Higher Education Research & Development

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HERDSA’s journal Higher Education Research & Development (HERD) was established in 1982. The journal publishes seven issues a year, including one Special Issue on a theme decided by the editorial team. Occasional Symposia and Virtual Issues will also be published. HERD is published by Taylor & Francis.

HERD is a leading journal in the field of higher education.  HERD’s reputation as a leading journal in higher education has continued to grow. HERD's articles are indexed by the ISI social science citation index, and in 2020, the journal's Impact Factor was 3.851. Google Scholar Metrics currently ranks the journal fourth on their list of the top 20 higher education publications. You can access HERD’s current impact factor and browse the latest articles at www.tandfonline.com/toc/cher20/current.

HERD contributes to HERDSA’s purpose of continuously improving higher education by informing and challenging researchers, teachers, administrators and others concerned with the past, present and future of higher education. The journal publishes scholarly articles that make a significant and original contribution to the field of higher education. Empirical, theoretical, philosophical and historical articles that address higher education in any of its dimensions will be considered. We welcome research that interrogates, challenges and reflects upon pressing issues in higher education, drawing on a range of theoretical and methodological frameworks.  All articles must propose fresh critical insights into the area being addressed and be appropriately framed for an international audience. HERD seeks to foster conversations around particular HE issues and topics over time. To this end, we ask authors to review former issues of HERD and, where possible, engage with previously published articles as part of preparing your manuscript for submission to us. 

Editorial Team

The Editorial Team is led by:

Joint Executive Editors 

Dr. Susan Blackley, Australia, and 
Dr. Cally Guerin, ANU, Australia

Emily Giles is the HERD Managing Editor. 

Co-Editors

Dr. Jisun Jung, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong SAR
Assoc. Prof. Neal Dreamson, The State University of New York, Korea (SUNY Korea)
Dr. Rob Wass, University of Otago, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Dr. Stephen Marshall, Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand

Special Issues Editor 
Dr. Stephen Marshall, Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand

Social Media Editor 
Stuart Hughes.

Click Taylor and Francis journal information for a full listing of the Editorial Team, Associate Editors and Editorial Advisory Board.

Contribute to the reviewing work of HERD

HERDis seeking reviewers to work with the editorial team on managing the double-blind peer-review process for submitted papers. HERD’s peer review process upholds the standard of scholarship published in the journal and provides a developmental space for researchers to receive helpful, informed feedback on their work.
Both experienced reviewers, who meet the criteria for the College of Reviewers, and those new to reviewing are encouraged to apply.  

College of Reviewers

The College of Reviewers provides HERD with a pool of internationally recognised higher education scholars who are willing to review 3 to 4 manuscripts per year in HERD’s required timeframe (4 weeks). Members of the College of Reviewers meet the following criteria, based on the depth and recency of their publications: at least three publications in peer reviewed higher education journals in the past decade.

Applying to become a reviewer for HERD

If you would like to apply to become a HERD reviewer, please send your CV, complete with details of reviewing experience, other relevant scholarly experience and publications to the Managing Editor, Emily Giles, herd.giles@gmail.com

Submission of manuscripts

All submissions should be made online at the  Higher Education Research & Development ScholarOne site.

Submitted manuscripts of no more than 7000 words including abstract (200 words max) and references should not have been published elsewhere (though they may be based on a prior conference presentation or the like) and should not be under consideration concurrently by another journal.

Instructions for Authors

Authors are advised to read the detailed  Instructions for Authors when preparing for review manuscripts for submission to HERD.

Obtaining the journal

1. Individuals receive as a benefit of HERDSA membership. Free online access is available through your member dashboard.
2. Institutions and libraries wishing to purchase HERD can do so by subscribing directly through the publisher Taylor and Francis Journals (ISSN 0729-4360).