UEW Reviews Journal Management Policy to Enhance Global Research Visibility
The Directorate of Research, Innovation and Development (DRID) at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has initiated a review of the University's Journal Management Policy, 2025. This is part of efforts to strengthen the quality, visibility and international competitiveness of the University’s scholarly journals.
The review meeting, held at the Students Centre Seminar Room III on Tuesday, 4th August, 2026, brought together Deans, Directors and Journal Editors-in-Chief to deliberate on strategies to improve editorial standards, streamline journal management and position UEW journals for recognition in leading international indexing databases.
Opening the meeting, Prof. Enoch F. Sam, the Director of DRID, underscored the growing importance of research visibility in determining the reputation of universities. He stressed a need for UEW to leverage its journals to strengthen its global research profile.
He outlined proposals to develop a university-wide journal roadmap, adopting minimum editorial standards across all UEW journals and establishing a Journal Editors Forum to facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement among editors. He further assured participants of DRID's commitment to providing technical and institutional support to improve journal websites, metadata quality, Digital Object Identifier registration and international indexing.
A major highlight of the meeting was a proposal to rationalise the number of journals published by the University in favour of fewer but stronger publications capable of meeting internationally accepted publishing standards.
Prof. Kofi Adu-Boahen, the Deputy Director of the Institute for Educational Research and Innovation Studies, observed that while UEW currently hosts numerous journals, several have remained inactive for years or lack essential requirements for international recognition. He therefore called for broad stakeholder consensus on merging journals with similar disciplinary focus to create robust publications with stronger editorial structures and greater prospects for indexing.
He encouraged editors to evaluate their journals against the standards outlined in the Journal Management Policy including the composition of editorial boards, peer-review systems, publication frequency, online presence, Digital Object Identifiers and indexing status. He emphasised that improving journal quality would also support ongoing national efforts to standardise academic promotion criteria across Ghana's universities.
Dr. Medina Srem-Sai, the Coordinator of Research Policy, Journal Standards and University Ranking at DRID, took participants through the policy's governance framework, detailing the responsibilities of key editorial officers including Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editors, Associate Editors, Copy Editors, Technical Editors, Graphic Editors, Guest Editors and Advisory Boards.
She stressed that internationally competitive journals require clearly defined editorial structures, rigorous peer-review processes, adherence to publication ethics, effective editorial oversight and collaborative management rather than reliance on a single individual.
Prof. Alfred Kuranchie, the Deputy Director of DRID, reaffirmed Management's commitment to supporting the implementation of the revised policy through technical services, plagiarism detection tools, legal and copyright advisory services, professional development programmes and assistance in securing Digital Object Identifiers and international indexing.
He indicated that consultations with faculties would continue after the meeting to build consensus on journal consolidation and ensure that the University develops a smaller number of credible and globally competitive journals capable of attracting research funding and enhancing UEW's international research standing.
The meeting concluded with an open forum during which participants discussed the proposed reforms and shared perspectives on strengthening the University's journal management system.
