Are you looking for a Higher Ed journal that puts as much effort into the development of authors and reviewers as it does into maintaining publishing standards? Are you looking for a Higher Ed journal that provides an avenue for new forms of scholarship and publication? Advancing Scholarship and Research in Higher Education (ASRHE) is that journal. The point of difference is the underlying philosophy.

Described as HERDSA’s ‘developmental’ journal, our journal practices foster the development of both authors and reviewers, while enabling the sharing of insights and promising SoTL practices. HERDSA’s support, financial backing, executive committee oversight and scholarly community engagement has helped shape ASRHE’s vision of a Higher Education journal that focuses on new forms of scholarship, investigates its own publishing practices, and supports authors and reviewers to develop.

Published by the Open Access Publishing Association (OAPA), ASRHE is a diamond open-access journal, free of publishing fees and open to submissions by anyone regardless of institutional affiliation and research funding.  

A Space for Scholarship at Every Stage of the Research Process

Somewhere right now, a higher education researcher has a study that's going well but is still a work in progress. They have findings worth sharing, questions worth raising, a methodology someone else could build on. And they're waiting: waiting until the whole project is complete, before they are able to share.  With ASRHE you don't have to wait.  Pilot and small scale studies that provide insight to others and call for collaborators to help build larger projects, are welcome. Research is a process, and ASRHE treats it that way.

The journal publishes in two categories. Research Complete is what you'd expect: a self-contained article that makes a substantial, grounded contribution to knowledge. But the Research in Progress category is where ASRHE does something that most journals won't. It publishes research at an earlier stage: a well-conceptualised study with initial findings, a methodology being piloted, a theoretical framework still being tested. Not because rigour doesn't matter (it does, and these articles are peer reviewed and held to clear scholarly standards), but because early-stage work has genuine value.

A Research in Progress article is not incomplete: it captures a moment in the project when something useful to share has emerged. It can send an invitation for other researchers to extend, replicate, challenge, or build on the work. These moments matter and keep the conversation going.

This is especially important for emerging researchers, for practitioner-scholars juggling teaching loads, and for anyone whose work doesn't fit neatly into the linear model of research-then-publication. ASRHE makes room for the often iterative, generative middle of the research process and takes it seriously.

Support for small scale SOTL research

Many academics engage in scholarly investigations into innovative approaches to teaching and assessment in their own classes.  But avenues for sharing this research are limited, as many journals insist on large scale studies and/or studies that involve more than one discipline.

ASRHE welcomes contributions in this category, both as Research Complete articles, with insights to offer other teacher-scholars, and also as Research in Progress articles, with the opportunity to callout to interested readers

to join in the research and build a large-scale, multi-disciplinary project.

Scholarship doesn't have to look the same every time

The conventional journal article has its place. But it isn't the only way to present research rigorously, and ASRHE knows that.

The journal actively welcomes submissions in emerging formats: work that incorporates audio, video, visual argument, or other modes that electronic publishing makes possible. We are frank about it: academic writing is a contested concept, and the structures inherited from print-based scientific publishing aren't necessarily the right vessel for every kind of inquiry. If your research calls for a different form, ASRHE is the place to explore that.

This commitment to form runs deeper than aesthetics. We are currently grappling with how journals can better serve Indigenous researchers, whose ways of knowing are often reshaped to fit Western publishing conventions in ways that distort rather than communicate. A proposed 'open' article category, where researchers present their work in formats of their own choosing accompanied by an exegesis, reflects our willingness to keep asking hard questions about who publishing is really for.

The review process is different too

With ASRHE, authors will never receive conflicting suggestions from different reviewers and feel confused about which advice to follow.  For each submission, reviewers meet as a group and discuss any suggestions for revision until consensus is reached

Review groups consist of four to six members, often with different levels of experience, and led by an experienced group leader. Reviewers discuss each submission together and arrive at a consensus decision. Feedback is written collaboratively and constructively, with a clear purpose: to help the author develop their scholarly voice. If we decline a submission, we say so clearly and specifically — and we always encourage authors to rework the paper using our feedback and submit again.

Authors receive feedback that is specific, encouraging, and actionable, covering everything from argument structure and literature grounding to methodological clarity and presentation. It's reviewing as a scholarly conversation, not a gatekeeping exercise. Reviewers also find the process deeply satisfying because of its collegiality and transparency. Participating in a group review, hearing how other scholars reason through a submission, contributing your own perspective, and learning to write constructive feedback, provides a valuable form of professional development that builds scholarly capacity in ways that isolated reviewing simply cannot. Emerging researchers can join the process early in their careers, supported by more experienced colleagues. ASRHE provides letters of recognition at the end of each year-long review period, capturing individual strengths and collaborative reviewer collegiality.

This is what generous scholarship looks like in practice: intellectual generosity, reciprocity across career stages, and a genuine commitment to affirming everyone in the process as a scholar.

The HERDSA community is exactly who this journal serves

So, here's the invitation. If you have a study in progress, share it. If you have completed research, submit it. If you want to contribute to a review process that genuinely develops you as a scholar, apply to join our reviewer community. Vacancies are listed on our Announcements page.

Your work matters at every stage. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it should be ready for thoughtful scholarly conversation.

The important thing is to take the next step.

Find ASRHE at open-publishing.org/journals/index.php/asrhe | Contact the editors:  asrhe@herdsa.org.au

ASRHE is sponsored by HERDSA and published by OAPA as a diamond open-access journal. No publication fees. No paywalls. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Blog Authors:

• Prue Laidlaw
• Eva Heinrich
• Jo-Anne Kelder
• Michelle Picard
• Angela Feekery
• Gerlese Akerlind

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