Officials from higher education institutions in the U.S. are showing their support – and opposition – to the proposed Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA), S.2695. More than 100 university presidents and provosts, including VCU Provost and VP of Academic Affairs Stephen Gottfredson, have gone on record in support of the legislation. FRPAA would require researchers who receive funding from federal agencies to make their research articles available freely online within 6 months of publication in a peer-reviewed journal. However, support is not unanimous among the higher education community and senior officers from at least 10 academic institutions have registered concerns in a letter of their own. The letter expresses the view that mandating free access to publications could have negative consequences for scientific publishers and ultimately undermine the peer review process and the integrity of the scientific record.
For more information on FRPAA, check the following sites:
The Alliance for Taxpayer Access
SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition