications, where all articles are freely available immediately after publication, can be financed.
• The University Library will inform academics about open access (e.g. on the website, via information brochures, etc.).
• The University Library will collect annual indicator figures on the growth of open access publications on the publication server, the number of accesses to the publication server and the number of applications for financial support to the publication fund and publish them on its website.

The scientists at Clausthal University of Technology are the ones who bring Open Access to life at Clausthal University of Technology through their publication behavior. They receive the best possible support from the university management and the university library.

• The scientists will learn about the various options for publishing Open Access through the Open Access Policy and the information provided by the university management and the university library.
• Academics will learn about and use the options for legal advice and for applying for funding to publish in open access publications.
• The scientists should regularly use the TUC publication server to make their publications available in open access.
• Scientists should upload a copy of the published publication or the reviewed and accepted manuscript to the publication server as early as possible, but no later than the time of publication, with an indication of when the publication can be made Open Access (taking into account the publishing contract). The term "publication" also includes conference papers, posters and research reports, provided they contain significant research results.

Adopted on June 16, 2015 by the Senate of Clausthal University of Technology