Journal of College Student Development

Preparing Your Manuscript

Before submitting, we encourage authors to read past articles of JCSD to understand better the types of submissions we accept. 

We handle all manuscript submissions and reviews through our web-based Editorial Manager™ (EM) system. JCSD's EM web page may be accessed here. Authors submit manuscripts and track progress through all stages of the review process.

Never submit manuscripts under consideration by another publication. The corresponding author must affirm the non-duplication of submission in the cover letter.

Unless noted differently below, follow the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for reference style and general guidelines. We follow the 7th Edition of the APA Manual. For those authors accustomed to the APA 6th Edition manual, we recommend learning about changes between the manuals here.

We also encourage authors to consult our JCSD Supplemental Guide for Bias-Free Writing here.

Page Limits

Feature Articles should not exceed 30 pages total, including references, tables, and figures.

Research in Brief submissions should not exceed 9 pages total, including references, tables, and figures.

Translational Education Research submissions should not exceed 5 pages, including references, tables, and figures.

Abstracts and cover pages are not included in the overall word count. All pages must be in 12-point Times New Roman font. Authors can learn about the focus of each manuscript type at myacpa.org/jcsd/.

Required Components

You are required to submit at least two documents to the Editorial Manager system.

Title Page file. Place the title, the names of the authors, their professional titles, and their institutional affiliations in one file. Include the contact information for the corresponding author and a phone number for the editor if there is a follow-up question not best suited for email. This file will be separate from the manuscript for the review. We recommend the following format:

1. List authors’ full names, on separate lines, no degrees or titles. Then complete for each author: [Name] is [position] of [department] at [institution].
   or: [Name] is [position] at [organization] in [city, state].
2. Then for the contact author: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to [Name], [mailing address]; [email address]
   Either address is optional; include at least one.

Manuscript file. Your manuscript file should have the title and abstract on the first page. Abstracts should be located below the title. Abstracts should clearly describe the primary intent and outcome of the manuscript. Abstracts should be between 100 - 200 words total. Follow APA 7th edition guidelines for headings (Section 2.9).

We do not require abstracts for Research in Brief submissions. 

We recommend authors upload tables and figures in a separate document from the manuscript file. Include only essential data in tables and combine tables whenever possible. In the manuscript file, authors should include [INSERT TABLE/FIGURE # HERE] where appropriate. The final placement is at the discretion of the layout editor.

Figures should be generated as a high resolution (300 dpi), black and white (no color, avoid grayscale) graphic image suitable for publication and saved as a separate image file in a standard format, such as (in this order of preference): Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX), Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), Tagged Image File (TIF), or bitmap (BMP) file. All text in a figure should be set with a sans serif font (Arial, Helvetica, Swiss). Include the figure number, title, and any additional text in the manuscript document, but not in the image; and name the file to associate it with the caption text. Submit each figure as an individual file with its caption to include with the submitted manuscript.

Manuscript Formatting

Manuscripts must be clear, concise, and engaging with a well-organized development of ideas. All submissions should have an 8.5x11" layout with 1-inch margins, be double-spaced (including references), use 12-point Times New Roman font, and with page numbers in the top right corner. Please make sure to indent paragraphs. Block quotations of 40 words or more should be double-spaced.

On your title page, please include a word count for your paper.

Lengthy quotations (a total of 300 or more words from one source) require written permission from the copyright holder for reproduction. The adaptation of tables and figures also requires such approval. The author is responsible for securing such authorization. A copy of the publisher's written permission must be provided to the JCSD editor immediately upon acceptance of the article for publication.

