OJS Training for Journal Managers, Editors & Reviewers
Live online Open Journal Systems training for your editorial team, organised by role and done hands-on in your own journal. Learn submissions, peer review, issues, users and settings properly instead of by trial and error.
Practical OJS training for your journal team
OJS training from OJS Academy is live, hands-on and built around how your journal actually works. Instead of a generic OJS course, each session covers the tasks one role does every week, such as how editors assign reviewers or how a journal manager publishes an issue, shown in your own journal or a practice copy of it.
Sessions are led by an academic-publishing professional with 10+ years of experience who has supported 80+ academic journals. That means the training covers editorial practice as well as which buttons to click: when to desk-reject, how to keep reviews on schedule, and which settings matter for indexing later.
A note on the name
Despite the name, OJS Academy is not a university or a certification body, and it is not affiliated with PKP, the developers of OJS. It is an independent consultancy, and training is one of our OJS services, alongside installation, themes, hosting and support.
How our online OJS classes work
- Live video call with screen sharing. The trainer demonstrates each task, then participants do it themselves while we watch and help.
- Hands-on in your journal. We use test users and test submissions in your journal, or a practice copy if you prefer, so nothing real is affected.
- Version-specific. Menus differ between OJS 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5, so we train on the version you run.
- Organised by role. Separate sessions for managers, editors, production staff and others, so nobody sits through steps they never use.
- Scheduled around your team. Sessions are arranged to suit your time zone, in small groups so everyone can ask questions.
- Recordings on request, for onboarding editors who join later.
Best time to train
Train after the journal is set up and before the first call for papers. Your team then learns on the real settings, and the first submissions are handled correctly from day one.
OJS training modules by role
Pick the modules your team needs. Each one is practical: participants complete the tasks in OJS during the session.
Journal Manager
- Journal, website, workflow and distribution settings
- Users & roles: inviting, enrolling and permissions
- Sections and section editors
- Email templates and notifications
- Plugins and the Plugin Gallery
- DOIs: prefix, assignment and Crossref deposits
- Creating, ordering and publishing issues
Editors & Section Editors
- The submissions dashboard and queues
- Initial screening and desk decisions
- Finding and assigning reviewers, deadlines and reminders
- Reading reviews and managing review rounds
- Recording decisions: accept, revisions, decline
- Moving submissions through the workflow stages
Reviewers
- Accepting or declining review requests
- Competing interests
- Downloading review files
- Writing comments for the author and for the editor
- Uploading annotated files
- Submitting a recommendation
Authors
- Registration and profile
- The submission checklist and author guidelines
- Uploading files and entering metadata and contributors
- Tracking submission status
- Responding to revision requests
Copyediting & Production
- Copyediting files and discussions
- Creating and uploading galleys (PDF, HTML)
- Checking metadata before publication
- Scheduling articles into issues
- Publishing an issue and handling corrections
Site Administrator
- Creating and managing hosted journals
- Site settings and languages
- Clearing caches and checking system information
- Scheduled tasks and plugin updates
- Maintenance basics: backups and when to call a developer
Sample OJS training plan
A typical plan for a new journal looks like the one below. It is only an example: we adjust the order, length and content to your team and your OJS version.
| Session | Who attends | What it covers | Approx. length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Setting up the journal | Journal managers | Settings, users & roles, sections, emails, plugins, DOIs | 2 hours |
| 2. Handling submissions | Editors and section editors | Screening, assigning reviewers, review rounds, decisions | 2 hours |
| 3. From acceptance to publication | Copyeditors, production staff, managers | Copyediting, galleys, scheduling, publishing an issue | 1.5 hours |
| 4. Reviewer and author view | Editors (and invited reviewers/authors) | Review requests, submission and revisions as others see them | 1 hour |
| 5. Site administration (optional) | Site administrator or IT staff | Hosted journals, caches, scheduled tasks, maintenance basics | 1 hour |
| Follow-up (on request) | Whole team | Questions from the first real submissions | As needed |
Who this OJS training is for
- New journals preparing for their first submissions. If you are still planning, start with our guide on how to start an academic journal.
- New editorial teams taking over an existing journal after a change of editor-in-chief or staff.
- Universities onboarding several journals on one OJS installation, who want every journal to follow the same workflow.
- Handover after setup: training is the natural final step after OJS installation and configuration, whoever did the setup.
- Teams after an upgrade to OJS 3.4 or 3.5, where submission, email and DOI screens have changed. See our OJS upgrade service.
What participants receive
- Practical, role-wise checklists and short notes covering the steps shown in the sessions.
- Answers to your team's own workflow questions, using your journal's real settings.
- Suggestions on settings we notice could be improved while we train.
- Session recordings, on request.
About certificates
This is practical training, not an accredited course. We do not issue accredited certificates or qualifications. The value is a team that can run the journal's workflow correctly.
Learn OJS for free: tutorials and official documentation
Prefer to learn OJS on your own first? These free resources are a good place to start:
- Our free OJS guides: practical tutorials on installation, themes, DOIs, indexing and fixing common errors. New to the platform? Start with what OJS is and how it works.
- PKP's official Learning OJS guide: the current edition covers OJS 3.5, with separate guides for site administrators, journal managers, the editorial workflow, reviewers and authors.
- The PKP Community Forum: search it for specific questions; many problems have already been answered there.
Self-study works well for one person learning at their own pace. Live training helps when a whole team needs to work the same way quickly, on your journal's real settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the OJS training online or in person?
Online. Sessions run live over a video call with screen sharing, so teams anywhere in the world can join from their own desks. Participants follow along in OJS during the session rather than just watching slides.
Can you train us on our own journal?
Yes, and we recommend it. We use test users and test submissions on your journal so the menus, sections and email templates your team sees in training are the ones they will use every day. If you prefer not to touch the live journal, we train on a practice copy.
Which OJS versions do you cover?
OJS 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5. Menus and screens differ between these versions, so we always train on the version your journal runs. If you are about to upgrade, it usually makes sense to train after the upgrade.
Do participants receive a certificate?
No. This is practical skills training for working journal teams, not an accredited course, and we do not issue accredited certificates. What participants take away is the ability to do their job in OJS, plus role-wise checklists and notes.
Can you train our authors and reviewers too?
Yes. Some journals invite regular reviewers or authors to a short session. Others prefer to train editors to guide them; we can provide simple step-by-step checklists your editors can share.
Are the sessions recorded?
On request, and only with the agreement of everyone attending. Recordings are useful for onboarding editors who join the journal later.
Is OJS Academy part of PKP?
No. OJS Academy is an independent consultancy that works with Open Journal Systems. OJS is developed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), whose free official documentation we recommend alongside our training.
How do we arrange OJS training?
Contact us with your OJS version, the roles that need training, the number of participants and your time zone. We will suggest a session plan for your team. Use the contact page, email info@ojsacademy.com or WhatsApp +91-9625801660.
Get your team confident in OJS
Tell us your OJS version, the roles that need training and your time zone, and we will suggest a session plan for your team. Free initial consultation. Email info@ojsacademy.com or call/WhatsApp +91-9625801660.
