Open Access Policy

Policies

Zegu Press

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Purpose

This policy aims to make high-quality educational resources accessible worldwide, supporting enhanced teaching and learning. ZEGU aims to contribute to international knowledge exchange, social cohesion, and a peaceful, sustainable world by sharing knowledge.

Scope

The policy applies to all ZEGU students, staff, and researchers whose works are copyrighted by the university.

Definitions

Open Educational Resources (OER) : Teaching, learning, and research materials in any format that is publicly accessible or under an open license, allowing free use, reuse, adaptation, and redistribution.

Open Access : Making literature freely available on the public internet, enabling unrestricted reading, downloading, copying, distribution, and use.

Policy Processes / Responsibilities

University Librarian : Manages policy implementation and Open Educational Resources (OER) publication.

Repository Administrator/Systems Librarian : Responsible for repository management under the University Librarian’s supervision.

Library Staff : Support Open Educational Resources (OER) discovery, creation, publishing, and digital literacy and ICT skills.

Faculty Deans : Review and approve faculty content for publication.

University Library Committee : Responsible for content vetting, policy interpretation, embargo determinations, and disputes.

DSpace : A free, open-source software for managing and preserving digital content, supporting access to various media types.

Depositor : The creator who submits digital items and metadata for inclusion in the repository.

Open Access Journals : Scholarly journals available online without cost, providing unrestricted access.

Intellectual property : Original, useful works, processes, or inventions, including academic outputs like articles, software, artistic works, and inventions.

Open License : A license that permits access, use, and distribution under specified conditions, such as Creative Commons licenses.

Eligible Content for Open Educational Resources (OER)

Content may be in various formats (text, images, audio-visuals, etc.) and include:

Peer-reviewed articles.
Open books, book chapters, and manuscripts.
Theses, dissertations, and research projects.
Lecture notes, course modules, and assessments.
Quizzes, workshop proceedings, policies, manuals, and yearbooks.
Academic illustrations, diagrams, videos, podcasts, and animations.

Licensing

Open Educational Resources (OER) under this policy are licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial-Share-Alike (CC BY-NC-SA) license, allowing free use with proper attribution to ZEGU. Any commercial use or content alteration without matching licensing requires ZEGU’s written approval.

Legal Framework :

The Policy adheres to:

University Intellectual Property Rights.
Copyright Act.
ZEGU’s data protection, open access, and research policies.
Trademark Act.

Creating and Publishing Open Educational Resources (OER), Staff and students should:

Include ZEGU branding and affiliations on resources.
Obtain Faculty Dean or Committee approval before creating Open Educational Resources (OER).
Ensure compliance with legislation and university policies before external publication.
Publish using the CC BY-NC-SA License and deposit materials in ZEGU’s repository.

Submission Guidelines

All Open Educational Resources (OER) creators must verify their rights to publish materials and ensure they comply with copyright, intellectual property rights (IPR), data protection, and accessibility guidelines.
If alternate Creative Commons licenses are necessary, they should be reviewed and used as appropriate.
Personal Identifiable Information (PII) in resources must comply with data protection laws, and resources containing PII based on consent must recognize the risk of consent withdrawal.

Quality Control

Submissions undergo quality checks by content creators and the Quality Assurance Director (QAD) before publication to maintain high standards in all Open Educational Resources (OER) content.