Key topics include: higher education policy and practice; university teaching, learning and curriculum design; postgraduate education; academic leadership and management; and academic work. A range of methodological approaches - empirical, reflective, quantitative, qualitative - are accepted.

Special issues. At least one issue each year may be a "special issue" which focuses on a specific area of educational practice or research. Those interested in preparing such an issue should contact the Special Issues Editor,  Leo Goedegebuure  .

The review and publication process starts with an initial screening of the manuscript by the editorial team, to ensure readiness for review. Those manuscripts which pass the screening process are sent out for review, after which they may be accepted for publication, accepted subject to revisions, or rejected. The review process normally takes three months, and publication about six to twelve months. All papers that are published will have been reviewed by at least two internationally recognised peers.

The criteria used to guide the review process are:

• The paper says something of interest to the HERD readership;
• The paper provides an important critical and/or analytical insight;
• The paper is succinct and coherent;
• The conclusion is well supported and persuasively argued;
• The paper demonstrates methodological soundness;
• The issue/problem is well situated in an appropriate literature;
• Overall, the paper reads well and will engage a broad higher education audience.

Length. The length of the manuscript should be around 5,000 - 6,000 words, with an absolute limit of 7,000 words. An abstract of no more than 300 words will need to be provided at submission stage. Authors should place a word count at the end of their manuscript: Please note that this must include all words in the entire submission including the abstract, title, references, and figure legends. Manuscripts which include over 7000 words will be returned to authors.

Book reviews. Book reviews of approximately 800 words are invited. Reviews should be of recently published books dealing with any aspect of higher education that the reviewer considers to be inspiring or to have significant implications for future policy, research and/ or practice in higher education. They should conform to the style requirements indicated above.

Book Review Guidelines:

• Does the review convey the content of the book, the author's approach to the subject, and the author's conclusions? Reviews should avoid a chapter-by-chapter listing of themes in favour of a more integrated approach.
• Does the review place the book in the context of its field and give a sense of the book's significance?
• Does the review present a balanced analysis of the book's strengths and weaknesses and illustrate those points with examples?
• Is the review written in language accessible to a generalist audience? We assume that our readers are knowledgeable about education, but may not be specialists in a particular field.
• Is the review written in a clear and lively style that is both interesting and engaging?

Submission of manuscripts. All submissions should be made online at the Higher Education Research & Development Manuscript Central site. New users should first create an account. Once a user is logged onto the site submissions should be made via the Author Centre.

Authors should prepare and upload two versions of their manuscript. One should be a complete text, while in the second all document information identifying the author should be removed from files to allow them to be sent anonymously to referees. When uploading files authors will then be able to define the non-anonymous version as “File not for review”. 

Submitted manuscripts may not have been published elsewhere (though they may be based on a prior conference presentation or the like) and should not concurrently be being considered by another journal. More help and guidelines on submitting articles already accepted for publication. Please note that this information applies only to authors whose articles have been reviewed, revised, and accepted for publication.

Free article access: Corresponding authors can receive 50 free reprints, free online access to their article through our website (www.informaworld.com/cher) and a complimentary copy of the issue containing their article. Complimentary reprints are available through Rightslink® and additional reprints can be ordered through Rightslink® when proofs are received. If you have any queries, please contact our reprints department at reprints@tandf.co.uk

Copyright. It is a condition of publication that the authors vest copyright in their articles in HERDSA. This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the article, and the journal, to the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate. Authors may use the article elsewhere after publication without prior permission from the publisher (Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group), provided that acknowledgment is given to the journal as the original source of publication, and that the Publisher is notified so that our records show its use is properly authorised.

Please note: All contributing authors are requested to acknowledge in writing that, in submitting their work for consideration, they are doing so solely and exclusively to the Journal and confirm that their work is not under consideration elsewhere, nor has been published previously.