The Big Ten Academic Alliance and Springer Nature have announced the establishment of a two-year Open Publishing Agreement, marking the publisher’s first unlimited and uncapped open access publishing arrangement in the Americas. The agreement grants authors at participating Big Ten Academic Alliance institutions the ability to publish open access in all Springer hybrid journals without article processing charges (APCs), usage caps, or other administrative constraints.
The agreement, the fifth Open Publishing Agreement from the Big Ten Academic Alliance, is described as its most comprehensive to date. Participating institutions include Indiana University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Rutgers University, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Oregon, University of Wisconsin, and the University of Chicago.
Under the agreement, authors from these institutions can make their research publicly accessible without embargo, retaining rights in their work and ensuring immediate availability under a Creative Commons license. In addition, participating institutions gain full read access to Springer’s hybrid portfolio, which includes more than 2,200 titles from Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, Adis, and nature.com.
The arrangement introduces a streamlined administrative process, replacing multiple legacy agreements with a single coordinated contract, and eliminates local administrative burdens associated with processing APCs. The Big Ten Academic Alliance will serve as the central payment administrator for all participating libraries, while Springer Nature will provide automated author identification, dedicated support, educational webinars, and marketing resources to facilitate adoption.
Representatives from both parties emphasized the transformative nature of the agreement. Maria Lopes, Vice President of Institutional Sales at Springer Nature, noted the company’s commitment to expanding the reach of research and its eagerness to collaborate with the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Maurice York, Director of Library Initiatives at the Big Ten Academic Alliance, underscored the value of open access and the importance of partnerships that remove barriers to disseminating research.
The agreement covers all current system and branch campuses and allows for the inclusion of additional institutions during its term. Through this arrangement, the Big Ten Academic Alliance aims to advance open access publishing while simplifying administrative processes and broadening the reach of research outputs.
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