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 Higher Education Forum are expected to contribute insightful research findings and contribute to the creation and distribution of knowledge to a wide 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 suzumits@hiroshima-u.ac.jp by May 31^st, 2022. Manuscripts should include the author’s name, affiliation, job title and email address. 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 30^th, 2022.
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 30^th, 2022.
7. Final decision: A final decision will be made by December 31^st, 2022.
8. Publication: Accepted manuscripts will be published in Higher Education Forum in March 2023, 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 Higher Education Forum” for formatting guidelines. This example SampleHEF 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/

■　There are no author processing charges 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.

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