43rd Meeting of the Commission

Item No. 11: HEC Journals & Publications Policy, 2024

Index

Document Page No.

Working Paper 1-5

Annexure I 6-11
 43rd Meeting of the Commission

Item No. 11: HEC Journals & Publications Policy, 2024

Background:

Higher Education Commission (HEC) is responsible for accreditation of national and

international research journals, provision of financial assistance to the HEC recognized
national research journals and arrangement of capacity building workshops for editors and
faculty members.

In line with the said mandate, HEC had revised the policy of research journals in 2019 and the
revised policy / HEC Journals Recognition System (HJRS) was implemented w.e.f. July 01,
2020. HJRS categorizes journals into W, X & Y Categories based on Journal Prestige Index (JPI)
score which is calculated from following 6 parameters (2 from Web of Science (WoS) and 4
from Scopus) i.e. Eigen Factor (EGF) and Article Influence (AIF) from WoS and Scimago Journal
Rank (SJR), H-Index, Cites per Doc (CD2) and Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) from
Scopus. Pakistani journals which are not indexed in either WoS or Scopus are included in HJRS
on the recommendation of evaluation committees of different disciplines through annual call
for application for recognition of national research journals.

The editors, faculty members and researchers have raised concerns over the existing policy
of research journals/HJRS – the following being few of such concerns:
i. Impact factor journals have been degraded to ‘X’ and ‘Y’ category which were previously
in ‘W’ category as impact factor is not included in calculation of JPI score.
ii. There are only 14 Pakistani journals in ‘X’ category in HJRS, while no Pakistani journal is
in ‘W’ category. However, before launching of HJRS, 59 Pakistani journals were in ‘X’
category and 11 in ‘W’ category. Faculty members have raised concerns due to issues
in their appointment/promotion.
iii. HJRS is updated on annual basis (fiscal year wise) while WoS/Scopus update their
database frequently during the year.
iv. Journals enlisted in blacklist of Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), or the
Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) are not considered for inclusion in HJRS even
if these are indexed in WoS/Scopus. However, DAOJ add and remove journals
frequently during the year while HJRS is updated once in a year and ABDC list has not
been updated after 2020.

In order to redress the concerns received, the following changes are proposed in the existing
research journals policy (detailed revised policy draft is attached as Annex I):

S.N. Existing Policy Proposed Policy Revisions

1. i. International: All journals listed in i. All Journals indexed in any of the
Scopus and/or Web of Science, except following collection of Web of Science
with effect from January 1, 2021, those (WOS) will be given a W category.
that have been dropped or placed in a • Science Citation Index Expanded
blacklist by Directory of Open Access (SCIE)
Journals (DOAJ) or the Australian Business

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 43rd Meeting of the Commission

Deans Council (ABDC), or where there is • Social Sciences Citation Index

evidence to suggest that the journal does (SSCI)
not meet the minimal codal formalities. • Arts & Humanities Citation Index
(AHCI)

ii. National: All journals listed in Scopus ii. All Journals indexed in the following
and/or Web of Science or processed collection of Web of Science (WOS) will
through HEC committee, except with be given X category.
effect from January 1, 2021, those that • Emerging Sources Citation Index
have been dropped or placed in a blacklist (ESCI)
by DOAJ or ABDC, or where the journal
fails to provide evidence that it meets the
minimal codal formalities.
• HJRS classifies journals in W, X & Y
categories based on Journal Prestigious
Index score.
• JPI is calculated based on average
weightage score of 6 parameters i.e.,
Eigen Factor (EF), Article Influence (AIF),
Scimago Journal Rank (SJR), H-index, Cites
per Doc (CD2), Source Normalized Impact
per Paper (SNIP).

iii. Pakistani journals indexed in Scopus

(other than those indexed in Web of
Science (WOS), will be given X category
subject to fulfilling the following
additional criteria.
• 25 % International authorship.
• Open Journal Management
System (OJS) or similar Journal
Management systems adopted
for submission, acceptance, and
rejection as well as peer review
process of research articles.
• Self-Institutional publication is
not allowed.
• Published articles peer reviewed
by well reputed international
experts in relevant field.

iv. Pakistani journals indexed in Scopus

(other than those indexed in Web of
Science (WOS) Will be given Y category
(which are not fulfilling above mentioned
additional criteria).

v. National journals recommended by

HEC local committee in Y category.
National journal recognized by HEC local
committee in Y category must be indexed