Masking Your Manuscript

Manuscripts sent out for review are processed through a masked review system, where authors and reviewers do not know one another. To facilitate this process, we ask authors to mask their manuscripts appropriately, meaning the submission does not contain clues to the identity of the author(s) or institutional affiliation(s) outside of the title page. The manuscript title should not be one that connects the author to their previous work; a Google search will help you identify potential links between your proposed title and past works. Authors should also appropriate mask references and citations in the manuscript. The following are examples of citations that should be masked:

• Self-citation that are “in press” or “under review”
  • Example: Torres (in press)
  • Should be: Author (in press)
• Self-referential citations that reveal author identity
  • Example: In my own work, I have found that authors appropriately mask their submissions more often than not (Liddell, 2019).
  • Should be rephrased so the self-referential component is removed: Liddell (2019) found that authors appropriately mask their submissions more often than not. 
• Institution Name (most often the case in the methods section)
  • Example: We conducted the study at the University of Iowa.
  • Study sites could be described using institutional characteristics without an institutional pseudonym: We conducted the study at a large, Midwestern university.
  • Study sites could also be given an institutional pseudonym: We conducted the study at State University, a large university located in the Midwestern United States.
• References to institution-specific documents
  • Please mask these as Institutional Document Masked for Review.

When adding masked citations to your reference list, please make sure to placed masked citations in alphabetical order per their masked version. For instance, a masked citation in-text of Author (2019) or Author (in press) should appear with the other A’s in the reference list, not in the place where it should be when unmasked. If your manuscript is selected for publication, these components will get corrected at the copyright and acceptance phase.  

Differently than other journals, however, we ask authors who cite their own work to leave those citations in the manuscript, so long as they are not self-referential. We believe masked citations may actually point to the identity of the author in the review process, rather than protect it. Authors should use their best judgment in this process while knowing the Publication Coordinator will complete an initial standards check for these issues.

Finally, please make sure to not include any institutional proxy links in your reference list. Often, these links are not necessary for APA citational purposes and reveal one or more authors’ institutional affiliation. Authors should ensure that none of their links reveal any of the authors’ institutional locations.

Submitting Your Manuscript

The Editorial Manager system takes authors through a step-by-step process to submit their manuscripts. All corresponding authors will need a profile through Editorial Manager for JCSD.

Editorial Manager link: editorialmanager.com/jcsd/default.aspx

To preview your files before submission, you will also need Adobe Reader. We suggest downloading and installing it before your submission, if not already installed on your device. You can download Adobe Reader for free at get.adobe.com/reader/.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To submit your manuscript:

• Click “Submit New Manuscript”
• Select the Article Type: Feature Article, Research in Brief, or Public Scholarship
• Attach the required files. Please remove any indicator of either author(s) or institution(s) in the file names. For JCSD, the following files should be uploaded separately:
  • A cover sheet with author information (required)
  • A masked version of your manuscript (required)
  • A cover letter
  • Figures, tables, and/or graphs
• Select Region of Origin. If there are multiple authors, select the region of the corresponding author.
• Add classifications for your manuscript. You must select a minimum of 1 but can select up to 5. Please select both content classifications and methods classifications. For methods classifications, select specific classifications. Do not choose just the overall method classification (the bolded classifications). Click the "+" sign to select appropriate classifications. If your method is not listed, please select “other quantitative/qualitative method” option.
• On the next screen, please indicate any opposed reviewers. If none, please click “Proceed.”
• Please confirm the manuscript is not under review with another publication. If this manuscript is being submitted for a special issue of the journal, please indicate so in the other text box.
• On the next screen, please insert the manuscript title, abstract, and authors.
  • For your title, make sure to submit one that does not link you back to the manuscript. We recommend doing a Google search of your manuscript title and seeing if the first page of hits comes back with a link to you or your previous work.
• When you click “Build PDF for Approval,” make sure to wait for the system to build the PDF file for your review. Once it has, open it to ensure the files uploaded correctly and are ready for initial standards check by the Publication Coordinator. Only after you approve the submission will it send to the journal office.

If you have any difficulty access or using Editorial Manager, please contact the Publication Coordinator at jcsd@acpa.nche.edu.

The Hopkins Press Journals Ethics and Malpractice Statement can be found at the ethics-and-malpractice page.

Peer Review Policy

The Journal of College Student Development features quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies in areas that include student development, professional development, professional issues, administrative concerns in higher education, and creative programs to improve student services and student learning. JCSD publishes original work, replication of research, and reviews of research. We primarily publish empirical studies but will consider reviews and essays about professional preparation, theoretical advancement, methodological concerns, and organizational and professional issues that may occur in a higher education context within or outside the U.S. Manuscripts can be submitted in the form of Feature Articles (30 pages or less), Research in Brief (9 pages or less), or On the Campus manuscripts (7 pages or less). Book reviews are submitted to the Associate Editor of book reviews by invitation only.

