What’s the news, and Why Does It Matter?
With growing publication volume but fixed prepaid quotas under national agreements, more Maastricht University authors encounter “caps” earlier each year.
The key publisher deadlines forecast (on 1 August) for 2025 are:
Status | Publishers with a publishing discount quota | Estimated Cap Reached (2025) |
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) | 3rd week of August 2025 | |
Springer | Early November 2025 | |
Taylor & Francis | Mid-October 2025 | |
Oxford University Press (OUP) | October – November 2025 | |
American Chemical Society (ACS) | Early October 2025 | |
Emerald | No cap expected in 2025 | |
Cambridge University Press | No cap expected in 2025 |
After we reach a cap, institutional coverage for APCs through these agreements stops. Unless you have alternative funding or choose a different OA route, you’ll be responsible for charges.
What Should You Do? (Hybrid vs. Fully OA Journals)
Your options depend on the type of journal you selected for your article. This is why we try to convince all researchers also to consider open-access options and coverage of publishing costs when selecting a journal and before submitting a manuscript (see our Publishing & Open Access portal).
Hybrid journals (journals with a subscription model; open-access is optional). After we reach the cap, you can:
- Publish under a subscription (closed) license at no extra cost. The publisher will publish the article behind a paywall. You can still share your Author Accepted Manuscript via green open access. And even share the final published version under the Taverne Amendment. The Taverne amendment allows repository sharing of the published version after 6 months. And the University Library assists you; see “You share, we take care“.
- Alternatively, if you require open access with a publisher’s license (typically CC BY) beyond the cap, you’d need to cover the APC yourself (either as a project or research organisation).
Fully Open Access (OA) journals (no subscription model):
- No publishing license option is available, so open-access is the default; publishing requires an APC (if applicable).
- After the cap, the corresponding author is fully responsible for covering the APC (check if your funder, department, or other sources can help).
If you have a funder that requires immediate open access with a Creative Commons license (e.g., Plan S, ERC grants):
- The green route via Taverne is not compliant (there’s a 6-month embargo and typically no CC license).
- To comply with your funder, you must ensure immediate OA with a CC license, which means you must cover the APC, or you must use rights retention or secure alternative support.
Want timely updates?
- Subscribe to our cap alert mailing service to get notified when we reach a quota.
- We’ll also keep you informed through the UMployee OA-group (Intranet). Join us there for ongoing updates.
- We will also update the Open Access Journal Browser as soon as we reach a cap (links in the table above)
Why Should You Care?
Missing a quota may expose you to unexpected APC invoices, limited dissemination options, or funder compliance issues.
These agreements lower financial barriers, but only while quotas last. Understanding your choices can save you money, time, and compliance headaches.
Questions or Concerns?
Contact the Library’s open-access support for help with open-access publishing or understanding current caps.
And do sign up for notifications so you’ll never be caught off guard, because in open publishing, timing and journal choice matter more than ever.
Think strategically. Act early. Stay open!
More information and contact
Further reading
Thanks for reading our posts. We would like to hear from you.
- Need help? Please use our Ask Your Librarian service for prompt answers to concrete questions and issues.
- If you have general questions, ideas, or feedback, please comment below or message us at openaccess@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
- UM scholars can also engage with us and discuss this topic in our UMployee group [intranet].
- Want to stay informed? Subscribe to our monthly Research Support Update to stay informed about changes and updates.
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