On February 1, 2006, I took over for Joe Herriges as managing editor at JEEM. Moving the editorial offices from Iowa State to Wyoming went smoothly, and most authors shouldn't notice much of a difference. When we receive an e-mail containing a submission, and the submission fee payment has been confirmed, the paper is logged into the system—just as in the past. Submissions are divided between the managing editor and the various co-editors, as before. We also strive to handle every submission within ninety days, consistent with established practice at JEEM. Finally, improving the reputation and impact of the journal remains a major goal.

  Submissions:

There were fifteen fewer submissions to JEEM in 2006 than in 2005. At the same time, there were many fewer desk-rejects, so that the number of papers processed is up somewhat. One likely reason for the drop in desk-rejects is the new policy of 'taxing' desk rejected papers. JEEM no longer gives full refunds for desk-rejected papers, since some editorial resources are used, even with a desk-rejected submission. Through the end of September, the rate at which processed papers were offered the opportunity to revise and resubmit is up slightly over last year, but is smaller than in preceding years.

  Processing time:

Average time to first decision in 2006 was 96 days, similar to that in past years. This statistic is somewhat confounded by inclusion of desk-rejects and withdrawn papers. That point noted, it appears that submissions in 2006 were processed at a similar pace to past years. This surprised me a little, given some office staffing difficulties we experienced during the middle of the year.

  Acceptance rates:

The available data can be used to construct ultimate acceptance rates for recent years. All files from 2001 and 2002 have been closed, and almost all files from 2003 and 2004 are closed (a small number of files remain open for the latter two years). The table below lists the number of submissions, desk-rejects, net submissions, rejections, invited R&Rs, and total number of papers ultimately accepted. (Comparing this last number to the number of papers submitted gives the overall acceptance rate). Consistent with the goal of raising quality and tightening standards, JEEM's acceptance rate has been declining since 2002; I also note an increase in the apparent accuracy of our initial screening, as indicated by a higher acceptance rate, conditional on resubmission.