This page contains descriptions and videos related to the use of SafeAssign, a plagiarism detection tool used within Blackboard by instructors and students at Frederick Community College.

SafeAssign defined: “SafeAssign is a tool used to promote originality and to create opportunities to help students identify how to properly attribute sources rather than paraphrase. SafeAssign is effective as both a deterrent and an educational tool.”

Source: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Administrator/Hosting/Tools_Management/SafeAssign

Use of SafeAssign in Assignments: “SafeAssign compares submitted assignments against a set of academic papers to identify areas of overlap between the submitted assignment and existing works. SafeAssign is effective as both a deterrent and an educational tool. Use SafeAssign to review assignment submissions for originality and create opportunities to help students identify how to properly attribute sources rather than paraphrase.”

Source: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Instructor/Assignments/SafeAssign

What SafeAssign Does: “SafeAssign is based on a unique text matching algorithm capable of detecting exact and inexact matching between a paper and source material. Assignments are compared against several different databases containing millions of articles dating from the 1990s to the present. After the comparison, a report is generated that provides detailed information about the matches found.”

Source: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Student/Assignments/Assignments_SafeAssign

Understanding SafeAssign’s Originality Reports:  “When reviewing Bb Assignments with SafeAssign plagiarism enabled, Blackboard will provide an overall matching percentage for the assignment. This matching percentage is intended to show the instructor the percent chance that the paper contains matches to existing sources. For example, if a paper shows up with an overall matching percentage of 55%, SafeAssign is communicating that this paper has a 55% chance of containing plagiarized content. The overall SafeAssign score is a warning indicator only – you will need to examine papers to determine whether the matches indicate plagiarism, or are appropriately cited.”

Source: https://support.campus.fsu.edu/kb/article/120-how-to-understand-safeassigns-originality-reports

SafeAssign at Work in a class at Frederick Community College (from the Conclusion section from a study performed by Bryan Hiatt in 2012):  “SafeAssign is generally a reliable tool in the fight against plagiarism. While not perfect, it can be used as an all class critical thinking tool, but instructors should be aware of its limitations and explain those carefully to students before using the service. Additionally, instructors should guide students through reading Originality Reports, especially as the class is just learning the process. Otherwise student stress levels will remain a constant.”

Source:  https://bit.ly/2liCjUG

Support Videos 

The videos linked here were produced by Frederick Community College Faculty in the summer of 2016.

• An Introduction to SafeAssign – This video introduces the use of SafeAssign. Time: (2:34)
• Submitting to SafeAssign – This video explains the process of submitting an essay to SafeAssign. Time:  (3.41)
• Interpreting Originality Reports Part 1 – This video explains how to analyze an Originality Report. Time: (4.42)
• Interpreting Originality Reports Part 2 – This video continues in explaining an Originality Report. Time: (4.15 min)
• SafeAssign and Multiple Attempts – This video explains the process of submitting the same assignment twice. Time: (2.06)