NACC - CFP

Call for Papers

Since its launch in 2016, Communication Center Journal (CCJ) has published one issue at the end of each calendar year. CCJ accepts general manuscript submissions, Book Reviews, and Excellence at the Center essays relating to communication center work on a rolling cycle for consideration and review.

Each volume also accepts submissions for special topical sections, offering a deeper look at broad-based themes and trends. Special topic submission deadlines for 2023 are specified in the call below.

2023 Special Topic Section Section Call

Theme: Communication Centers and General Education

CCJ invites authors to consider general education with, through, and at communication centers. We invite authors to conceptualize, test, bend, reinvent, and celebrate the coupling of general education with communication centers. In doing so, we welcome authors to consider and share the opportunities, limitations, and futures created by such a collaboration.

With ongoing global and local uncertainty forcing change, and higher education in transition, we seek to understand how general education, core curriculum, and/or shared experience programs/courses/faculty might harness change as an opportunity to work with communication centers, As general education prepares students to lead, write, speak, analyze and solve problems, students must also learn to navigate uncertainty. Communication centers represent an opportunity to support faculty and students as they adjust to new realities while evolving and developing the soft skills needed for resilience and adaptation.

Framing questions can include but are not limited to:

How does general education transform peer educators working in communication centers?
How can general education and communication center partnerships prioritize well-being?
How might general education and communication center partnerships open minds to new ways of being and leading?
How can communication centers work with general education and/or first-year programs to assist students in recognizing their strengths and using them for success?
How can communication centers support the development of essential soft skills in general education (such as creativity, openness, and collaboration)?
How can communication centers and general education partnerships work together to encourage social justice and civic engagement?
How can communication center and general education partnerships highlight new paths forward for higher education?
What impact can communication center partnerships with general education and/or first-year programs have on student retention?
How can adding communication center support to general education provide additional opportunities for all students to feel included and welcomed, especially those from historic and underrepresented groups?
In what ways do communication centers provide support for first-year students learning to think conceptually and work well with others in general education courses?
What role does or should diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) play in general education and communication center collaborations?
How can general education and communication center collaborations help with diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education?
What role does assessment play in first-year and general education communication center partnerships?
Where does the communication center vest fit at the intersection of general education and digital trends?
How can communication centers best support the digital/technology trends in the first year and/or general education classroom?
What can we learn from communication centers that are already partnered with general education programming?
How can communication centers collaborate with other institutions and centers locally and regionally to support transfer students best?
What are the best ways to explore how communication centers might support students between institutions and programs?
How do communication centers provide opportunities for students to connect and/or faculty to develop community in the pandemic classroom?
What can communication centers learn from other academic support centers about embedding peer educators in general education classrooms?
What opportunities can general education courses provide for communication centers to discover new ways to support learning?
What are the best ways for communication centers to support general education students in the creation of multimodal artifacts designed to demonstrate course learning?
What are the merits of de-coupling communication centers from general education
What are the advantages and disadvantages of requiring students to utilize communication center support in general education or first-year courses?
What are the communication center implications for retention, first-year sense of belonging, and early alert systems?
How can communication centers best support general education courses that seek to develop student's critical thinking and inquiry competencies?

Special Topic Section Manuscript Deadlines & Details
July 15, 2023: Special Section submissions due
August 15, 2023: Special Section decisions communicated
September/October 2023: Editors working with authors of accepted works on any revision

Notes: CCJ manuscripts submitted for consideration in a thematic special section are limited to 8,000 words, but shorter submissions are welcome. Manuscripts should follow current APA conventions and be void of any identifiers, including names of institutions or people.

Authors must register in the operating system before submitting word doc manuscripts for review: Register Here

Questions and inquiries can be emailed to Co-Editors, Adria Goldman or Kim Cuny.

CCJ manuscripts submitted for consideration in a thematic special section are limited to 8,000 words, but shorter submissions are welcome.

All manuscripts should follow conventions of APA 7th edition.

Authors must register for the online submission site before submitting full manuscripts: Register Here

Questions and inquiries can be emailed to Co-Editors Paul Mabrey [email protected] or Kim Cuny [email protected].

CCJ Book Review Call
The Communication Center Journal, a peer-reviewed online journal published by the National Association of Communication Centers, is seeking contributions for our book review section. We welcome reviews of books that can impact communication center scholarship and praxis.

The 2022 edition of the journal will carry a special topic section on the theme “Centering Well-Being” which invites exploration into why and how communication centers need to address well-being in a post-pandemic context marked by lingering traumatic responses and exhaustion in clients, staff, and supervisors of communication centers.

Accordingly this year, we invite reviews of books that illuminate well-being, conceptually and practically, to inspire and guide communication centers to re-group or innovate structurally, pedagogically, and relationally.

Below is a list of recommended titles for review - some that address communication center work directly and others that address well-being related to pedagogy. We also welcome suggestions for additional titles.

Our book reviews range between 900-1200 words and usually include the following:

A brief description of the book’s contents.
A brief description of the appropriate audience for the book.
A scholarly evaluation of the book–including its contributions to existing literature and trends in the field of communication centers, its strengths and weaknesses, and its unique qualities, keeping in mind what our readership would find valuable.

Previous book reviews may be accessed in the journal archives at: http://libjournal.uncg.edu/index.php/ccj/issue/archive

Please contact Mridula Mascarenhas [email protected] for all review communication and submissions.

Suggested titles for review:

Essid, J. & McTague, B. (Eds.). (2020). Writing centers at the center of change. Routledge.

Harward, Donald, W. (Ed.). (2016). Well-being and higher education: A strategy for change and the realization of education’s greater purposes. Association of American Colleges and Universi-ties.

Kaufman, P. & Schiffer, J. (2018). Teaching with compassion: An educator’s oath to teaching from the heart. Rowman & Littlefield.

Sandford, D.R. & Steiner, M. (2021). The Rowman & Littlefield Guide to Learning Center Administration. Rowman & Littlefield.

To be considered for the 2022 volume of CCJ, please indicate your interest and book title via email by May 31, 2022. Selections will be confirmed by June 25, 2022. The final manuscript will be due by August 30, 2022.

CCJ Distinguished Reviewer Award (modeled off of Journal of General Education)
The Reviewer of the Year Award recognizes one reviewer who:

Provides quality feedback to the authors and editors,
Provides feedback that has a strong, positive impact on the publication(s), and
Completes reviews in a timely fashion.

The award winner will be selected by the CCJ editorial leadership team prior to March 1st and consider reviewers who reviewed manuscripts for the volume published the year before. The winner will receive a certificate, letter of award, and recognition in the next published issue. The first award year was 2021, with the publication of volume 6. The award is announced annually at the NACC Excellence at the Center national conference. Past award recipients can be found here.