Manuscripts sent for review undergo a double-masked review process. Possible editor decisions include desk rejection / send for full review, revise or reject after review, and acceptance. Occasionally feature submissions are referred to the Research in Brief section. The timeline for a submitted manuscript is dependent on whether and how many times it is sent to reviewers and back to the author for revisions. A preliminary desk review by the editor takes roughly 4-6 weeks to complete. If sent out for review, and for each subsequent revision sent to reviewers, a manuscript will take an additional 4-6 weeks until it’s sent back to the author. If accepted, the time between acceptance until publication is an estimated 6 months.

Editor

Robert Reason, Iowa State University

Executive Associate Editor and Research in Brief

Jay Garvey, University of Vermont

Associate Editor for International and Translational Education Research

Ebelia Hernández, Rutgers University

Associate Editor for Book Reviews

Sherry K. Watt, University of Iowa

Editorial Board

Taryn Allen, Texas Christian University (2023)
James Soto Antony, Harvard Univeristy (2025)
Zarrina Azizova, University of North Dakota (2024)
Cameron Beatty, Florida State University (2024)
Katherine Branch, University of Rhode Island (2024)
Yuhao Cen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (2025)
Michael Denton, University of Southern Florida (2025)
Antonio Duran, Auburn University (2023)
Becki Elkins, University of Wisconsin La Crosse (2024)
Tomika Ferguson, Virginia Commonwealth University (2024)
Maureen Flint, University of Georgia (2023)
Zac Foste, University of Kansas (2025)
Ann Gansemer-Topf, Iowa State University (2022)
Crystal Garcia, University of Nebraska Lincoln (2024)
Chrystal George Mwangi, University of Massachusetts Amherst (2023)
Kevin Hemer, University of Colorado, Boulder (2025)
Joshua Holmes, Suffolk University (2024)
Anne Hornak, Central Michigan University (2025)
Susan VanDeventer Iverson, Manhattanville College (2023)
Susan Jones, The Ohio State University (2024)
Amrita Kaur, Wenzhou-Kean University (2025)
Cindy Ann Kilgo, University of Alabama (2023)
Ezekiel Kimball, University of Massachusetts Amherst (2021)
Aurelia Kollasch, Iowa State University (2021)
Katie Koo, Texas A&M University-Commerce (2024)
Carrie Kortegast, Northern Illinois University (2022)
Joseph Kitchen, University of Southern California (2025)
Leilani Kupo, University of California Merced (2021)
Alex Lange, Colorado State University (2025)
Jodi L. Linley, University of Iowa (2023)
Lucy LePeau, Indiana University (2025)
Thierry Luescher, Human Sciences Research Council (2025)
Carol A. Lundberg, California State University Fullerton (2023)
Jason Lynch, Old Dominion University (2023)
Jacqueline Mac, Northern Illinois University (2025)
Dina Maramba, ​Claremont Graduate University (2023)​
Laila McCloud, Western Illinois University (2024)
Brian McGowan, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (2024)
Keon McGuire, Arizona State University (2023)
Ryan Miller, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (2022)
Darris Roshawn Means, University of Pittsburgh (2023)
Demetri Morgan, Loyola University Chicago (2024)
Z Nicolazzo, University of Arizona (2025)
Elizabeth Niehaus, University of Nebraska Lincoln (2022)
Wilson Kwamogi Okello, University of North Carolina at Wilmington (2024)
Avery Olson, California State University Long Beach (2024)
Rosemary J. Perez, Iowa State University (2023)
Kris Renn, Michigan State University (2024)
Blanca Rincon, University of Nevada Las Vegas (2022)
Hyun Kyoung Ro, University of North Texas (2024)
Claire K. Robbins, Virginia Tech University (2023)
Maurice Shirley, Indiana University (2024)
Birgit Schreiber, Stellenbosch University (2022)
Tricia Shalka, University of Rochester (2022)
Rachel Smith, Iowa State University (2024)
Terah (TJ) Stewart, Iowa State University (2024)
Dian Squire, Northern Arizona University (2025)
Dan Tillapaugh, California Lutheran University (2023)
Teniell L. Trolian, University of Albany (2023)
Christina Yao, University of South Carolina (2025)
Dallin George Young, University of South Carolina (2023)

Send books for review to:

Two copies of materials for which reviews are requested should be sent to Sherry K. Watt, Associate Editor, Journal of College Student Development, Education Policy and Leadership Studies, N485 Lindquist Center, Iowa City, IA 52242 or via email at jcsdbookreview@acpa.nche.edu. Because of space limitation in the Journal, not all materials will be reviewed. Materials submitted for review will not be returned.