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in Web of Science and/or Scopus within 5

years failing which the local Y category of
journal will be discontinued.
2. Basic Criteria for Y category: Changes in Basic Criteria for Y category:
i. A Valid Title as verified from i. No Change
International Standard Serial Number
(ISSN)
ii. Ownership by a Registered Entity ii. No Change
(University/DAI/R&D Organization).
iii. If private organization, must be iii. The journal must be owned and
Register with SECP/Registrar of published by a registered entity.
Societies /Registered Non-Profit The publisher should have a
Academic Society). In all such cases, formal governing body, which
the publisher should have a formal must approve the publication
governing body, which must approve decision. "Registered" means
the publication decision. registered with the SECP only.

iv. The journal must have clearly defined iv. No Change

aims, objectives, and scope of
publication.
v. An independent and comprehensive v. No Change
website/ Online Availability
vi. The journal must have published at vi. No Change
least 5 articles per issue in the
preceding calendar year.
vii. An academic editorial board (or vii. No Change
equivalent), comprising of members
with PhD degrees in relevant fields
(i.e., area of publication) or
FCPS/FRCS/MCPS degree for medical
journals and strong research and
publications background.
viii. Established procedures for external viii. No Change
peer review (atleast two review
reports) of each article.
ix. The Editors / members of the
editorial board cannot review and ix. No Change
publish their articles in their
respective journal.
x. Peer review by well-reputed x. No Change
international scholars encouraged.
xi. Maximum 20% Self Institutional xi. No Change
Publications allowed.
xii. Regularity in publication. xii. No Change

xiii. Additional Criteria for X* category. xiii. This is replaced with point 1 (iii)
• Must be eligible journal and meet all
criteria for Category Y.
• Journal must be registered with one
or more well reputed

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abstracting/indexing agencies i.e.

Web of Science and/or Scopus.
• Open Journal Management System
(OJS) or similar Journal Management
systems to be adopted for
submission, acceptance, and
rejection as well as peer review
process of research articles.
• Published articles should be peer
reviewed by well reputed
international experts in relevant
field.
• At least one-fourth of the published
articles must be by international
authors.
• Self-Institutional publication is not
allowed.

xiv. New addition xiv.

A maximum of one article of an
author in an issue, either as
principal author (1st or
corresponding) or as co-author,
is allowed.
The research journals are recognized as per National research journals will be
fiscal year. recognized as per calendar year.

Note: HJRS 2023-24 will be applicable till

September 30, 2024.
Revised policy will be applicable w.e.f.
October 01, 2024.
The research journals applications
recommended after scrutiny / evaluation
under call for application 2024-2025 will
be recognized w.e.f. October 01, 2024 to
December 31, 2025. After that annual
call will be announced as per policy.
HEC provides funding of Rs. 700,000/- for W Funding is allowed to national research
category, Rs. 450,000/- for X category, Rs. journals in specific categories for a
250,000/- for Y category. maximum of two years including funds
Funding is also allowed to national research already provided by HEC.
journals in for a maximum of two years and W category journals will continue
will be stopped if the journal fails to improve receiving funding from HEC as long as the
quality standards or to meet quality criteria journal Impact Factor increases at least
for the next level. 0.5 points.

Proposal:

The ‘HEC Journals & Publications Policy, 2024’ (Annex I) is placed before the Commission for
kind consideration and approval, please.

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 43rd Meeting of the Commission

Draft Decision:

The Commission accorded its kind approval against the ‘HEC Journals & Publications
Policy, 2024’.

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 43rd Meeting of the Commission

