COAP Fund Instructions for Application and Reimbursement

1. Are you a Columbia faculty or staff member, postdoc, or currently enrolled graduate or undergraduate student?
2. Are you applying for funds to help underwrite article-processing charges related to publishing your peer-reviewed scholarly article in an open-access journal?
3. Are you publishing in an open-access journal that provides unfettered access to all peer-reviewed articles; has publicly available a standard article fee schedule; is a member of the Open Access Publishers Association OR adheres to its Code of Conduct; and has a policy to waive fees in cases of economic hardship?
4. Can you confirm that you do not have any other source of funding to cover article-processing fees?
5. Was your article accepted for publication after January 1, 2010?

See the fund guidelines or frequently asked questions for more information.

Apply for Approval

Please apply for COAP funds upon your article’s acceptance for publication.

• Fill out the application form and submit it online.

If your request for COAP funding is approved, you can then submit a request for reimbursement.

Reimbursement Instructions

You will need to pay article-processing fees to your publisher either using a credit card or personal check, or departmental funds available to you. Retain the invoice from the publisher and the proof of payment.

Then, submit the appropriate forms to request reimbursement. They are:

1. Proof of payment.

Acceptable proofs of payment are:

• Canceled check (or copy of both the front and back of a canceled check)
• Credit card receipt (original required)
• Credit card statement

2. Forms that facilitate the Columbia accounting process.

Choose one of the following options.

Option 1: If you paid the article-processing fee with personal funds, fill out and sign:

• a W-9 form AND
• a Travel and Business Expense form

Option 2: If you paid the article-processing fee with departmental funds, fill out:

• an Interdepartmental Invoice (Your departmental administrator can assist with this process.)
  

When possible, you may email the documents (scanning any signed forms) to coapfund@columbia.edu. You can also fax documents to 212-854-9099, attn: Fernanda or mail them to::