Higher Education Forum (HEF) is an annual publication of the Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University in Japan. It aims to publish English articles by leading international scholars in the field of higher education, dealing with significant research topics. Manuscripts sent to HEF are expected to bring insightful research findings and contribute to the creation and distribution of knowledge to a broad international audience. Higher Education Forum welcomes original manuscripts with an empirical, theoretical, methodological or practical background. Manuscripts will be reviewed by referees according to a double-blind review system. The exact number of papers will be detailed and specified by the editors of each volume.
Important points and timelines for authors:
1．Manuscript submission: A manuscript, as both a Word file and PDF, should be submitted to xinli@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
(with a CC to yskim@hiroshima-u.ac.jp) by March 31st, 2025.
Manuscripts should include the name, affiliation, job title and email address of all authors. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to the
corresponding author after receiving your manuscript on our end.
2．Guidelines for submitted manuscripts: Manuscripts should be proofread by a native or near native English speaker before submission.
For detailed guidelines for authors, please refer to “Author’s Guide for RIHE Higher Education Forum”.
3．Early closure of submission period: The editorial team may stop accepting manuscript submission before the deadline if a sufficient
number of quality manuscripts has been received.
4．Desk review: The editors of Higher Education Forum will inform corresponding authors of the result of desk review if the submitted
manuscript is not appropriate to be sent out for peer review.
5．Peer Review: Each manuscript will be reviewed by at least two referees based on the following criteria: relevance of the topic,
coherence and clarity, contribution to knowledge, language, and so on. The editors will inform the corresponding author of the result of
peer review by September 30th, 2025.
6．Revision: Authors whose manuscripts were considered for publication are expected to revise and improve their manuscripts based on
comments and suggestions from peer reviewers. The revised version of manuscripts should be submitted to the editorial team by
November 30th, 2025.
7．Final decision: A final decision will be made by December 28th, 2025.
8．Publication: Accepted manuscripts will be published in Higher Education Forum in March 2026, and uploaded onto several websites such
as Hiroshima University Institutional Repository (HiR) and RIHE Institute Library website.
■ Please refer to the “Author’s Guide for RIHE Higher Education Forum” for formatting guidelines.
This Sample HEF in Word format may also assist you to prepare your paper.
■ Back issues are available at https://rihe-publications.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/hef_en/
■ No author processing fees required.
■ By submitting your article to Higher Education Forum, you will be deemed to have accepted your article being uploaded to the websites
RIHE designates above.