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SafeAssign: General Guidelines for Using SafeAssign

 

Provide Notice of Intent to Use SafeAssign

Instructors who choose to use SafeAssign should clarify their intention with their students, most appropriately on the syllabus and as part of class discussion. The use of the program brings up issues of student privacy and intellectual property rights, so instructors should be aware of these issues and talk to students about how and why the program will be used to advance course learning goals.

 

Review SafeAssign “Originality Reports” Individually and in Context

SafeAssign’s databases are by no means comprehensive; thus, the use of the program is not a sure-fire way to uncover instances of plagiarism. Instructors should not rely on the face value of a high matching score in the SafeAssign “Originality Report.” While the program can quickly detect matching material, individual analysis and interpretation is critical to making a judgment about the occurrence of plagiarism.

 

Distinguish Intentional from Unintentional Plagiarism

Because instances of plagiarism fall on a wide continuum, instructors should judge each case in terms of student intentionality and the degree of the abuse. As instructors, this asks us to consider how we might effectively discuss all types of plagiarism with our students and provide strategies for helping them avoid situations that might lead to plagiaristic acts.

 

Maximize Learning Experiences

Instructors who choose to use SafeAssign should consider the value of the tool for providing active learning experiences. Instructors are encouraged to provide appropriate learning opportunities for clarifying proper citation practices and to use SafeAssign with students in the context of class lessons about research and documentation.

 

Create Engaging Assignments

One of the best ways instructors can help prevent plagiarism is by designing writing assignments that do not lend themselves to liberal borrowing, idea stealing, or other acts of desperation. Such assignments include clear learning goals, specific contexts, and process-oriented writing tasks that challenge students in the right ways and at the appropriate skill level.

 

A video tutorial showing you how to use SafeAssign is available here.

 

Download instructions for creating and managing your SafeAssign assignment

 

« Back to SafeAssign Homepage

 

Also in this section:

• The View From the Writing Center
• General Guidelines for Using SafeAssign
• Issues Associated with SafeAssign
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Comprehensiveness
  • Intellectual Property V Common Phrases