Journal profile · EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Higher Education Quarterly
ISSN 0951-5224 · eISSN 1468-2273 · Wiley-Blackwell
Higher Education Quarterly: CAS Zone 2 · Education (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.5 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,900; median 233 days to acceptance (95 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 12% (journal website); 108 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Higher Education Quarterly is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Education in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Higher Education Governance and Development, Higher Education Research Studies and Higher Education Learning Practices, together about 38% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Higher Education Quarterly is an international scholarly journal publishing research on policy, organisation, leadership, governance, management and the professions in higher education. In order to be considered, papers need, on the one hand, to draw on sound theories and methodologies; on the other hand, they have to contribute to contemporary debates on higher education. We welcome high-quality academic papers that have potential for impact on policy and practice. We do not typically publish studies on teaching and learning unless they are directly relevant for policymakers, institutional managers, or have direct implications for the broader institutional governance. Higher Education Quarterly is eclectic in relation to theories, concepts and methodologies, as it aims to develop our understanding of higher education and its current challenges from a diversity of approaches. Authors are required to contextualise their research against an international background; we generally do not publish single case studies. Comparative approaches may include cross-sectional, longitudinal and international analyses, and can be based on both qualitative and quantitative data. Manuscripts, conceptual or empirical, should be indicatively 6000-8000 words, including tables, figures and references. Data, appropriately anonymised, should be made available upon request in the review process or for purposes of replicability. Submissions that are not considered strong enough to succeed in the review process are normally desk rejected within two weeks.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Editor-in-chief João M. SantosPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 7 in mainland China (about 16%); most named United Kingdom 9, Mainland China 7, Hong Kong, China 3, Australia 3, Portugal 3 (45 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Higher Education Governance and DevelopmentSocial Sciences25%
- Higher Education Research StudiesSocial Sciences7.4%
- Higher Education Learning PracticesSocial Sciences5.6%
- Higher Education and EmployabilitySocial Sciences5.2%
- Evaluation of Teaching PracticesSocial Sciences4.1%
- Education Systems and PolicySocial Sciences4.1%
- Global Educational Policies and ReformsSocial Sciences3.5%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Education Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Education Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceERICPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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 (publisher)
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.89LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.42LetPub ·
- h-index
- 76OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 705OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.43OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 57.2%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 74LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 97Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 219,535Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,647 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 78 | 43 | 37 |
| 2025 | 108 | 75 | 318 |
| 2024 | 104 | 78 | 641 |
| 2023 | 80 | 60 | 726 |
| 2022 | 45 | 19 | 544 |
| 2021 | 79 | 38 | 1,390 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
233 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 175 days – 308 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (96 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 254 days
- Sample
- 95 articles with submission and acceptance dates (200 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 232 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 17 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 2,900 / EUR 2,400 / GBP 1,930 | — | — |
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)
- 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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 100–150 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted6
- meta-analysisArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Research Article Reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant…Length not stated
- narrative reviewArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Research Article Reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant…Length not stated
- research articleArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Research Article Reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant…Length not stated
- reviewArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Research Article Reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant…Length not stated
- review articleArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Research Article Reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant…Length not stated
- systematic reviewArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Research Article Reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Artificial Intelligence Generated Content
Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) tools—such as ChatGPT and others based on large language models (LLMs)—cannot be considered capable of initiating an original piece of research without direction by human authors. They also cannot be accountable for a published work or for research design, which is a generally held requirement of authorship (as discussed in the previous section), no…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review editorial standards and scroll down for a description of authorship criteria.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Availability
This journal expects data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, all sources must be credited within the manuscript. At minimum, the title and author should be provided.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
This journal is a subscription journal that offers an Open Access option. You’ll have the option to make your article open access after acceptance, which will be subject to an APC unless a waiver applies. Read more about APCs here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. Submission and Peer Review Process
New submissions should be made via the Research Exchange submission portal https://authors.wiley.com/journal/HEQU. You may check the status of your submission at any time by logging on to submission.wiley.com and clicking the “My Submissions” button. For technical help with the submission system, please review our or contact submissionhelp@wiley.com. This journal does not charge submission fees. A…
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0951-5224
- Electronic ISSN
- 1468-2273
- Society / sponsor
- Society for Research into Higher Education
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 80, Issue 4 (October 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Higher Education Quarterly
What CAS zone is Higher Education Quarterly in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Higher Education Quarterly is in Zone 2 of Education, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Education & Educational Research. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Education. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Higher Education Quarterly?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.5 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.2, h-index 76.
How long does peer review take at Higher Education Quarterly?
Based on the dates recorded on 95 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 233 days (interquartile range 175–308 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 12% (2025). 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 Higher Education Quarterly?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 100–150 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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 Higher Education Quarterly based?
Of the 45 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 7 (about 16%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (9), Mainland China (7) and Hong Kong, China (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Higher Education Quarterly?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Higher Education Quarterly is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and ERIC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Higher Education Quarterly open access, and what is the APC?
Higher Education Quarterly is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,900.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .