College Student Affairs Journal

Purpose:
The College Student Affairs Journal publishes articles related to research, concepts, and practices that have implications for both practitioners and scholars in college student affairs work.

Types of Manuscripts Accepted:
As a national peer reviewed professional journal, The College Student Affairs Journal primarily seeks manuscripts which report original qualitative or quantitative research results regarding topics of interest to student affairs practitioners, graduate students and faculty.

Authors should inquire with the editors at CSAJ@sacsa.org prior to submitting non-research articles or articles of other types (e.g., updates on professional issues, examinations of legal and policy issues, dialogues and debates, historical articles, literature reviews, opinion pieces, or projections of future trends).

Publication Schedule:
Twice yearly, fall and spring.

Circulation:
1,200

Index:
Currently Indexed to ERIC, EBSCO, Journals in Education, and Higher Education Abstracts.

Concurrent Submissions to Other Publications:
Not accepted.

Style Guide:
Manuscripts should follow the style of the Seventh Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). Authors should particularly note this manual’s recommendation to use active voice and first person narration. All copy should be typed, double-spaced in Times New Roman 12-point font with notes, references, tables, and figures appearing at the end of the manuscript per APA style. Please note that all tables and figures should be included in the manuscript file, not as separate files.

Recommended Length:
Manuscripts submitted for the Articles section generally range between 5,500 and 7,000 words including abstract, tables, figures, and references. The abstract should be 100-150 words.

Figures and Graphs:
Supply camera-ready art.

Manuscript Submission:
Authors should prepare and submit a single masked version of their manuscript. All author identification information is to be entered in the manuscript submission system. Should any further information be needed (e.g. funding source acknowledgement), please submit a cover page as the second file uploaded. The primary file must be the masked version. You should not include tables and figures as separate files. All tables and figures should be included in the manuscript file.

If this instruction is not followed, then the article will have to be unsubmitted and the author requested to resubmit.

Review Process:
All submissions are refereed using a blind review system. Upon submission through Scholastica, the Editorial Team completes a desk review. Evaluative criteria include significance of topic, clarity of presentation, style of writing, usefulness to practitioners and/or importance for scholarship, contribution to the student affairs profession, and quality of methodology or program. Notification of acceptance or rejection of all manuscripts will be made by the Senior Editor. All manuscripts received and approved for publication become the property of the Association. The Senior Editor reserves the right to edit or rewrite accepted articles to meet the Journal’s standards.

Revise and Resubmit:
When you revise your manuscript please highlight the changes you make in the manuscript by using the track changes mode in MS Word. Please DO NOT simply bold or highlight your revisions. You will need to upload two versions of your revised article following the same procedure as for submitting your initial version:

1. A version with track changes visible should be resubmitted and titled “track changes.”

2. A "clean” version should be resubmitted and titled "manuscript for review purposes.”

Please ensure that both versions are entirely anonymous.

Additionally, please submit a file named "Author’s Response to Decision” to detail the changes you have made and in response to which reviewer comments. Please do not identify yourself (and your co-authors if applicable). The text entered here is potentially sent to reviewers and the author/s must be anonymous. Failure to follow these instructions will result in the rejection of the manuscript. All editorial decisions are considered final.

Media Reviews:
We are now accepting book reviews, as well as reviews of other forms of media, to be considered for publication in the College Student Affairs Journal. Review submissions should be between 750-1500 words. Authors should be very clear in making a connection between the reviewed work and practice in student affairs. When submitting a media review, include [media review] at the beginning of the title

Graduate Student Scholarship (GSS):
Graduate students (all listed authors must be graduate students at time of submission) are encouraged to submit their scholarly efforts. While a class paper is a good place to start, adjustments should be made to reflect the general structure of articles published in CSAJ. GSS submissions should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words including abstract (100-150 words), tables, figures, and references. Authors should be very clear in making a connection between their work and practice in student affairs. When submitting a GSS manuscript, include [GSS] at the beginning of the title.

Editorial Correspondence:
CSAJ@sacsa.org