The Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition invites submissions that advance our understanding of the first-year college experience, student transitions, and college student success. We welcome rigorous quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies that examine the first year and other pivotal transition points across the college journey. Manuscripts that center diverse populations and institutional contexts, employ equity-minded approaches to exploring student experiences, and offer clear implications for practice are especially encouraged. Appropriate topics for the Journal include:

• Explorations into the academic, personal, and social experiences—including outcomes related to success, learning, and development—of students at a range of transition points throughout the college years. These transitions include, but are not limited to, the first college year, the transfer transition, the sophomore year, the senior year and transition out of college, and the transition to graduate work. 
• Transition issues unique to specific populations (e.g., non-traditional, traditional, historically underrepresented students, transfer students, commuters, part-time students)
• Explorations of faculty development, curriculum, and pedagogical innovations connected to any of the transitions identified above 

The Journal does not publish manuscripts describing program evaluations or assessments. Manuscripts of this type will not be forwarded for peer review.

Readers include educators with diverse research backgrounds. Therefore, all findings should be presented as clearly as possible. It is important that all relevant methodological information is included in the Method section. In addition, the manuscript should clearly articulate the findings, the significance of those findings, and their implications for theory, practice, policy, and future research. Please see the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for additional guidance on manuscript elements and reporting standards.

Authors are invited to submit an electronic copy of an original manuscript that is not under review by another journal.

All manuscripts should be:

• Prepared in Microsoft Word
• A maximum of 30 double-spaces pages in Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins, inclusive of all references, tables, figures, and an abstratc of 150 words or less. This is approximately 7,500 words.
• Follow the guidance of the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Please supply both an institutional e-mail and personal e-mail for the corresponding author to help speed up the publishing process.

Manuscript submissions or administrative queries about the review process should be e-mailed to nrcjour@mailbox.sc.edu  - you will receive an acknowledgement within 48 hours.

If you wish to discuss any aspect related to the content of your paper with the Editor, Dr. Rishi Sriram, he can be reached at rishi_sriram@baylor.edu. 

Before being forwarded for peer review, manuscripts undergo an initial review by the editor, who determines their appropriateness for the Journal using three broad criteria: (a) Does the research focus on a topic or issue related to the content of the Journal? (b) Is the manuscript a report of empirical research? and (c) Does an initial review of the quality of the manuscript warrant moving forward to peer review? Manuscripts describing program assessments or evaluations will not be forwarded for peer review. Please see the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for additional guidance and recommendations for a strong manuscript.

Reviewers will evaluate manuscripts for acceptance to the Journal along the following lines:

Overall Evaluation:

• Evidence of new findings or ideas
• Potential contribution to the study of college student transitions
• Evidence of a compelling rationale for the research study
• Clarity of writing
• Balance among the length of the Introduction/Literature Review, Methods, and Discussion sections
• Currency and relevance of citations
• Appropriateness and clarity of tables and graphs
• Evidence of grounding in relevant theory and literature
• Usefulness of recommendations for practice and future research

Methodology Review:

• Clarity of research questions
• Adequacy of descriptions of sample and/or sampling methods
• Clarity of descriptions of measures and treatment procedures
• Appropriateness of research design for the study’s hypotheses or research questions
• Appropriateness of statistical tests OR qualitative analyses used
• Clarity of presentation of findings
• Congruence of discussion/recommendation section with the results
• Degree that results are situated in the context of previous studies/professional literature 

Authors will submit only original works and will appropriately cite or quote the work and/or words of others, including their own prior publications. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work should also be cited.

Authors of original research reports should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as a methodologically appropriate interpretation of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to establish trustworthiness, validity, and reliability of the findings. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Authors could be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the manuscript for editorial review if questions about discrepancies in the data arise during the review process. Authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for a period of time consistent with professional and legal standards of practice (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.

Educational research frequently involves work with human subjects. Authors should go through the appropriate Institutional Review Board(s) or regulatory body approval process before conducting their study. Authors should also consider acknowledging this process and approval for the study within the cover letter accompanying the manuscript and the manuscript itself.

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author ensures that all contributing co-authors and no uninvolved persons are included in the author list. The corresponding author also verifies that all co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and have agreed to its submission for publication. Individuals who contributed to the manuscript in a meaningful way but who fall short of the requirements for authorship may be listed in a separate acknowledgment.

Manuscripts describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Manuscripts which have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. In addition, manuscripts under review by the journal should not be simultaneously submitted for review to other copyrighted publications.

All authors should include a statement disclosing any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that may be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Authors should refer to the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for guidance on avoiding bias in their writing. In accordance with our commitment to inclusion, the National Resource Center believes it is unacceptable to use constructions that might imply prejudicial beliefs or perpetuate biased assumptions against persons on the basis of age, disability, gender, racial and ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or some combination of other personal factors. Instead, authors should use affirming and inclusive language. For example, first-year student rather than freshman should be used to describe a student in the first year of postsecondary study.

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and to cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the manuscript in form of an erratum.