ANNEX I

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 HEC Journals and Publications Policy, 2024
1. Overview
HEC is responsible for accreditation of national and international research journals, financial
assistance to the HEC recognized national research journals and capacity building workshops for
Editors and Faculty Members. HEC has revised the policy of research journals in 2019 and
accordingly policy of research journals/ HEC Journals Recognition System (HJRS) has been
implemented w.e.f. 1st July 2020. HJRS categories journals into W, X & Y based on Journal
Prestige Index (JPI) score which is calculated from following 6 parameters (2 from WoS and 4
from Scopus) i.e. Eigen Factor (EGF) and Article Influence (AIF) from WoS, Scimago Journal Rank
(SJR), H-Index, Cites per Doc (CD2) and Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) from Scopus.
Pakistani Journals which are not indexed in either WoS or Scopus are included in HJRS on the
recommendation of evaluation committees of different disciplines disciplines through annual call
for application for recognition of national research journals.
The editors, faculty members and researchers have raised concerns over revised policy of
research journals/HJRS. Following are some of the points:
i. Impact factor journals are degraded to “X” and “Y” category which were previously in “W”
category as impact factor is not included in calculation of JPI.
ii. There are only 14 Pakistani journals in X category in HJRS, while no Pakistani journal in W
category. However, before launching of HJRS, 59 Pakistani journals were in X category and
11 in W category. Faculty members have raised concerns due to issues in their
appointment/promotion.
iii. HJRS is updated on annual basis (fiscal year wise) while Web of Sciences/Scopus update
there database frequently during the year.
iv. Journals enlisted in blacklist of Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) or the Australian
Business Deans Council (ABDC) are not considered for inclusion in HJRS if even these are
indexed in WoS/Scopus. However, DAOJ add and remove the journals frequently during the
year while HJRS is updated once in a year. While ABDC list has not been updated after 2020.
2. Objectives
The intended objective of the proposed policy for research journals is to bring academic and
publication quality of the journals at par with international standards.
3. Activities
The activities to be undertaken under this policy include:
a. establishment of minimum and optimal standards, in line with international best practices,
for academic review, publication quality, and ethical practices;
b. establishment and strengthening of monitoring systems;
c. capacity building of editorial teams; and
d. provision of financial support and linking of such support to performance, i.e., success in
meeting quality criteria.

4. Eligibility Criteria for Registration

Following eligibility criteria must be met for purposes of registration at the time of submission of
the application:
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 a. Objectives: The journal must have clearly defined aims, objectives and scope of
publication.
b. Transparency: The Journal must have an ISSN No., title, and URL (verified from
International ISSN register). The journal's website should facilitate online availability and
include an archive of previous issues. The submission process, publication fee, and
sponsorships / source of funding, must be available publicly, including on the website. The
journal must have published at least 5 articles per issue in the preceding calendar year.
c. Publisher Characteristics: The journal must be owned and published by a registered entity,
which could be university or HEI or a department of faculty of such an entity, or a
registered research institution, or registered nonprofit academic society. In all such cases,
the publisher should have a formal governing body, which must approve the publication
decision. "Registered" means registered with the SECP Only.
5. Categories of Research Journals
a. Categorization of national and international journals will be as under:

Indexing Agency Category

All Journals indexed in any of the following collections of Web of Science (WoS): W
i. Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
ii. Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)
iii. Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)
All Journals indexed in following collection of Web of Science (WOS): X
i. Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
i. Pakistani journals indexed in Scopus (other than those indexed in Web of X
Science (WoS)) subject to fulfillment of the following additional criteria:
▪ Indexed with Scopus.
▪ 25% International authorship.
▪ Open Journal Management System (OJS) or similar Journal
Management systems adopted for submission, acceptance, and
rejection as well as peer review process of research articles.
▪ Self-Institutional publication is not allowed.
▪ Published articles peer reviewed by well reputed international
experts in relevant field.
ii. Pakistani journals indexed in Scopus (other than those indexed in Web of
Science (WoS)) which are not fulfilling above mentioned additional Y
criteria).
National journals recommended by HEC local committee Y

b. HEC will announce the annual Call for Applications for Accreditation of Local/National
Research Journals which are not yet indexed in the HEC recognized Indexing Agencies.
c. National research journals will be recognized as per calendar year.
d. HJRS 2023-24 will be applicable till 30th September 2024. Revised policy will be
applicable w.e.f. 1st October 2024.
e. The research journals applications recommended after scrutiny/evaluation under call
for application 2024-2025 will be recognized w.e.f. 1st October 2024 to 31st December
2025. After that annual call will be announced as per policy.
f. The local/national journals will be recommended for ranking in “Y” category based on
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following basic and compulsory criteria:

• Mandatory Eligibility Criteria for Y category (will be checked by HEC, if cleared in

initial scrutiny, will be forwarded for review)
i. ISSN
ii. Journal Title
iii. Journal Publisher/Owner Organization
iv. The journals owned by non-profitable academic societies with the mandate for
research having registration with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan
(SECP) only.
v. URL (Online Journals)
vi. Content Access
vii. Presence of Peer Review Policy
viii. Contact Details
ix. Article Titles and Article Abstracts in English
x. Regularity/Timeliness and/or Publication Volume/Frequency
xi. Website Functionality/ Journal Format
xii. Editorial board and Advisory board comprising of members with PhD degrees in
relevant fields (i.e., area of publication) or FCPS/FRCS/MCPS degree for medical
journals and strong research and publications background Editorial board and
Advisory board are separate entities.
xiii. Defined policy document
xiv. At least two reviewers report for each article are required. Peer review via
OJS/Scholar One or any other online system will be encouraged.
xv. The journal must have published at least 5 articles per issue in the preceding
calendar year.
xvi. A maximum of 20% self-institutional publications are allowed.
xvii. A maximum of one article of an author in an issue, either as principal author (1st
or corresponding) or as co-author, is allowed.
xviii. Editors/Editorial Board members’ publication is not allowed.
xix. National journal recognized by HEC local committee in Y category must be indexed
in Web of Science and/or Scopus within 5 years failing which the local Y category of
journal will be discontinued.

