Promoting the Open Access Agenda Through the Use of Virtual Learning Environment

A growing number of funding bodies, publishers and government organisations both in the UK and internationally are active stakeholders in the development of an Open Access environment in academia and beyond. While a movement that promotes a free and immediate access to scholarly materials and the removal price and accessibility barriers from the end user, nevertheless, the concept of openness is being brought to academia via complex regulations and policies (Research England, 2018).

The majority of the UK based research institutions carry out a broad selection of activities to promote an active engagement with the open agenda. However the mandatory nature of the open access policy set by funding bodies can be seen as one of the key factors leading to misinterpretation of the open access agenda and a source of its negative status amongst a large body of academic staff, who may see the engagement with Open Access as an unnecessary.