Plagiarism Detection
Blackboard SafeAssign and Turnitin are Plagiarism Detection tools offered for faculty use at Catholic University. They are both used to prevent plagiarism and create opportunities to help students properly attribute sources rather than paraphrase. SafeAssign and Turnitin each use data mining to compile large databases of electronic academic materials, which are then compared against student papers to assess originality. These tools are effective as both a deterrent and an educational tool.
SafeAssign
SafeAssign plagiarism detection service is integrated in Blackboard. Because it is automatically available for all courses and assignments, SafeAssign is very easy to use for checking papers. Student papers are simply submitted and checked, with no need to navigate to external sites.
SafeAssign is available through your Blackboard courses. When creating assignments, look for the SafeAssign option under Submission Details.
You can also jump to specific topics:
Use SafeAssign in the Original Course View (video)
Using SafeAssign in Your Course
Turnitin
Turnitin is a web-based plagiarism detection service that can be used outside of Blackboard or in assignments inside of Blackboard courses.
If you as an instructor would like access to Turnitin, please submit a service request ticket by emailing techsupport@cua.edu with your full name.
Students must be given access to Turnitin through their instructor.
Once your instructor has given you access, you navigate to turnitin.com and create an account in order to begin using the service.
FERPA Compliance
Any use of Plagiarism detection systems must be in full compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Faculty should restrict their use of such systems to SafeAssign and Turnitin.
Additional information on FERPA may be found at the U.S. Department of Education.