Publications Policy

GiST, as an academic publication managed by the Publications Office of ÚNICA, fully adheres to the institutional principles and standards that govern all official editorial activities of the university. In line with this commitment, the following section presents the corresponding policy in English; the original Spanish version is available on ÚNICA’s official website.

Aim

This policy seeks to organize and strengthen the publication guidelines of the Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana – ÚNICA, ensuring quality, transparency, and ethics in editorial processes. It also aims to consolidate institutional publications as platforms for academic exchange, knowledge dissemination, and research internationalization.

Additionally, the policy supports the fulfillment of the Institutional Mission by promoting the professional development of teachers whose pedagogical and research practices enhance the educational system, generate relevant knowledge, foster social equity, and drive competitiveness and economic development.

Scope

This policy applies to all academic publications—both print and digital—that are produced, endorsed, or managed by the Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana – ÚNICA. These include institutional journals, working paper series, conference proceedings, research books, systematizations, scientific dissemination materials, and outputs resulting from training processes.

The Publications Office aims to increase the visibility of research, essays, and academic texts, upholding high standards of quality and relevance. These works are developed by academics and professionals who contribute to educational transformation. In particular, the Publications Office promotes the publication of works that advance bilingualism, sustainability, inclusion, and pedagogical innovation, in accordance with ÚNICA’s mission and guiding principles

Regulations and policies

This policy is grounded in the Political Constitution of Colombia; Law 30 of 1992; Law 23 of 1982 and other regulations on copyright and intellectual property; Decree 1075 of 2015 (Single Regulatory Decree for the Education Sector); Decree 1330 of 2019 and its amendments; and the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). It is further aligned with the institutional policies on Research, Internationalization, and Communications, as well as the Intellectual Production Regulations of the Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana – ÚNICA

Publications Policy

The Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana – ÚNICA adopts this Publication Policy as an institutional commitment to ensuring quality, transparency, and ethics in all editorial processes, and to establishing its publications as platforms for academic exchange, knowledge dissemination, and international research collaboration. In line with national regulations and international editorial ethics guidelines, the Institution is dedicated to providing the human, technical, administrative, and financial resources required for the effective implementation and long-term sustainability of this policy.

Furthermore, ÚNICA assumes responsibility for promoting training, support, visibility, and bibliodiversity in academic production, consistent with its mission principles of relevance, quality, open access, and editorial ethics.

1. Guiding Principles

The Publication Policy is guided by the following principles, in alignment with institutional policies on research, internationalization, and communications:

  • Relevance: Publications must address the needs of the educational, social, and pedagogical context, with particular emphasis on bilingualism and inclusive education.
  • Academic Quality: Scientific rigor, sound argumentation, and adherence to international standards in editing, review, and publication processes are ensured.
  • Open Access: All publications will be freely available to both authors and readers, upholding the principle of democratizing knowledge. Publications will be distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 license, permitting PDF downloads provided the author is cited and no modifications are made.
  • Visibility, Dissemination, and Impact: Strategies will be developed and implemented to enhance the national and international reach of researchers’ work through our editorial channels. Publications serve as vehicles for knowledge circulation, academic community building, and the strengthening of collaboration and learning networks.
  • Bibliodiversity: The active promotion of bibliodiversity, defined as the inclusion of diverse voices, languages, formats, topics, and perspectives, is a priority. This diversity enriches the editorial ecosystem, represents multiple forms of knowledge, and upholds principles of equity, plurality, and accessibility in academic production.
  • Editorial Ethics: The policy promotes honesty, the declaration of conflicts of interest, respect for copyright, prevention of plagiarism, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. It adopts the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which offers expert guidance, training, and a collaborative community to strengthen editorial integrity. For more information, visit: https://publicationethics.org/
  • Non-Discrimination: All academic contributions will be evaluated objectively and solely on their academic merit, with a commitment to non-discrimination.

2. Lines of Action of the Publications Office

The Publications Office operates according to the following lines of action:

  • Creation and Strengthening: Promote, coordinate, and consolidate the Institution’s various academic publications.
  • Circulation and Open Access: Ensure that all content is accessible through reliable digital platforms and adheres to open access principles.
  • Dissemination and Visibility: Develop and implement strategies to enhance the reach and impact of publications within academic communities.
  • Support and Training: Provide editorial guidance to faculty, students, and external authors, fostering training in writing, publishing, and editorial ethics.
  • Editorial Curation: Apply rigorous quality and relevance criteria in the selection, editing, and publication of content, while respecting thematic and institutional diversity.
  • Editorial Management and Sustainability: Plan and execute technical, administrative, and budgetary processes to ensure the continuity, quality, and coherence of the editorial system.
  • Community Building: Conceive editorial work as a bridge between researchers and readers, with the editor’s mission focused on cultivating an open, critical, and collaborative academic community.
  • Pedagogical Support: Recognize the editor’s role as a pedagogue, accompanying authors throughout the production, training, and professionalization processes.

3. Institutional Management and Articulation

  • Relationship to the Research Policy: This policy complements the Institutional Research Policy. Publications serve as a vehicle for disseminating research results, reinforcing the INNOBED research group, and integrating teaching, research, and outreach activities.
  • Relationship to the Internationalization Policy: Publications are recognized as a key tool for international projection, enabling participation in academic networks, facilitating academic mobility and inter-institutional collaborations, and enhancing the global visibility of academic output.
  • Relationship to the Communications Policy: The Publications Office collaborates with the Communications Directorate to disseminate published content through diverse internal and external channels. This partnership ensures appropriate use of the institutional image, effective audience segmentation, and brand coherence.
  • Specific Procedures: The Institution establishes clear procedures for the production, evaluation, dissemination, and preservation of academic and research content. These procedures define editorial protocols that guarantee the quality, integrity, and consistency of publications, in accordance with the principles outlined in this policy. They specify accepted publication formats, dissemination mechanisms, editorial support for authors, and guidelines for the use of tools such as artificial intelligence and other technological advances that may impact academic publishing standards. Procedures will be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect changes in the editorial landscape. They will be made available on the website of each editorial line or may be consulted directly with the Publications Coordination.