• Quality Criteria for Y (will be evaluated by Experts Committee)

i. Content Relevance/Scope
ii. Bibliographic Information in Roman Script
iii. Presence of Ethical Statements
iv. Editorial Affiliation Details
v. Author Affiliation Details
vi. Scholarly Content
vii. Quality of review
viii. Adherence to Community Standards (Articles in the journal are consistent with
accepted best practices in their subject area).
ix. Appropriate Citations to the Literature
x. Validity of Statements
xi. Clarity of Language

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 g. All completed applications by eligible journals will be evaluated by a review committee
comprised of subject experts.
h. Editors will be informed of the decision and the final list will be made available on the HEC
website.
i. Editors will have the right to appeal against the decision as per the prescribed procedure.

6. Funding to HEC Recognized Research Journals

The following funding limits shall be applicable HEC recognized research journals:
a. HEC provides seed funding up to a maximum amount (Rs. 250,000) for Category Y
Journals; performance-based funding up to a maximum amount (Rs. 450,000) for
Category X journals; and eligibility funding up to a maximum amount (Rs. 700,000) for
Category W journals.
b. Funding is allowed to national research journals in specific categories for a maximum two
years for the following purposes:
i. Registration with one or more well reputed abstracting/indexing agencies
ii. Website maintenance, OJS or similar platform
iii. External peer review fee (national/ international)
c. The funding will be provided for a maximum of 2 years in each category including funds
already provided by HEC.
d. W category journals will continue receiving funding from HEC as long as the journal
Impact Factor increases at least 0.5 points.
7. Monitoring of HEC Recognized Research Journals
a. In case of non-performance, a journal can be delisted/derecognized, as and when
necessary, in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
b. HEC will monitor accredited national research journals through its authorized
representatives/ subject experts, at all reasonable times, to make site visits to review
administration and management of the journal at the Editor institution.
c. Upon unsatisfactory progress of journal, both technical and financial, the journal may
be considered as De-Recognized.
d. Without prejudice to the HEC other rights and remedies under the law, the HEC has
the right at its discretion to de-recognize the journal and require a total or partial
refund of any Grant funds if such action is necessary as a result of the following
circumstances:
i. The HEC is not reasonably satisfied with the progress of journal or the
Statement of Income/Expenditures or the manner in which
Income/expenditure has been incurred; or
ii. The Editor fail to comply with any Term and Condition of HEC The Grantee’s or
the Editor’s failure to comply with the requirements of any applicable law or
regulations.
e. The Editor shall maintain adequate records and supporting documents (including review
record of all issues, Similarity index reports, consents of editorial and advisory board
members, accounts, receipts, and other related record e.g. audit reports, appeals of
authors etc. The journal`s records must be made available for inspection to verify the
expenditures and income received by the journal out of publication activities and to
monitor and conduct an evaluation of operations by any designated Inspection Team
appointed by the HEC at reasonable times and upon reasonable notice.

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8. Capacity Building
The following steps shall be taken for capacity building of editors and members of editorial team:
a. HEC will organize capacity building programs for editors and members of editorial teams
of eligible journals.
b. An open call will be issued on HEC website for nominations from journal editors, who may
nominate any members of their editorial team.
c. All eligible journals (regardless of their funding status) may apply.
d. The selected candidates will be invited to participate in the training workshop.
e. HEC will provide remuneration to resource persons and/or trainers.
f. Collaboration with COPE (Committee on Publishing Ethics) and similar national or
international organizations will be developed in order to strengthen the accreditation
mechanism and mobilize support for training programs.
9. Validity of Research Journals and Verification of Publications
a. Research and Innovation Division of the HEC shall be responsible for the ranking,
financing, and capacity building of journals. It will play no role in establishing or
monitoring criteria for utilization of journals, validity of research journals, or verification
of publications for the purpose of faculty appointments, promotions, appointments as
PhD supervisors, or award of PhD degrees.
b. All the Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) of HEIs are responsible, inter-alia, to facilitate
their faculty/students in verification of their research publications as per criteria in vogue.
QECs may seek access to required online resources through the digital library of HEC as
per prescribed rules.

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