Please send book review copies to the contact above. Review copies received by the Johns Hopkins University Press office will be discarded.

Abstracting & Indexing Databases

• Clarivate Analytics
  • Current Contents
  • Web of Science
• EBSCOhost
  • Biography Index: Past and Present (H.W. Wilson), vol.25, 1984-vol.25, 1984
  • Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson), Mar.1983-Nov.1987
  • Chicano Database, v.11, n.06, 1970-v.27, n.6, 1986
  • Current Abstracts, 1/1/2003-
  • Education Abstracts (H.W. Wilson), 3/1/1983-11/1/1987
  • Education Index (Online), 1983/03-1987/11
  • Education Index Retrospective: 1929-1983, 11/1/1969-1/2/1983
  • Education Research Complete, 1/1/2003-
  • Education Research Index, Jan.2003-
  • Education Source, 11/1/1969-11/1/1987
  • ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), 1988-
  • Gender Studies Database, 1/1/1988-
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson), 3/1/1983-11/1/1987
  • PsycINFO, 1971-
  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale)
  • Social Work Abstracts (Online)
  • SocINDEX, 9/1/1970-3/1/1987
  • SocINDEX with Full Text, 9/1/1970-3/1/1987
  • TOC Premier (Table of Contents), 1/1/2003-
• Elsevier BV
  • Scopus, 1996-
• E-psyche, coverage dropped
• ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
  • ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), 1988-
• Gale
  • Gale Academic OneFile
  • Gale OneFile: Educator's Reference Complete, 01/1988-
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
• John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  • Higher Education Abstracts (Online)
• National Library of Medicine
  • PubMed
• OCLC
  • ArticleFirst, vol.36, no.3, 1995-vol.40, no.4, 1999
  • Education Index (Online), 1983/03-1987/11
  • Electronic Collections Online, vol.29, no.1, 1988-vol.52, no.6, 2011
  • PsycFIRST, vol.42, no.1, 2001-vol.50, no.5, 2009
• Ovid
  • ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), 1988-
  • PsycINFO, 1971-
  • Social Work Abstracts (Online)
• Personal Alert (E-mail)
• ProQuest
  • Education Collection, 3/1/2003-
  • Education Database, 3/1/2003-
  • ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), 1988-
  • Health Research Premium Collection, 3/1/2003-
  • Healthcare Administration Database, 03/01/2003-
  • Hospital Premium Collection, 3/1/2003-
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • Periodicals Index Online
  • Professional ProQuest Central, 03/01/1997-
  • ProQuest 5000, 03/01/1997-
  • ProQuest 5000 International, 03/01/1997-
  • ProQuest Central, 03/01/2003-
  • ProQuest Professional Education, 03/01/2003-
  • Psychology Database, 3/1/2003-
  • PsycINFO, 1971-
  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale)
  • Social Science Premium Collection, 03/01/2003-
• Taylor & Francis
  • Educational Research Abstracts Online

Abstracting & Indexing Sources

• Chicano Index   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Contents Pages in Education   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Family Index   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Philanthropic Studies Index   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Psychological Abstracts   (Ceased)  (Print)

Source: Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory.

1.6 (2023)
2.7 (Five-Year Impact Factor)
0.00191 (Eigenfactor™ Score)

Rank in Category (by Journal Impact Factor):
277 of 756 journals, in “Education & Educational Research”
68 of 113journals, in “Psychology, Applied”

© Clarivate Analytics 2024

Published six times a year

Readers include: Members of the American College Personnel Association; and administrators, faculty members, and professional staff of colleges and universities

Print circulation: 350

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