From 1 April 2026, research articles and conference papers accepted for publication and authored by Loughborough staff and doctoral researchers will be automatically covered by the University’s Institutional Rights Retention Policy.
What are the benefits?
If you’re preparing articles, this change simplifies the process of making your work Open Access immediately, ensuring your work can be read and cited sooner. It also makes sure your article meets the Open Access expectations of research funders from across the world including the UK’s upcoming research assessment exercise, REF 2029.
What’s changing?
Previously, authors needed to add a Rights Retention statement to their manuscript to retain the right to reuse and openly publish their work before signing a publisher agreement. Now, publishers have been notified by the Library that authors will retain these rights by default.
Once the article is published, the Library can make your Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) openly available in the Research Repository immediately. The AAM is the final author-created version that incorporates peer-review comments and is accepted for publication. Publishers often ask that an embargo is placed on the AAM in our repository for 6-24 months, but this will no longer be required.
What do doctoral researchers need to do?
- Deposit your AAM in the Research Repository via LUPIN as soon as it’s accepted. Any Loughborough author can do this, it does not have to be the lead author.
- If you are working with co‑authors from another institution, let them know that Loughborough operates a Rights Retention Policy.
- Contact the Library Open Research team if you have any questions or if you wish to discuss opting out for a specific article.
For more information on the update, please read our Institutional Rights Retention webpages. If you or your collaborators want to learn more, you can share our webpages or contact the Library Open Research team for assistance.