Adding a SafeAssignment

This guide will walk you through the process of creating an assignment using SafeAssign, a plagiarism detection program which compares student submissions against previously submitted papers and internet sources.

1. Enter the content area in which the SafeAssignment will be created.

2. Click on the Evaluate button, and then choose Create SafeAssignment.

3. As with standard assignments, there are basic options that will need to be set, such as assignment name, point value, and dates of availability. However, there are three advanced options that are SafeAssign specific. These include "Draft," "Student Viewable," and "Urgent Checking." These options are explained below.

Draft : The draft setting in SafeAssign allows instructors to determine whether files submitted will be saved in the SafeAssign database for future referencing. This option is set to No by default, allowing all submitted files to be saved in the database for comparison against later submissions. If a student were to submit a rough draft under this setting, when they resubmitted the final paper to be checked, the system would find a near 100% match, as the paper would be compared to its prior version.

For rough drafts, the Draft setting must be marked Yes. The rough draft submitted by the student will still be compared against the SafeAssign database of prior submissions and internet sources, but it will not be archived in the database for future checks.

Because each SafeAssignment allows for only one submission per student, a new SafeAssignment will need to be created for final draft submissions. In order to avoid redundant point values in the grade center, rough drafts should be set to be worth 0 points.

Student Viewable : This setting determines whether students can view the originality report generated for their submitted paper. By default, this option is set to Yes, allowing students to see any matches SafeAssign discovered from previously submitted papers and internet sources. When set to No, only the instructor has access to the SafeAssign originality report.

Urgent Checking : Student papers are evaluated against the database in the order in which they are submitted, and this queue includes submissions from all universities subscribing to the service. Evaluations are usually done within minutes, but can take longer during peak hours, such as at the end of the semester. Selecting Urgent Checking allows submissions to be placed at a higher priority within the queue.

4. Once all options are set, click the submit button to create the SafeAssignment.

Viewing the SafeAssignment

1. Within the Control Panel menu, expand the Evaluation section. Next, choose Grade Center.

2. A SafeAssign submission is signalled by an exclamation point in the Grade Center. To view the submission, first click the Options button within the student's cell.

3. Click the View Grade Details link.

4. Click the Open Attempt button.

5. Under the Student's Work heading you will find several columns of unique function. The function of each column is defined below.

• The Text column allows the instructor to quickly view the submitted file in HTML format within the browser window.
• The File column contains the original attachment uploaded by the student. Clicking on the green arrow icon next to a student's name allows the instructor to open the file in a word processor, or save the file to the hard drive.
• The Matching column displays the percentage of matching text found in previous file submissions and internet resources. The lower the percentage matching, the more original the file. Keep in mind that properly cited materials may show up as matching other items in the database. In these cases, matching items do not necessarily suggest plagiarism.
• The SA Report column allows the instructor to view detailed source information for matching information. Clicking on the SA Report icon will open the report in a new window.
• The Submitted Column displays a timestamp of the file submission.

4. To assign a grade for the submitted file, type a score into the Modify Grade area.

Understanding the SafeAssign Report

The SafeAssign report is divided into three sections:

• Paper Information displays author, file name, time stamp, and mathcing percentage information. It also includes functions to download and print the submitted file.
• Suspected Sources displays the sources of matching content within the student's submission. Placing the mouse over a suspected source will highlight the matching sections within the Paper Text area. Clicking on the link of the suspected source will allow you to view the full original source in full.
• Paper Text displays the full student submission, including citations for the suspected sources found by SafeAssign.