Journal profile · EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Active Learning in Higher Education
ISSN 1469-7874 · eISSN 1741-2625 · SAGE
Active Learning in Higher Education: CAS Zone 1 · Education (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 2.99; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,900; review about 316 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 3.7% (journal website); 37 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Active Learning in Higher Education is published by SAGE and is in Zone 1 of Education in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Online and Blended Learning, Evaluation of Teaching Practices and Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods, together about 37% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Active Learning in Higher Education is a leading international publication for all those who teach and support learning in higher education and those who undertake or use research into effective learning, teaching and assessment in universities and colleges.View full journal description This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Editor-in-chief Sinéad McNallyPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 6, United Kingdom 5, Australia 5, Ireland 4, Germany 2 (28 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Online and Blended LearningSocial Sciences15.3%
- Evaluation of Teaching PracticesSocial Sciences13%
- Innovative Teaching and Learning MethodsPsychology8.7%
- Reflective Practices in EducationSocial Sciences8.3%
- Student Assessment and FeedbackSocial Sciences7%
- Innovative Teaching MethodsSocial Sciences6.8%
- Higher Education Practises and EngagementSocial Sciences5.5%
- Communication in Education and HealthcarePsychology3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Education Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Education Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Education Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.99LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 13.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.08LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.67LetPub ·
- h-index
- 93OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 386OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 34.04%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 36LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 693 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35 | 20 | 12 |
| 2025 | 37 | 19 | 78 |
| 2024 | 33 | 17 | 225 |
| 2023 | 29 | 13 | 275 |
| 2022 | 34 | 10 | 591 |
| 2021 | 13 | 6 | 423 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
316 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 3.7%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 108 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 316 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,900 / GBP 2,859 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Other fees
- No other fees
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 7,500 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted6
- articleArticles: The suggested word count for an article is up to 7500 words.Length not stated
- hypothesisPlease visit the Sage Journal Author Gateway for guidance on producing visual and/or video abstracts. Articles: The suggested word count for an article is up to…Length not stated
- registered reportPlease visit the Sage Journal Author Gateway for guidance on producing visual and/or video abstracts. Articles: The suggested word count for an article is up to…Length not stated
- registered reportsRegistered Reports: These allow you to submit a prospective manuscript for a study that you have not yet run.Length not stated
- replication studiesReplication Studies: In research it is often said that “one study is just one study.”Length not stated
- reviewPlease visit the Sage Journal Author Gateway for guidance on producing visual and/or video abstracts. Articles: The suggested word count for an article is up to…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please view our authorship policies, which includes information on criteria for authorship, who should be the corresponding author and more. Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. As a condition of publication authors are required to: Share your research data in a relevant public data repository Include a data availability statement. This sho…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal. Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the journal at no cost. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice pr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency:Double-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk reject…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
The journal will consider submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers. Please enter the preprint DOI in the designated field when submitting your manuscript. We advise that you inform the Journal Editorial office about your posted preprint at submission. Note that you should not post an updated version of your manuscript on a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 1469-7874
- Electronic ISSN
- 1741-2625
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Active Learning in Higher Education
What CAS zone is Active Learning in Higher Education in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Active Learning in Higher Education is in Zone 1 of Education, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Education & Educational Research; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Education. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Active Learning in Higher Education?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.99; CiteScore 13.9, h-index 93.
How long does peer review take at Active Learning in Higher Education?
The publisher reports about 316 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 3.7%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Active Learning in Higher Education?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 7,500 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Active Learning in Higher Education based?
Of the 28 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (6), United Kingdom (5) and Australia (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Active Learning in Higher Education?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Active Learning in Higher Education is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Active Learning in Higher Education open access, and what is the APC?
Active Learning in Higher Education is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,900.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .